ESA Medical

A question about : ESA Medical

My OH received his second ESA50 form a couple of weeks ago. We completed it almost immediately and sent it straight back - his health has actually deteriorated since his original medical assessment six months ago.

I thought they just might bypass the ATOS medical this time and leave him for a few more months, but no, the appointment came today for two weeks time.

I did actually telephone DWP today and request a copy of his last medical report, I know that I should have done this months ago, but it just sort of slipped

This ongoing process of dealing with that massive form and then the stress of attending the medical assessment is awful.

Is it always the case that you get called for a medical assessment every time?

As things have tightened up even more, I can see we will end up having to appeal this time and face a tribunal

Best answers:

• Dont forget though, send the evidence to DWP directly as ATOS tell you not to include it with the ESA50.
• Don't know if it helps but the following is a distillation of my own experience and research on the ESA medical (sorry it's a bit long!):
  Remember what the Assessment for Employment Support Allowance is supposed to be for.
  The purpose is to assess your medical condition. It’s not to flirt with the medic or show how brave and resourceful you are in coping or convincing them or yourself that you are not ‘pathetic’ or anything else noble. It’s only about assessing your medical condition and its impact on your ability to work. So, leave your pride at the door to the building and pick it up again on your way out.
  Don’t use coping strategies to get through the Assessment.
  Don’t take extra pain killers or anything else to help you do the sitting, standing, walking, talking or any other part of the assessment and, if you have take something to be able to join in the assessment, SAY SO. If possible take only your standard medicines that are prescribed for you at the times and doses that the doctor has told you to.
  Don’t be afraid. Stand up for yourself.
  It is perfectly allowed to say no to anything requested so long as you explain the reason why. If you feel any requested activity will make you feel unwell, cause you pain, has a risk that you may fall over or gives you any other problem then SAY SO and SAY NO. You are also completely at liberty to say when you need to stand up, walk about, change position or even finish the assessment part way through so long as you explain why. None of these things are allowed to count against you.
  If you need anything that they do not offer, ask for it. If you need a chair with arms to help you sit down or stand up, SAY SO. Don’t just struggle on. If you feel unsure about laying on a couch to be examined because of fears about being able to get up without some sort of aid, or you are concerned about being touched or anything else SAY SO.
  You’ll have noticed lots of SAY SO appearing so far and no doubt they will later. It is important to remember you are allowed to say this and it is not allowed to count against you in any way. The only requirement is that you should have a reason for saying it and explain to the medic what that reason is. The medic is not allowed to bully you in any way into doing something you feel is a problem. Also, the medic can’t read your mind, so if you don’t tell them, they won’t know.
  What they see is what you get.
  Remember the medic will be observing how you move, act, speak and so on and will assume that this reflects how you normally are. So, if you’re having a particularly good day, SAY SO. Don’t put in lots of effort to dress up, stand up straight and so on. Be yourself and don’t put on airs and graces. Help the medic assess you fairly by honestly being yourself.
  The idea that they will observe everything really does mean everything. They will have measured exactly how many metres from the waiting area where you are to the room in which the assessment occurs and the assessment report will include how far you walked and how you appeared to cope with that distance.
  There is no such thing as polite conversation just to put you at ease, so it is fair to assume there is a reason behind any question you are asked. So think about your answers and don’t just make off hand polite answers.
  The medic will also find it significant if you managed to attend without the help of another person, if you drive there and things of this sort. So, if the attendance was not a problem to you that’s fine. If you have done these things with difficulty simply because you have no choice, for example there was no-one available to help you attend, SAY SO.
  Go with someone.
  If at all possible take someone with you to act as a witness. Ask them to take notes as the Assessment goes along and if you need to get the Health Care Professional to pause while the note taking catches up SAY SO and don’t go forward until your note taker says they are ready.
  It’s all about the normal situation.
  It is very important that what is being assessed is how you are normally, NOT what you can do and how you feel on your best days. So, always answer questions assuming they are about what you can normally achieve and can achieve as a regular event. It’s about what you can do reliably, repeatedly and the majority of the time. For example if walking 200 metres means you have to spend the next day in bed recovering, don’t claim you can walk 200 metres because you can’t.
  If you normally have to adopt strategies to cope and be able to do things, SAY SO. If you shop for yourself, but achieve this by going more often by car and only buying small amounts of goods because that’s all you can manage or if you have to have someone with you to cope with being outside or there is any other problem, SAY SO. If you clean your own house but only because there is no-one else to do it and you cope by doing it a bit at a time on different days, SAY SO. If you feed yourself but only because there’s is no-one else to do it and a significant part of feeding yourself consists of taking something out of the freezer and putting it in the microwave, SAY SO. If you can only go outside for a short amount of time before panic sets in SAY SO.
