esa help please

[estellyn]

Yes, the DWP have strict confidentiality rules and have to protect your personal information - as an ex DWP employee, I can tell you it is taken very seriously.

[cuchiandme]

hi estellyn,

this is what it states on my report from dwp,

THE LAW

employment s.allowance(transistional provisions housing benefit and council tax benefit)(existing awards)(no.2)Regulations 2010,regs5,6,7,13 and 15 and schedule 1

esa regs 2008 reg 19 and schedule 2 social security(credits)regulation 1975reg 8B

[cuchiandme]

by advocate i meant someone from a mental health charity or welfare rights.

[cuchiandme]

the stress that this is causing me is unbelievable, now i just burnt my potatoes, and have to start all over...there should be a law that can sue these atos people if a tribunal is successful. for stress damage

[estellyn]

hi estellyn,

this is what it states on my report from dwp,

THE LAW

employment s.allowance(transistional provisions housing benefit and council tax benefit)(existing awards)(no.2)Regulations 2010,regs5,6,7,13 and 15 and schedule 1

esa regs 2008 reg 19 and schedule 2 social security(credits)regulation 1975reg 8B

 

OK. You don't need to worry about the regulations. This is what you need to do:

 

1) Look at the descriptors for the work related group and support group and see which ones apply to you.

 

2) Write down each descriptor that applies to you, one at a time, underline it, and then write underneath how that descriptor applies to you, give examples from your day to day life.

 

3) Write down whether your condition would be made significantly worse by being found fit for work, and also how having to go on the work programme would affect you (attending regular appointments etc), and if this would make your condition worse.

 

4) Look through the ATOS assessment and write point by point the things on the report that are wrong and why. This is where you discredit the report.

 

5) make a list of your supporting evidence.

 

6) Type up your notes - this becomes the statement of your case, called a 'submission'.

 

If you want help with any of the descriptors, just post and we'll talk you through it.

[cuchiandme]

thank you estyllen,

this what i have done so far;

i got a letter from a psychiatrist who visited me at my home in early september..now i need to point out..i saw the atos person in july, , my money was stopped around beginning of september..i need to ask will it count that the psychiatrist saw me AFTER the atos person?the psychiatrists letter was long ,detailing my several conditions and mentioning that i was completely disabled by them... bear in mind my probs are mental ones...she went on to say that she could not advise a return to work unless things had greatly changed since she saw me...she also mentioned that i had cut my arm... indeed i had upon opening the atos letter about a week before... but atos only passingly mentions in their report that i said i cut my arm, we regret this... but it doesnt fulfill section 29 or words to that affect...as i i mentioned the psychiatrist letter was very long.. i posted to dwp... after they had turned down my review...

Also i wrote a long letter at beginning of appeal... detailing things i disagreed with... i have written a letter to my mp to be posted... i am seeing for the first time a care coordinator on wed. i see doc on monday asking for blk triangle letter to be signed or filled in... i need download that...i received letter from a therapist i was seeing prior to being elevated to secondary care....i must say; i was elevated to secondary care after the atos decision...can you tell me if all this stuff after the decision is as important as anything around the time of the so called atos exam? much appreciate this help... i feel im fighting for my life

[Nystagmite]

Your letter needs to be relevant to the time of the assessment and not after.

[cuchiandme]

but at that time i was in limbo between services

[cuchiandme]

can anyone enlighten me why atoss use the logo "health care"?

does anyone think they care?

[Nystagmite]

They only care about getting you off benefits and back to work. They also do occupational health assessments for some companies.

[cuchiandme]

well God help the employees

[antone]

well God help the employees

 

They do occ health for DWP staff.

[estellyn]

Have you gone through the descriptors and written down how you fulfill them, giving evidence from daily life (points 2 and 3 in my previous post)- this the most important thing and is the backbone of your case. You can have letters of evidence saying you're unfit, and state what you think was wrong with the atos assessment, BUT, unless you show that you meet the criteria (and putting the case in writing is best) then your appeal will fail.

