Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support

[Orang Utan]

Just been told I NEED to take someone with me, or they will almost certainly consider me fit for work, as this would be an indication that I can cope with things

 

[BCBlues]

Just been told I NEED to take someone with me, or they will almost certainly consider me fit for work, as this would be an indication that I can cope with things

It makes a massive difference if you can take someone with you otherwise yes they will make it a big issue that you made it there alone, handled the assessment alone etc and they will also enjoy the fact that you don't have any back up when they blatantly lie in your assessment report.
Having said that it's not the end of the world if you don't have anyone to go with you. They have to prove that you can do this REPEATEDLY, RELIABLY, SAFELY and WITHOUT PAIN.
A one off instance is no proof that you can.
You may have reserved all your energy to get through this and made yourself very ill in the process and put yourself at risk.
I doubt very much that any Assessor would ever see it this way but it would be your arguing point later come the reconsideration and appeal.

Just one other thing Orang Utan I don't know enough about you and your mum's circumstances but you might qualify for Carers Allowance or a Carers Premium if you are providing at least 35 hours care for your mum and if she is in receipt of Attendance Allowance, DLA Care Higher Rate or PIP Daily Living Component (and that no one else is claiming carers allowance/premium for looking after her).

 

[equationgirl]

Just been told I NEED to take someone with me, or they will almost certainly consider me fit for work, as this would be an indication that I can cope with things

Broadly speaking, yes. It's helpful to have another person there to take notes, for example. However, they are likely to take you attending alone as 'evidence' that you are capable of getting from A to B without assistance and therefore you are capable of work. This thread has a lot of anecdotal evidence of such things. Also remember you are being assessed basically from when you set foot inside the place, and any general 'chit chat ' such as 'was the traffic bad today? ' is another tool used to elicit information from the candidate to be used as evidence they can work.

Always, always, always keep a copy of any forms sent back - they have a habit of going missing at the best of times. And always complete them from your worst day viewpoint.

 

[passenger]

Well thats me done for I could not get anyone to come with me at short notice
but I did battle for a home visit for ten months maybe I should of not have not read this thread this morning ....but they paid for my Taxi there and back

 

[Jackobi]

Good luck passenger

 

[BCBlues]

Well thats me done for I could not get anyone to come with me at short notice
but I did battle for a home visit for ten months maybe I should of not have not read this thread this morning ....but they paid for my Taxi there and back

Not necessarily. I also couldn't find a short notice replacement, had a lift there and back and just about managed walking into the centre and doing the assessment.
The WCA made a big deal of this and even at reconsideration it wasn't taken into account how ill it made me and how I ended up in bed for the next three days in pain.
At appeal stage though it became obvious that even though I managed this as a one off very important appointment, I could not be expected to do this;
REPEATEDLY, RELIABLY, SAFELY and WITHOUT PAIN and was therefore placed in the support group.

Keep those words in mind when considering any activities they ask if you can carry out.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Just been told I NEED to take someone with me, or they will almost certainly consider me fit for work, as this would be an indication that I can cope with things

Yes take someone with you. For moral support or to help keep you calm if you are anxious.

 

[friendofdorothy]

REPEATEDLY, RELIABLY, SAFELY and WITHOUT PAIN

We can't repeat these words enough, those are what the govt guidance say you should be able to do.
Beware atos /whoever will take any small thing you do once in the interview, like picking up a pencil or travelling there on your own, as evidence that you can do that thing REPEATEDLY, RELIABLY, SAFELY and WITHOUT PAIN.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Well thats me done for I could not get anyone to come with me at short notice
but I did battle for a home visit for ten months maybe I should of not have not read this thread this morning ....but they paid for my Taxi there and back

hope it went ok.

 

[passenger]

thanks friendofdorothy for your concern and help with all this
stressful stuff your a star

 

[Ergo Proxy]

Well my appeals been received by the Tribunal Service so need to write to the DWP to get ESA back into payment enclosing a copy of the Tribunal Acceptance + 2 fit notes. That plus the SDP backdated 4 months mean I need to do some math later!

