Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support
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Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
You can delegate! You're clearly management grade! No benefit for you!
No delegation involved if person (carer) is aware that patient/claimant would be unable to organise it themselves
You what?!
Organise as in getting it out of a file or out of a bunch of papers?
FFS
All this type of thing is exactly what gets overturned at tribunal for being irrelevant. It's fucking ridiculous.
WouldBe
Dislicksick
Sorry to hear that
Hopefully seeing a clinic will count as specialist treatment for me
but as I think I've got MS the couse will hopefully have no detrimental effects, although if they get me on graded exercise I might have a few neurological funny turns. 
Does anyone here know who Pingu's mate could be helped by? Thanks in advance.
Thread here.
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/mate-dropped-right-in-it-atos-appeal.313727/
Thread here.
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/mate-dropped-right-in-it-atos-appeal.313727/
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Have posted some suggestions, hope one will work
Thanks.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Just sealed the envelope on my ESA50 about to take it down the post office, but there's one thing (ha! as if) worrying me, that I wonder if anyone has a view on. I enclosed a letter asking for any medical I have to be recorded, as per the advice on Benefits & Work, but if asking for a recording means I have to wait longer for a medical, I'm worried that will take me beyond the date when benefits are being stopped for people in the appeal process (if I have to appeal). Should I scrap asking for a recording, and will I be able to ask them to ignore that request if I decide to do that? Going to send it anyway now, and worry about this later, but any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
I'm fairly sure that as long as you keep sending sicknotes in you can claim ESA for as long as it takes them to get you in for your medical. Don't take that as gospel, but I think it's the case.
Frumious B.
Well-Known Member
I'm a bit behind the latest developments, but are they really stopping benefits for those who appeal? I was hoping that would idea would be defeated.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
NO, don't scrap asking for a recording. If anything, they're likely to make some excuse for why it can't be recorded. The more people that ask for a recording, the better, even if it does slow the system down. They've tried their best to get out of recordings to avoid people having any proof of what goes on
geminisnake
a complex mass of conflicting ideas
I got one of those the other day too. Yet another letter basically saying SFA
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Fraid it looks like it, from October 28, if you want to challenge a fitness for work decision, ESA stops while 'mandatory reconsideration' happens (which has no time limit), before you can put in an appeal http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/disagree-with-an-atos-decision-then-starve-say-dwp/ - I think once you are appealing then you can get assessment rate again.I'm a bit behind the latest developments, but are they really stopping benefits for those who appeal? I was hoping that would idea would be defeated.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Yes I know you're right that more people asking for recordings means they can be held more accountable, and yes, I don't expect it to go without a hitch either.
Jackobi
swallows anything
I'm a bit behind the latest developments, but are they really stopping benefits for those who appeal? I was hoping that would idea would be defeated.
The changes introduce a mandatory reconsideration before appeal, whereas currently ESA claimants can appeal immediately. This means that where a decision is made to disallow ESA, a claimant will not receive any payments or be able to appeal until the reconsideration process is finished.
If a claimant disagrees with the reconsideration decision, they can then appeal, and will receive the ESA appeal rate. So, ESA claimants will still receive the appeal rate during an appeal, but not during mandatory reconsideration.
Jackobi
swallows anything
Just to confirm panpete, I found this recently:
"Q: Will the changes apply to appellants who started their appeal before the changes were introduced, but whose appeals are still ongoing?
If an appellant lodged their appeal before the date when the appeals changes were introduced for their benefit (8 April 2013 for Personal Independence Payment, 29 April 2013 for Universal Credit, and 28 October 2013 for all other DWP-administered benefits), then the changes will not apply to them."
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/appeals-process-changes-q-and-a.pdf [PDF file]
Frumious B.
Well-Known Member
How long does the mandatory reconsideration last? And does your lost benefit get repaid to you if your appeal is successful? And what are you supposed to live on during mandatory reconsideration?
Christ. I didn't know about that. Thanks for posting it.
Jackobi
swallows anything
There is no defined time limit for mandatory consideration of revision, it is dependent upon DWP time scale, which is usually snail paced. And that's the kick in the bollocks, it's either claim hardship payments, JSA or as is becoming prevalent in the UK, a food bank. If you can survive long enough to reach appeal stage, and win, payments are usually backdated to the claim date.
Straight from the horse's arse:
Time limits for reconsideration
A number of respondents suggested that a time limit should be introduced for the
completion of the reconsideration of decisions. It is important to the Government that each stage of the decision making and appeal process is carried out within reasonable timescales and does not result in unnecessary delays for claimants.