  Normal, normal, normal, always think about what you can normally do and if there are important differences in what you can do on a bad day, SAY SO. That also applies to things like slopes or crowds of people. If you can only do something on flat ground or only cope if a place is not crowded, then in fact you can’t do it if the ground is not normally flat or you would have to go to places that are normally crowded
  Be prepared.
  I have no idea if it is still a motto in the Scouting organisation, but it certainly applies to an Assessment.
  Make a complete list of everything that is a problem. Write it down. Take the list and a pen with you to the assessment and tick the items off once you feel you have fully explained them to the medic. Don’t leave the Assessment without completing your list.
  Do the same for all the problems and limitations that affect you. Make sure you have thought about what the problem is, how it affects you, how bad it is and how often it happens and don’t leave a topic unless you feel the medic has fully understood what you are telling them. It can help a lot if you write everything down for a week or two before the assessment which has been a problem, been forgotten, caused you pain or breathlessness, made you panic and so on. You might be surprised how often some things crop up.
  Think about time and distances before you go to the assessment. The difference between being able to walk 20 metres or 30 metres does matter so be sure you get it right and check you know how long it actually takes you to do things, even things like having a bath or shower because you’re likely to be asked and the answer will matter. If you’re not sure, measure things, time things and if need be get someone to help you.
  If you can’t measure and can’t get help, talk in terms of things that you do know. How many busses parked one in front of another, how many car lengths, how far you could walk along a football pitch (the edge of the penalty box, the half way line and so on) and don’t just guess a number of metres or pass an opinion on a number they suggest. Think about how many people you can cope with as perhaps the supermarket ten minutes before it closes or during a quiet afternoon or in the middle of Saturday morning. Stick to statements that you know to be true. The medic can do the sums.
  If you don’t know the answer to something, SAY SO and don’t guess even if the medic presses for an answer. Guesses will usually err on the side of overestimating you abilities so don’t do it. The answer ‘I don’t know’ is perfectly acceptable so long as it’s true and it is not allowed to count against you.
  If you are fond of technology and the internet or you know someone who is, follow the link to the3 direct.gov.uk site and go to /en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/esa/DG_172012
  Here you will find the Governments information for conducting these Assessments and this will help you prepare the information required and brief you on the questions that will be asked.
  You can also Google (or whatever your favourite search engine is) for ESA214 which is the detailed and sometimes slightly technical guide to the Assessment process.
  You can also Google for Employment Support Allowance. There are lots of help and advice services for benefit claimants that are well worth a read.
  Make absolutely sure they got the most important stuff.
  Those conditions that you understand to be the most serious or that you feel impact you the most are probably the most important to have fully recorded so ask in detail about each really important item on you list to check they have recorded it.
  Any condition that you understand threatens your life is very important so make sure that you ask about each one of them too and if they have recorded them as life threatening. If not, ask why not and get them to write down why not if you do not understand the answer so you can check it with your doctor.
  Get feedback.
  Ask them to tell you all the points in their assessment that are matters of fact. They may not yet have had time to consider your answers and form opinions and recommendations, but they will have had to record all the matters of fact and the answers you have given.
  Ask them to slow down if need be. You are not a medic and they may have to go a bit more slowly to give you time to take it all in. This is nothing to be embarrassed about, they may not know how to play cribbage!
  If you think anything is wrong with what they have recorded SAY SO. The medic should be perfectly happy to change anything if they have recorded it incorrectly.
  After the Assessment request a copy of the Assessment report from the Department of Work and Pensions immediately. You are entitled to this and it will allow you, your doctor and any other medically literate person to review what has been reported and object to anything that seems wrong as soon as possible.
  It’s not a race.
  It’s for them to assign enough time for each assessment and if your Assessment runs for longer than they expected that’s their problem, not yours. Don’t be rushed or hustled out of the room until you are sure they have captured all the information. If they insist on terminating the Assessment before you think they should SAY SO. Tell the medic, ask to see the most senior person present who works for the organisation doing the Assessment and tell them and write to the Department for Works and Pensions and tell them immediately without waiting for your copy of the Assessment report.
  It’s OK to be wrong.
  You may realise, or they may point out, that something you have written on a form is not the same as what is said and discussed in the Assessment. It is perfectly OK to say ‘I must have got that wrong on the form’ if that is the case. It is perfectly normal for people to make mistakes, misunderstand what is required, guess rather than measuring, be flustered and stressed by the need to fill in forms and so on. On forms, as with the Assessment, what you must do is to do your best to be accurate and honest in the answers you give. To err is human and we all do it sometimes. So long as it’s not a deliberate lie, then you have done nothing wrong and have no reason to feel embarrassed or change what you say. If you realise you got something wrong somewhere, SAY SO.
  It’s not a fight.