I decided to ask them to look for points on activities;
12 (c)
13 (c)
15 (b)
16 (a)
17 (c)

and consider support group either via 16 (a) or special rules due to my increased risk of distress caused by appointments (even telephone ones) and also the increase in my usage of Diazipam which would be associated with having to participate. Chucked in 2 GP letters from 2014, my last psychiatrist report from 2013 and also my last appeal sub (welf written) from 2012. Added in a cheeky last line about how they had confused not washing with face cloth use and eating a banana and grapefruit for breakfast as cooking - hinting that there were other subtle but quite drastic in meaning changes just to cast doubt on the ESA85.

To the person obsessed by their recording (I have a covert one of the assessment as a memory aid) all you have to do cast a modicum of doubt. The Tribunal panel know the score with assessment and reports, so you gently plant the seed and let nature take it's course! I have 2 welfare rights written Tribunal Submissions; neither even bother mentioning the ESA85 or any other evidence the DWP provided. They just say please look at these activities scored at.......

Also got a copy of my end of Dec psychiatric assessment off my GP which basically backs the 2013 psyc report and then goes over and above. So I need to write to them and hopefully the Tribunal panel will accept it as valid due to it being a continuance of earlier reports/letters.

As my 1st welf said that's a 'right touch' when reading my 1st ESA85 report. And I doubt he was born anywhere near the sound of the Bow Bells either! But it made me chuckle!

 

[iona]

Well thats me done for I could not get anyone to come with me at short notice
but I did battle for a home visit for ten months maybe I should of not have not read this thread this morning ....but they paid for my Taxi there and back

Not necessarily. I've never had someone else come with me and I've been put in the support group every time apart from the most recent one (and the report from that was full of enough lies that I'm pretty confident I would've been moved to support if I'd got round to appealing in time).

It's definitely better to bring someone with you if possible, but don't you or anyone else start stressing that you've automatically failed because you weren't able to arrange that for whatever reason.

 

[Pickman's model]

Just been told I NEED to take someone with me, or they will almost certainly consider me fit for work, as this would be an indication that I can cope with things

tbh they would probably take the fact that you know someone to be proof you can work

 

[equationgirl]

I'd never say (and don't believe I've ever said on this thread) that it would be an automatic fail if you went alone. It's more that you have another person there as a witness and notetaker Going alone just makes it (in their eyes, I stress) easier to day a claimant is fit for work. And nobody likes to make it easy for the assessor.

 

[Ergo Proxy]

iirc all you have to say is........

having somebody with me would make task X easier because........

you don''t actually have to have another person!

Just the need for another.

Although that is more an argument for DLA it still works under ESA. e.g.

Whilst I can go to the shop by myself... I can only go to one shop at a set time where I buy the same things out of habit. If I had somebody with me..... I might be able to go to more shops and they could help me buy different things and aid me in the use of a shopping list. etc

 

[Ergo Proxy]

Anybody want a job as a freelance Capita PIP assessor?

Capita - Contractor Disability Assessor - Belfast - £75 per report - UK - Northern Ireland - Belfast UK - Northern Ireland - Belfast NA

Job details

Contractor Disability Assessor - Belfast - £75 Per Report
Job overview

• Vacancy ID: 44204
• Work location UK - Northern Ireland - Belfast
• Office location: Belfast
• Position category: Medical and Healthcare
• Shift:
• Work pattern:
• Business unit: DWP PIP
• Employment type: Permanent, Full Time
• Education required: Not specified
• Vacancy closing date: Jan 30 2017

Vacancy description


Contract Disability Assessor – Registered Nurse, OT, Paramedic, Physiotherapist – Permanent Jobs

£75 per report (Potential earnings = £95 per report)

Minimum 8 reports per week

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With the introduction of the new legislation, it’s a great time to join us and our expanding team. Your rewarding and essential role entails clinically assessing individuals who present a variety of disabilities and compiling impartial reports, which accurately detail your findings.