[Guest]

ok...re the psychiatrist seeing you AFTER the atos assessment....not necessarily a problem. It depends on what your illness/condition is and HOW LONG you have had it, diagnosed or not. I had bipolar disorder, undiagnosed, but was obviously ill, it took me months to get an appointment with the community mental health team, get a CPN to make initial assessment and then the psychiatrist to formally diagnose and prescribe, but he was able to say that I had been ill with this for many years, and GP notes over many years confirmed a pattern of on and off meds for depression and anxiety, and I had been on those meds for a solid 3yrs before Atos found me fit (although unfit on BOTH previous assessments by them). .....Anyway it came down to the fact that I was obviously ill at the time of the assessment and that Atos/DWP hadn't made the right decision. I won my tribunal, as the time it took me to get all this diagnosis etc took longer than the time the DWP give to supply info before going to tribunal. Hope this helps. DONT GIVE UP!!!!!

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I've merged your threads because it's best to keep information together.

 

HB

[cuchiandme]

i hope that i am forgiven for continualy posting on the subject... but i'm trying hard to get my case together right now... writing notes daily..

it mentions in my atos report..that as a post script (to my letter i sent disagreeing with their decision)

that i said i cut my arm upon reading that my esa was cut..or words to that affect...

This is true... i immediately slashed my arm... i am under so much pressure, i got ocd, social phobia, agrophobia and gender dysphoria...the gender dysphoria ,atos are not aware of... i sent long letter from the psychiatrist involved... to dwp... after the atos interview.

 

anyway, they say in the report... that i cut my arm "we regret it but it doesnt satisfy regulation 29".......... in my understanding its regulation 35 thats more important... i'm a bit confused here... anyway i been feeling suicidal all week actualy thinking it as a viable way out... doesnt the stress that caused me to cut my arm count for anything? they (atos)also use the fact that i use a computer against me... she asked me how i got my food... i replied online... which is true, i have no family or friends and i would need a bus to the shops and im not always comfortable with that..she said i "appear normal" normal complexion etc... i mean what's normal? my head is not in the right place so to speak and i dont know who i am... saw my doc today asked him to sign the blackk triangle letter... he was reluctant... of the legal side.... said he didnt know what the regulations were but he would do his own letter based on my condition...please can anyone help in any way? am i doing right things or not?

[Nystagmite]

Your appeal has to be based on how you were at the time of the assessment and not after. So, you cutting your arm a week after is irrelevant.

[cuchiandme]

i said all this to the gp... but he feels that my conditions are chronic and that what he will write will make sense to the past inclusive of the atos test.

[antone]

Reg 29 relates to Limited Capability for Work (LCW), whereas Reg 35 relates to Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA). If you are found to have LCW, you would be placed in the Work Related Activity Group, and if you are found to have LCWRA you'd be placed in the Support Group. Other than that, the regs are similar, stating words to the effect of "This person has a recognised medical condition which is untreatable" and/or "there would be significant risk to the health of the claimant or other people if the claimant was not found to have LCW/LCWRA." In both cases, the regs may be applied if the claimant does not reach the required 15 points (for LCW and Reg 29) or does not meet a LCWRA descriptor (for LCWRA and Reg 35).

 

We have heard of a few cases here where doctors were not keen to sign the Black Triangle letter. That's fair enough, I suppose, as it makes what appear to be legal statements and they are, after all, doctors and not lawyers.

 

Now when you appeal, you are arguing that the DWP and Atos got things wrong based on the information that was available to them at the time the assessment took place. If you cut yourself after, and as a result of, the Atos assessment, you can't argue that they didn't take this into account at the time. But this is crucial: although it can't be seen as direct evidence that the WCA was wrong, you should still provide them with the information because it gives some insight into your overall mental state.

[cuchiandme]

thanks antone,

i think the stress has set off my ocd... im reverting back regressing or whatever...seeing a care coordinator for first time too this week... it just happenned that i have been put into secondary care... after the atos grilling..which was only 11 minutes, totell the truth i was overwhelmed by the fast direct questions i just cant see how i can explain myself like that...it says in the report she isnt qualified also at bottom..."restricted medical" whats that mean?

[antone]

Sorry, I don't understand. The report states the Atos HCP was not qualified to conduct the assessment? Are you sure that's what it means?

 

As to "Restricted Medical" I can't really say without context. In some cases, "Restricted" is used to advise DWP staff that the information should be treated with a particular standard of confidentiality. But I don't know for sure.

[cuchiandme]

yes it says not qualified and doesnt have to be

[time4change2]

its good that you now have a care coordinator they can help you a lot with your case

[cuchiandme]

can they? i read that the atos person gave me no points and i see at least 2 i fit... one gives 15 points and other 6 points, yet she never even askked me about this side of things...i think too if i send info. later it counts...hope i'm right

[dx100uk]

best to keep to one thread here

 

dx