Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support

[equationgirl]

I was lucky having such a understanding JCP client advisor who was embarrassed having to call me in for interviews, particularly as I had to use the job centres staff toilets to change my bloody dressings.

 

[kittyP]

I was lucky having such a understanding JCP client advisor who was embarrassed having to call me in for interviews, particularly as I had to use the job centres staff toilets to change my bloody dressings.

Goodness me.
Glad you have won but it never ends dose it?

 

[melb]

Ok, after all your wonderful help a very odd thing has happened. I recieved my esa payment as usual on monday, and today, tuesday ive recieved another payment from esa jwp into my bank. a letter has also turned up saying: your claim for employment and support allowance, we have paid x amount into your account.
Does this mean i actually passed my medical? i cant see any other reason for them payin me extra money????

 

[Frances Lengel]

Ok, after all your wonderful help a very odd thing has happened. I recieved my esa payment as usual on monday, and today, tuesday ive recieved another payment from esa jwp into my bank. a letter has also turned up saying: your claim for employment and support allowance, we have paid x amount into your account.
Does this mean i actually passed my medical? i cant see any other reason for them payin me extra money????

I think so, coz I can't see any other reason for them paying you extra either - But I'm not an expert and I don't know the particulars of your case. The best thing, if you're in a position to, would be to go to the jobcentre and use one of their benefit enquiry phones to ask them what's going on.

The letter you got, did it not say anything along the lines of "Your claim for employment support allowance has been allowed, your claim will next be reviewed on suchadate"?

 

[melb]

the letter didnt mention anything apart from my claim for employment and support alowance and then payment details. very odd lol. ill try and fone them later x thanks for ur help

 

[melb]

Good news was told on the fone today that i passed my atos medical and am being placed in teh WRAG. i would just like to thank everyone on this forum who has guided, supported and shown me encouragement in what i found to be a severely stressful time. keep up the good work

 

[equationgirl]

Good news was told on the fone today that i passed my atos medical and am being placed in teh WRAG. i would just like to thank everyone on this forum who has guided, supported and shown me encouragement in what i found to be a severely stressful time. keep up the good work

Hurrah!! Well done for getting through this process

And thank you for the thank you!

 

[equationgirl]

I'm appalled at this - Glasgow GPs have recommended that other GPs do not write letters of support for those going through the benefits system, saying it's too much avoidable additional work. How much are we talking about? 1-2 letters a day. Not an hour, a day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22406739

Dr John Ip, secretary of the Glasgow local [BMA] medical committee and a GP in Paisley, said he used to be asked to write one or two such letters a week for patients, but over the last year this had increased to one or two a day. The committee has advised GPs not to respond to these sort of requests.It said: "We are not in a position to administer nor to police the benefits system.
"GPs are not resourced to provide this service. Time taken up with paperwork is time taken away from direct patient care.

Writing letters supporting patients through the benefits system IS part of patient care.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I'm appalled at this - Glasgow GPs have recommended that other GPs do not write letters of support for those going through the benefits system, saying it's too much avoidable additional work. How much are we talking about? 1-2 letters a day. Not an hour, a day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22406739



Writing letters supporting patients through the benefits system IS part of patient care.

Maybe making them even more ill so they visit GP more often is their aim?

 

[toggle]

I'm appalled at this - Glasgow GPs have recommended that other GPs do not write letters of support for those going through the benefits system, saying it's too much avoidable additional work. How much are we talking about? 1-2 letters a day. Not an hour, a day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22406739



Writing letters supporting patients through the benefits system IS part of patient care.

bakunin's doctor called up at suppertime to let us know he had written a letter for him, that not onloy got atos to accept his request for a recorded home assessment, but also made them completely fail to schedule that assessment.

for every doctor calling for this kind of crap there are doctors who do quietly put in the work to support their patients.

 

[equationgirl]

Maybe making them even more ill so they visit GP more often is their aim?