Some cases are considerably more complex than others and will require more time,to gather additional evidence, whereas other cases can be reconsidered very quickly. Because of this the Government does not accept that a statutory target would be appropriate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...atory-consideration-consultation-response.pdf [PDF file]
According to the ESA page on the DWP website, the address of which I have conveniently lost, ESA is not even an out of work benefit. It offers either financial support if you can't work, or personalised help so that you can work if youare able to.
EDIT: here is the link. Seems to me this is a rather big deal because this isn't how the government are selling ESA, certainly not to the likes of Dr Phil Peverley who joked about putting a picture of Stephen Hawking up in his surgery to dissuade the "unworking well", as he put it, with the slogan "this bloke's not on the sick".
EDIT: here is the link. Seems to me this is a rather big deal because this isn't how the government are selling ESA, certainly not to the likes of Dr Phil Peverley who joked about putting a picture of Stephen Hawking up in his surgery to dissuade the "unworking well", as he put it, with the slogan "this bloke's not on the sick".
True, but in my case it means they accept the reasons I have given for my 9 month delay in appealing,some of that being down to MH issues, as I am also in the process of filling in the ESA50 for the 12 month review, its useful to be reminded how my disability is almost pre programmed to fuck up this process. Filling it in causes way to much introspection, really emotional, I want my life backI got one of those the other day too. Yet another letter basically saying SFA
rather than having to describe the negative aspects of it . but I will because the fuckers aren't going to beat me, well not yet.I have a feeling that paragraph is unintelligible to anyone not living in my head, but have been filling in "tell us how your illness of disability affects your life" so how does pain affect my life...
Frumious B.
Well-Known Member
Makes perfect sense to me, crystal clear. 
It makes sense to me, Celt.
If I had my way, anyone who was mentally or physically bad enough to be unable to work fulltime would get the highest rate of ESA and or DLA straight away for 2 years (or as long as they needed it, whichever was shorter), no questions asked except from their GP and/or consultants and/or social worker. This sounds expensive, but it'd save a lot of money by reducing paperwork, and prevent so many medicals and appeals being needed. It would also enable people to concentrate on looking after themselves and recovering if possible, or at least stabilising and getting any treatment or rehabilitation early.
Was the case for me.
GP's can't write a sicknote with a duration beyond 3 months. Whether or not you can convince your GP to keep writing them is another matter.
I'm not entirely sure what happens if you're already in the appeal process/en route to tribunal when the October cut off comes in - remember the government hasn't set a time limit for the duration of your second decision, so you could be in limbo for months.
WouldBe
Dislicksick
DWP won't accept sicknotes of longer than 3 months for the first 6 months of a new ESA claim after that the sicknotes can be for longer. My GP writes sicknotes of 6 months for me.
Bizarre.
Perhaps that's because 3 months is supposed to be the limit for the pre assessment period: ie you are meant to see ATOS by then.
As is obvious to everyone involved in this, the whole process is almost Lovecraftian in its bizarreness.
Perhaps that's because 3 months is supposed to be the limit for the pre assessment period: ie you are meant to see ATOS by then.
As is obvious to everyone involved in this, the whole process is almost Lovecraftian in its bizarreness.
True, but in my case it means they accept the reasons I have given for my 9 month delay in appealing,some of that being down to MH issues, as I am also in the process of filling in the ESA50 for the 12 month review, its useful to be reminded how my disability is almost pre programmed to fuck up this process. Filling it in causes way to much introspection, really emotional, I want my life back
I have a feeling that paragraph is unintelligible to anyone not living in my head, but have been filling in "tell us how your illness of disability affects your life" so how does pain affect my life...
Celt pain is a physical symptom which also has an impact on your mental function:
It can make it difficult to concentrate or think straight;
It can make you feel tired;
It can trigger depression (or make it worse);
It can exacerbate autoimmune conditions;
It can make you feel dizzy and/or sick;
It can kill your appetite and/or make you crave certain types of food - you might need prompting to eat;
It can mean that you have to remember to eat at certain times, if your painkiller is dangerous on an empty stomach;
It can mean that you have to carry food and drink (as well as painkillers) with you if you might be out for more than 2 hours.
It can make you grouchy or less able to behave in a socially acceptable way;
It can make you emotionally unstable;
It can mean that you have to have afternoon appointments, because your painkillers haven't had enough time to work before about 11.30am;
It can interrupt your sleep, leaving you less able to function the following day;
It can raise blood pressure;
It can raise cortisol levels in the blood;
It can make even minor wounds heal more slowly;
It can mean that even in a relationship, having sex at all before the painkiller has time to work is just not possible.
Contrary to popular belief, taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories does not always leave you pain free, merely slightly more able to function than when you can't or don't take them.
Then there are the side effects of the painkillers and any help you need because of that.
Bearing all those in mind, pick which ones apply to you.
Frumious B.
Well-Known Member
(((Celt)))
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