ATOS appeals: GP's charging £130

[antone]

No don't think they meant that

 

hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse"

 

So GP/Doctor/Nurses all pledge to save us via an oath to the river horse - no pigs mentioned at all tbf.

 

Oh, alright. The Rhinocratic Oath, then. Jeez, this a tough crowd.

[RaeUK]

Or, for Atos healthcare 'professionals', the hypocrtic oath ...

[Laird_Scooby]

You have my sympathy. Sorry to sidetrack the thread. In cases like yours it should be obvious to the powers that be, that you should be on ESA (not that I know what that is). The point I was making is that there are different degrees of disability, and the system should be more flexible. For some milder cases, I dont think its unreasonable to expect ESA claimants to do some "permitted work", so long as people aren't being forced into something they are clearly unfit to do (The idiots at your tribunal clearly can't be trusted to make such decissions)

 

And getting back on track:

 

Yes, I agree, that in the same way a Doctor can't charge for a sickness certificate, there should be no charge to the patient for supplying evidence to the DWP (but to keep the Doctor happy perhaps they should be allowed to send an invoice to the DWP for their time).

 

Thank you very much! In fairness i didn't explain it for sympathy (although that is most welcome!) but to illustrate that Employment and Support Allowance (ESA or the new word for Long term Incapacity) isn't an easy benefit to get on and remain on.

There are as you rightly say many different degrees of disability and if the govt are to be believed, this is what the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will address. However, having seen the total incompetence shown by ATOS in assessing people for ESA i can see people with no legs being told they should work as a "walking bus" for school children! Maybe that's a little extreme but you get the point?

Permitted Work (as i understand it) is work a claimant can do with a view to easing themselves back into full time employment and they can earn up to (i think) £96/week without effecting their benefits. For many disabled/ill people, this isn't a viable option though. If my understanding of Permitted Work is wrong, hopefully someone will be along soon to correct it and/or add something to the definition.

 

Back on the topic again though, i think you've hit upon a workable solution. Why should the claimant have to foot the bill to prove they are unfit for work when because of that, they are already on reduced funds? I suspect many will retract their claim because they simply can't afford to continue with it although they can't (from a health point of view) afford to do that either!

[Laird_Scooby]

Or, for Atos healthcare 'professionals', the hypocrtic oath ...

 

Given my experience of ATOS i would suggest the "Lieing Toerag Oath" for their so-called Healthcare Professionals!

[claire1981]

Oh, alright. The Rhinocratic Oath, then. Jeez, this a tough crowd.

 

FYI Jeez is short for Jesus & as such is viewed as blasphemy by many followers of the bible. And as our nation is still supposedly signed up to 'church of England' & Latin etc. How come this language is decided by you to be acceptable & following house rules?

[antone]

FYI Jeez is short for Jesus & as such is viewed as blasphemy by many followers of the bible. And as our nation is still supposedly signed up to 'church of England' & Latin etc. How come this language is decided by you to be acceptable & following house rules?

 

I know what "Jeez" is short for, thank you.

[claire1981]

I know what "Jeez" is short for, thank you.

 

Oh I see, so you meant to offend Christians/Catholics. I hope no one else is on your list.

 

Since ATOS would pass a corpse as fit for work, the house of Lords is probably full of dead or incoherent peers found fit for work by ATOS. If found fit for work have you considered working for government, I hear they have some lovely jobs going in the field of dehumanizing people just for existing.

[osdset]

Speaking as a Catholic, all I can say is............ Jeez what a palaver.

[Laird_Scooby]

Oh I see, so you meant to offend Christians/Catholics. I hope no one else is on your list.

 

Since ATOS would pass a corpse as fit for work, the house of Lords is probably full of dead or incoherent peers found fit for work by ATOS. If found fit for work have you considered working for government, I hear they have some lovely jobs going in the field of dehumanizing people just for existing.

 

every time i've asked them for a job they've replied "Computer says no!"

 

Spot on with the House of Layabouts - err, Lords even!

[RaeUK]

I know what "Jeez" is short for, thank you.

Ah, but did you know it's also a minced oath? Cor blimey!

[claire1981]

every time i've asked them for a job they've replied "Computer says no!"

 

Spot on with the House of Layabouts - err, Lords even!

 

 

I bet they'd say no. You seem like an intelligent person, they don't want any of those around- you could notice what was going on.

[Laird_Scooby]

I bet they'd say no. You seem like an intelligent person, they don't want any of those around- you could notice what was going on.

 

Why, thank you honey!

 

Joking aside, never looked at it that way before but it makes a lot of sense, there seems to be some kind of limit on the IQ of all the people i've ever spoken to by any means (phone, face to face etc) in my dealings with the Benefit Agency in it's various guises.

[claire1981]

Speaking as a Catholic, all I can say is............ Jeez what a palaver.

 

Anyone can claim to be Catholic just as anyone can claim to be Muslim- but unless you follow the actual teachings you are just branding yourself. According to old teaching it's disrespectful to use the Lord or his Sons name in vain, many devout Christians/Catholics can get quite upset if those around do.