You'd think they'd be looking to minimise the effects of stress on long-term health conditions, but I guess that's too much to ask.

 

[toggle]

and in a way, this doctor is right, there are too many parts of the benefit system that demand medical staff fill in forms and produce letters, that can then be ignored.

 

[equationgirl]

and in a way, this doctor is right, there are too many parts of the benefit system that demand medical staff fill in forms and produce letters, that can then be ignored.

But then, if they don't fill them in, it's not the medical staff that are affected.

 

[toggle]

But then, if they don't fill them in, it's not the medical staff that are affected.

i know.

they are being put into a position they shouldn't be in, but refusing to cooperate isn't going to help anyone

 

[ViolentPanda]

I'm appalled at this - Glasgow GPs have recommended that other GPs do not write letters of support for those going through the benefits system, saying it's too much avoidable additional work. How much are we talking about? 1-2 letters a day. Not an hour, a day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22406739



Writing letters supporting patients through the benefits system IS part of patient care.

Actually, having had this conversation with GPs at my surgery, I can understand why they're cutting up about it. Apparently each letter takes 30-60 minutes to rough, including checking your medical records (longer if they have to check back further than 8 years, because those records will need to be recalled from storage) and not including the initial consultation where you asked for the letter. Then there's the cost of having it typed up.
GPs don't get paid by the DWP for producing letters in support of their patients for benefits applications and renewals (they only get a minor fee if the DWP refers back to them for an opinion, and even then it's basically only pays administrative costs), so they've got three options - find some way to continue providing a time-intensive service free; charge for it (about £15 for a single-page letter, up to about £55 for a 3-pager) or don't do it at all. Obviously, some of them will carry on as they are now, but as I said, I can see why the BMA are making such a recommendation.
So, even 1 letter a day, that's 5 hours+ a week, and frankly, if your surgery has as many people who need dr's letters for this or that as mine has, you'd probably need to have a doctor working solely on doing letters and nowt else.

 

[wtfftw]

I'm rang up today and it turns out that letter I got in early April was actually a decision letter. So I'm in wrag except they can't coerce me as I'm only on NI credits. And I'll be reassessed in a year.

It would be helpful if the letter had said any of that instead of pages of wittering about my contributions running out (months previously).

 

[Frances Lengel]

Mine's coming up to eight weeks since the tribunal found in my favour - I belled them today to make sure my claim hasn't been filed in the bin or somesuch. Apparently there's a backlog so it could take even longer than eight weeks to sort, but they can't say how much longer. Jesus.

 

[Greebo]

I'm rang up today and it turns out that letter I got in early April was actually a decision letter. So I'm in wrag except they can't coerce me as I'm only on NI credits. And I'll be reassessed in a year.<snip>

FFS!

 

[WouldBe]

ESA form finally completed and should be going in the post this afternoon.

Only 1 week late.

Had a session at the ME clinic last Thursday. They told me it would be the last until I'd had another neurological appointment and the evoked potential tests done. Had a letter from my GP this morning to discuss the results of his chat with the neurologist. Looks like I won't be getting another consultation or tests done. Then they have the cheek to ask me if it's me that wants to stay in the sick role.

 

[Frances Lengel]

ESA form finally completed and should be going in the post this afternoon.

Only 1 week late.

Had a session at the ME clinic last Thursday. They told me it would be the last until I'd had another neurological appointment and the evoked potential tests done. Had a letter from my GP this morning to discuss the results of his chat with the neurologist. Looks like I won't be getting another consultation or tests done. Then they have the cheek to ask me if it's me that wants to stay in the sick role.

What? Ffs.

 

[equationgirl]

ESA form finally completed and should be going in the post this afternoon.

Only 1 week late.

Had a session at the ME clinic last Thursday. They told me it would be the last until I'd had another neurological appointment and the evoked potential tests done. Had a letter from my GP this morning to discuss the results of his chat with the neurologist. Looks like I won't be getting another consultation or tests done. Then they have the cheek to ask me if it's me that wants to stay in the sick role.