  The Assessment is not supposed to be a battle between you and the medic. It’s supposed to be an honest attempt by both of you to accurately record your medical issues and how they affect your ability to work. So, don’t go in looking for a fight and one would certainly hope the medic won’t either. For them they are simply doing their job. If you’re polite, friendly and honest it will make it easier all round.
  Don’t be overawed.
  If you go and look at the DWP information identified above you can find the DWP information for Health Care Professionals wishing to be approved to do this work. You will note the DWP statement that the training can involve just 3 days classroom training. This is a trivial amount of training in medical terms so the assessor is not significantly better trained than any other qualified Health Care Professional from a medical perspective although they probably know the forms etc rather better.
  The Atos Health Care Professional is there because of their prior medical training and qualification. They are hence subject to the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses or the General Medical Council for doctors. If you feel they fall short of the levels of competence or care required of those bodies, or if you think they are following ‘an agenda’ other than giving honest advice and medical opinion you have the option of complaining to their professional body requesting their conduct be reviewed. Simply working for Atos or any other organization does not exempt them from their responsibilities and they can be called to task for their behaviour. So, if you think the assessment is incorrect in some substantial way or the advice is biased or demonstrates incompetence in some way SAY SO to their professional body.
  Complain if you think it’s wrong. To everyone and anyone who you think can help you or who should be aware of, and doing something about, the situation. The DWP and Atos Healthcare are not in any way gods and are not beyond censure and being instructed to do their jobs properly. It is your right to complain to anyone from the Prime Minister downwards if you think there is an abuse of your rights.
  Don’t be afraid.
  What’s the worse they can do? Stop or restrict your benefit, which will already have happened most likely if you are complaining. What else? So long as you stick to verifiable facts and make clear you are expressing your opinion when it’s a matter of opinion I’d be interested to hear what anyone thinks they can do to you.
  Appeal.
  If you think the Assessment or the decision made about you EAS is wrong write immediately to the DWP. Ask that they firstly reconsider their decision and explain why. Rude words or abuse will do no good so there’s no point in using either. What is needed is an explanation, in as clear a set of statements as you can manage, of what you think is wrong and giving clear details of any errors in the Medical Assessment if you think that’s where the problem lies. Include any supporting evidence or documentation that you think may help. A recent medical certificate from your doctor (as in dated within the last few days), letters from your consultant or anything else you think may help the decision maker in reconsidering your case. Also, if you have gone from the Support Group to not being entitled to ESA that’s a big jump and it’s perfectly reasonable to ask if this can be correct. Again take a look at the internet facilities detailed above with help on this process.
  Second step is to include in you letter that you want this letter to be processed as an appeal if the reconsideration does not go in your favour. This will get you into the appeal process as early as possible, but make sure they do the reconsideration first. A reconsideration can be done internally in a few days or weeks, the appeal process will take some number of months.
  Although it’s already been said it’s important and worth repeating. Tell them exactly why you think the decision should be reconsidered. It’s not enough to just say you think you should be entitled to ESA. There needs to be clear, substantial and specific reasons for them to reconsider the decision. The fact that you disagree with their decision does not count on any of those three criteria.
  You may be entitled to help.
  Apart from the people you can complain to you may also be entitled to free legal aid to get some help in having the decision reconsidered or with an appeal if it goes that far. Legal Services on 0845 3454345 is the first point of contact to find out if you qualify for some help and advice on this issue and they will even call you back to save you having to spend all your credit on your mobile.
  Seek alternative funding.
  If you are not already in receipt of all the allowed benefits, apply for anything else that you may be entitled to in order to make up the shortfall in ESA. The worse they can do is say no, and you’d be no worse off. If they say yes and you win your appeal you may even end up better off.
  It’s not personal.
  Despite the way it feels, this is not personal. Many people feel there seems to be a general policy here of removing people from benefits without proper consideration of the facts and people’s rights, and without concern for the impact they have on people. So, don’t suppose this is about you personally because it’s not. It seems to be more about political expediency and corporate indifference.
  If you are forced into seeking work, don’t take the ‘no’ response to job applications personally either. Ask yourself would anyone in their right mind employ me. If you really should be accepted as unfit for work at the current time, why would anyone be daft enough to employ you, would you want to work for someone that daft and would even you employ yourself? The ‘no’ only confirms the fact that you are unfit for work and says nothing whatsoever about your value as a person. Every ‘no’ just confirms yet again how wrong Atos or the DWP or both were in their assessment.
  Hope this helps a bit.
• Does anyone know the date on which the descriptors change?
  I have to go to the medical with my OH because he cannot speak. Seems though from looking at the new rules that as long as he can write or type to communicate then everything is fine - what a joke!
  It just makes you feel like giving up.
• Maybe they dont all know about special rules.
• Please remember that ATOS and the DWP need to know if conditions have got better or worse. You mention your husbands condition has got worse therefore a medical is necessary to check he is receiving the right help.