[antone]

Anyone can claim to be Catholic just as anyone can claim to be Muslim- but unless you follow the actual teachings you are just branding yourself. According to old teaching it's disrespectful to use the Lord or his Sons name in vain, many devout Christians/Catholics can get quite upset if those around do.

 

Cut it out. Right now. This is not a request.

[antone]

Why, thank you honey!

 

Joking aside, never looked at it that way before but it makes a lot of sense, there seems to be some kind of limit on the IQ of all the people i've ever spoken to by any means (phone, face to face etc) in my dealings with the Benefit Agency in it's various guises.

 

Oh hey, I'm a former ESA processor. I like to think I'm at least a bit intelligent, but more to the point, I'd prefer that we didn't insult DWP staff on here. Some of them show up and offer good advice in their own free time. Would you do that if you got called an idiot for your troubles?

[Laird_Scooby]

Anyone can claim to be Catholic just as anyone can claim to be Muslim- but unless you follow the actual teachings you are just branding yourself. According to old teaching it's disrespectful to use the Lord or his Sons name in vain, many devout Christians/Catholics can get quite upset if those around do.

 

 

AAAAAaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! NNNnnnnnnnooooooo!!!!!!!

 

PLEASE, not religion! We'll end up with a civil war on our hands!

[RaeUK]

AAAAAaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! NNNnnnnnnnooooooo!!!!!!!

 

PLEASE, not religion! We'll end up with a civil war on our hands!

Lol. claire is a top notch first class WUMmeister.

[claire1981]

Oh hey, I'm a former ESA processor. I like to think I'm at least a bit intelligent, but more to the point, I'd prefer if we didn't insult DWP staff on here. Some of them show up and offer good advice in their own free time. Would you do that if you got called an idiot for your troubles?

 

I don't believe they did call you an idiot!

 

And to be honest the impression I also get is that many DWP staff have middle to low IQ, though in some cases maybe they are just so overworked they are driven to illness affecting their work! Having a low IQ is not a crime & those who have low IQ often have other gifts to make up for this. I was assessed as having high IQ (I know it doesn't seem possible), but as you can see I have much less skill when it comes to communicating in a way that doesn't get peoples backs up!

[Laird_Scooby]

Oh hey, I'm a former ESA processor. I like to think I'm at least a bit intelligent, but more to the point, I'd prefer that we didn't insult DWP staff on here. Some of them show up and offer good advice in their own free time. Would you do that if you got called an idiot for your troubles?

 

Interesting! Very interesting in fact!

 

If you'd care to read what i wrote, i said the people i had spoken to. Now this is obviously a handful of people within a whole organisation and generally the "frontline" staff that take phone calls.

Without invoking any kind of snobbery or suggesting that people who take phone calls aren't fit to do any other work, what i was intimating was that in my experience of the handful of people, there seemd to be a limit on the IQ. This obviously does not extend to those i've not encountered or the few who have displayed more than the average level of intelligence i've come to expect from the people that answer the phones.

Now let's face a fact here - if they were shall we say more gifted in the intellect department then they would presumably be doing a different job to what they are as the powers that be would not want intellectual talent wasted on taking phone calls along the lines of "Where's my f***ing money?" from some oik who has neither the intellectual capacity, ambition or background to be able to do more than that.

Do you see what i'm saying now?

[Laird_Scooby]

Lol. claire is a top notch first class WUMmeister.

 

 

I gathered that the other day!

[RaeUK]

In nearly five years of dealing with the DWP, I'm yet to come across one that isn't polite, intelligent and very helpful*. Guess I'm just lucky!

*touches wood.

[Laird_Scooby]

I don't believe they did call you an idiot!

 

And to be honest the impression I also get is that many DWP staff have middle to low IQ, though in some cases maybe they are just so overworked they are driven to illness affecting their work! Having a low IQ is not a crime & those who have low IQ often have other gifts to make up for this. I was assessed as having high IQ (I know it doesn't seem possible), but as you can see I have much less skill when it comes to communicating in a way that doesn't get peoples backs up!

 

I know exactly how you feel! Friend request sent by the way!

[mr_mastiff]

Any chance of getting back to the original point made in this thread.

[claire1981]

Lol. claire is a top notch first class WUMmeister.

 

That's funny, because I seriously thought that was your job!

[Laird_Scooby]

In nearly five years of dealing with the DWP, I'm yet to come across one that isn't polite, intelligent and very helpful*. Guess I'm just lucky!

*touches wood.

 

Having moved into a different area to be able to live in a bungalow instead of a house, i encountered about 3 different Jobcentre+ offices and their staff in a very short space of time.

I can honestly say that most staff were polite, helpful and reasonably intelligent for the positions in which they were employed. However, i did encounter some that were unintentionally rude and their intellect wasn't comensurate with their position but unintentional rudeness is forgiveable as it means they could easily improve that if they maybe had more time and a less heavy workload.

On the other side of the coin, i've come across some who are just plain rude and seem to take some kind of Machiavellian joy in being rude and unhelpful. Happily this isn't the norm.

I couldn't quite work out why there were a few people who seemed above average IQ doing menial tasks though..........