That's not right, it's not like you've chosen this.

These ignorant sods make me very angry

 

[ViolentPanda]

What? Ffs.

One of the assumptions made by psychiatry about people with ME is that their illness is the physical manifestation of a subconscious mental desire to reap the benefits of being ill (familial concern, social security etc) by playing the "sick role" (a hoary old discredited sociological concept from between the wars). Of course, as with much speculative psychiatry, the proofs produced are generally from very small-scale sample groups that are neither randomised or controlled, so are worth about as much as a pint of dogsick.

 

[Frances Lengel]

One of the assumptions made by psychiatry about people with ME is that their illness is the physical manifestation of a subconscious mental desire to reap the benefits of being ill (familial concern, social security etc) by playing the "sick role" (a hoary old discredited sociological concept from between the wars). Of course, as with much speculative psychiatry, the proofs produced are generally from very small-scale sample groups that are neither randomised or controlled, so are worth about as much as a pint of dogsick.

I remember that's what that guy ZippyRN was on about - Didn't think it had any actual credibility though.

 

[equationgirl]

I remember that's what that guy ZippyRN was on about - Didn't think it had any actual credibility though.

Ah yes, was just going to post the same thing.

I'm really not following you around the boards tonight, honest!

 

[ViolentPanda]

I remember that's what that guy ZippyRN was on about - Didn't think it had any actual credibility though.

As a purely sociological concept, applied to examining the possibility of people playing such a role, it's fine, but it was never established as particularly accurate, hence it went into the wilderness that is failed sociological theory.
So, to have it resurrected by self-serving psychiatrists as a post hoc piece of reasoning as to why people with ME might be somatising their illness is a bit insulting to anyone who knows the history of that particular concept. I even wrote to the main author of the first paper to advance the reasoning, and told him that, but he didn't reply to me. Psychiatrists hate being lectured by psychologists, especially if they're not clinical psychologists.

 

[Frances Lengel]

As a purely sociological concept, applied to examining the possibility of people playing such a role, it's fine, but it was never established as particularly accurate, hence it went into the wilderness that is failed sociological theory.
So, to have it resurrected by self-serving psychiatrists as a post hoc piece of reasoning as to why people with ME might be somatising their illness is a bit insulting to anyone who knows the history of that particular concept. I even wrote to the main author of the first paper to advance the reasoning, and told him that, but he didn't reply to me. Psychiatrists hate being lectured by psychologists, especially if they're not clinical psychologists.

Are you a pschyologist, chief, or just an enthusiastic amateur? I'm not having a go, I'm asking you btw.

 

[J Ed]

Some BBC coverage at last
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22546036

​

 

[J Ed]

Government and ATOS claims clearly contradicted by this

 

[existentialist]

One of the assumptions made by psychiatry about people with ME is that their illness is the physical manifestation of a subconscious mental desire to reap the benefits of being ill (familial concern, social security etc) by playing the "sick role" (a hoary old discredited sociological concept from between the wars). Of course, as with much speculative psychiatry, the proofs produced are generally from very small-scale sample groups that are neither randomised or controlled, so are worth about as much as a pint of dogsick.

And this pisses me off because it plays into the whole idea of somatic illness (which I am sure ME is, at least partially) as being some kind of choice.

 

[Greebo]

And this pisses me off because it plays into the whole idea of somatic illness (which I am sure ME is, at least partially) as being some kind of choice.

Existentialist, I'm afraid that you and I are going to have to disagree on that one as I know several people with even more severe M.E. than VP has, all of whom had depression and somatisation ruled out in the first few years of their illness.

I'll concede that there's an overlap between lethargy/fatigue and depression, but most people whose M.E. began after a series of infections (or one serious infection) or an exposure to a neurotoxin (eg organophosphates or mercury in a lab accident) have a clean bill of mental health.