Atos They are unbelievable

[coledog]

My husband has failed his ESA Medical Assessment, he has Diabetes, MEN Type 1 (Google it), Dupuytrens Contracture Syndrome in his hands, Abdominal lumps and bowels disorder, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He is also is being treated for depression and has a history of violence plus documented evidence of accidental fires and injuries. According to Atos, he is capable of work as he able to go to town on the bus, is not being treated by a trick cyclist and is not in danger of self harm, even though he told the woman he was 'sick of his life' and had picked a spot on Byker Bridge. This is disgusting and me and Newcastle Welfare Rights (worked with them 30 years ago) will sort this!

 

Please tell me how these people can getaway with this! I cannot believe it and will do anything to bring these people to justice! My husband is in constant pain, has had three ops in the last year with little relief and cannot bare the thought of any more 'procedures' which seem to have little effect

[coledog]

I can fight DCAS but this is serious!

[Gbarbm]

What type of work do the geniuses at atos reckon he can do?

[coledog]

No suggestion of the type of work, that is not their problem!

[coledog]

Something that does not involve using the hand, legs or brain presumably - debt collection is a possibility I suppose!

[sequenci]

That is shocking, I'm so sorry to learn this

[Gbarbm]

Mmm just wondering because the dupytrens contracture would make it difficult for him to hold objects, write and carry and lift things which really cuts down what he can do. Don't be intimidated by these idiots, appeal against the decision and get as much evidence as you can such as a report from GP.

[coledog]

Thanks - I will keep you posted - now very interested in this!

[coledog]

Appeal notification sent today - medical evidence to follow. How can these people get away with this?

[Gbarbm]

Make sure you do.... I hate things like this where people who are genuinely poorly have additional stress piled on them by idiots like atos..... Grrr makes me so angry

[sequenci]

Appeal notification sent today - medical evidence to follow. How can these people get away with this?

 

I'm 100,000,000,000% behind you - as I'm sure the whole of CAG are

[Merton]

My husband is in constant pain...

Does your husband take medication for his pain?

 

Perhaps the side-effects of drowsiness, confusion, etc., make it difficult for him to learn simple tasks and relate socially?

 

They can also cause poor awareness of hazards, poor concentration and many other problems.

 

This is all very trying for people who already have more than enough to endure.

 

I wish you the very best of luck.

[coledog]

Yes he does and according to the assessor, the co-codamol and Ibuprofen he takes are 'mild' but she was also shown the 'Tramadiol' he has but prescribed but chooses not to take very often and omitted this from the report.

[honeybee13]

Yes he does and according to the assessor, the co-codamol and Ibuprofen he takes are 'mild' but she was also shown the 'Tramadiol' he has but prescribed but chooses not to take very often and omitted this from the report.

 

Hello there, sorry to hear you've had this experience. We know what Atos can be like all too well.

 

As you probably know, now you need to go through the Atos report and highlight everything that's wrong or misinterpreted by them and why, so that Welfare Rights can construct a submission for you. And as someone said I think, a letter from your GP detailing the physical problems and whether s/he thinks the medication is 'mild'. There's the forum sticky to refer to in case it helps.

 

My best, HB

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Behind you all the way CD,this nonsense

is out of hand and must be stopped.

 

Brig.

[coledog]

Thanks for all your good wishes. I have looked at the threads HB and this is all very useful indeed!

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

A nice polite letter to your

MP to pass on to Mr. Ian Duncan Smith

at the DWP,or to Lord David Freud who

is the minister for Welfare Reform At the DWP.

Brig.

[coledog]

I certainly will Brig. I had been told that this system is rotten but never believed how bad it is. There does need to be a national campaign to do something about this - I am sure that the medical profession and DWP themselves are sick of this. It was actually the DWP woman I spoke to who told me to appeal as it is the only way they can do something about it

[dadofholly]

Not heard of these untill now. I expect they are being given targets to hi, all in the cause of the money god.. The problem with that is absured decisions like this one come about.

 

There was a letter in our local paper, about a year or so ago, when a lady had been disbelieved about her illness by a muppet, probably from the same organisation, despite medical evidence otherwise. A month after the decision she passed away due to that very same illness.

 

What qualifications do these people hold? Only a Doctor should be able to make these kind of assessments.

 

Would definatley bring it to the attention of your MP. Maybe worth finding out when they hold their surgeries and going along to seem them in person.

[coledog]

This woman was a 'nurse' RN. It does not seemed to be based on proper medical assessment at all. Apparently the majority of claimants 'fail' and have to go through the appeal process, most successfully. It is a farce and a total waste of money and time. Luckily, once you appeal DWP have to continue paying benefit as long as you keep submitting sick notes but appeals can take 6 month to a year to be heard!

[honeybee13]

It's not a medical with Atos. The person doing the assessment will be a Health Care Professional - doctor, nurse, physio etc [HCP], who will have undergone the Atos inhouse training for assessment people's abilities. There are unfair results all the time.

 

I think involving your MP is worth trying, as suggested above. You have nothing to lose and they may want to do something about it.

 

My best, HB

[sillygirl1]

If she is a proper nurse she will be registered with the Nursing council (forget offhand what the name is) and you should check her registration and inform them she is working for Atos, the Nursing council don't like people missing stuff out of medical reports and every complaint is looked at. I used to be able to look up their nursing records and see if they were qualified to work in the areas and if their registration was up to date.

 

It is a disgrace when some people get away with minor illnesses and then others with more serious illnesses get messed about. My nephew is on crutches and has plates in his back after a snowboarding accident a couple of years ago and the Atos lot think he is 'shamming' even though he still goes to Stoke Mandeville for treatment every six weeks! The assessor in his case wasn't even registered with any recognised organisation so was discredited.

[sillygirl1]

If he has Duptreyns he may possibly have arthritis and Raynauds syndrome as well, they sometimes all appear at different times. Duptreyns means they can't hold things properly especially things like pens... wonder what planet the so called assessor works on.

 

Interesting to note that 75% of the appeals are won.... target driven medicine does nobody any good.

[coledog]

I am happy to complain to as many people and organisations as I can - I am so angry about this! We were actually in the appointment for one hour and fifty minutes, she has put this on the report but recorded very little of what was actually said or happened! No actual tests were carried out either, unbelievable!

[Nystagmite]

If she is a proper nurse she will be registered with the Nursing council (forget offhand what the name is) and you should check her registration and inform them she is working for Atos,

 

Nursing and midwifery council? (or would it be GMC - general medical council)