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This information will then be elaborated upon in a comprehensive and structured report including recommendations as to when the customer’s circumstances should be reviewed.

About you:

• You will be a fully qualified Healthcare Professional (Nurse, OT, Paramedic or Physiotherapist)
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Benefits:

• Training and development
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[existentialist]

Anybody want a job as a freelance Capita PIP assessor?

Capita - Contractor Disability Assessor - Belfast - £75 per report - UK - Northern Ireland - Belfast UK - Northern Ireland - Belfast NA

I know a couple of people who've worked for Capita, albeit in a different setting, and nothing they say there about their working environment bears any relation to the reality.

 

[StoneRoad]

My, albeit limited, experience with c(r)apita has been poor in the extreme. But, then, I've not heard anyone come up much positive about them.

 

[Orang Utan]

My sister has agreed to accompany me, which is a relief as she was the only one who I could have asked.
Will find it difficult not to mention the caring for mum thing as this is the main reason I have not been looking for work and the main reason I've not the mental energy to even think about finding it. Going on JSA will take up so much time that I won't be able to prepare as many meals for my mum or visit her as often as I do at the moment. My other main source of anxiety, aside from my mum's health situation, is the worry that I'll have to go on JSA and go through all that bureaucracy again. When I'm under stress, I freeze and feel incapable of doing anything. When my stress was at its worse last year, I was working, but all I could do is sit there, staring blankly at my screen. Gonna have to ramp up those feelings, just so I feel sufficiently stressed enough to convince them of my incapacity. Feels dishonest but I've been told you really need to exaggerate everything to not get sanctioned.

 

[iona]

Orang Utan it's not dishonest. They need to know how you are on your very worst days.

They're devious, lying cunts anyway so even if you did exaggerate slightly, that's just evening the playing field imo. Not the same as actually lying.

 

[equationgirl]

It's not dishonest. Remember they are looking for the slightest reason not to award the points you should get. How is telling them about your worst days exaggeration? These assessors, however outwardly friendly, are not your friend and for the most part should not be trusted.

If the system could be relied upon to be fair, this thread would not exist.

 

[Orang Utan]

I guess, but I also suspect that my reasons for not being able to seek work at the moment, while perfectly good reasons for anyone reasonable, and certainly good enough reasons for my GP to sign me off, will not be good enough reasons for CHDA/HAAS/Maximus or whatever cloak they have on today.

 

[Pickman's model]

I guess, but I also suspect that my reasons for not being able to seek work at the moment, while perfectly good reasons for anyone reasonable, and certainly good enough reasons for my GP to sign me off, will not be good enough reasons for CHDA/HAAS/Maximus or whatever cloak they have on today.

you must convince yourself you are at death's door as if they scent an iota of health about you, you will be sent to the work camps.

 

[Jackobi]

Going on JSA will take up so much time that I won't be able to prepare as many meals for my mum or visit her as often as I do at the moment.

It might have been mentioned to you before, but you can have an extended period of sickness whilst claiming JSA for up to 13 weeks covered by a fit note. Also, if your mother receives qualifying rates of DLA, PIP or Attendance Allowance, you can claim carer's allowance for looking after her.

Benefits for people who are sick or disabled - Citizens Advice

 

[Orang Utan]

Cheers, I can't claim Carer's Allowance, because she doesn't live with me, but in a nursing home. She won't eat a lot of the shitty food, so we cook for her. And the only stimulation she gets at the moment is people reading to her. I do most of this as I have more time. She can no longer read, operate a radio, tv, tablet, phone or computer, so it's down to us to keep her occupied. Otherwise she just lies in her bed feeling miserable and frightened.
I cannot tell the Man any of this as this is apparently irrelevant to my capacity to find work.
I didn't know about the JSA fit note clearance, so will look into that, thanks. That would give me a bit of grace, until, hopefully, my mum gets well enough for her to feel happy with less frequent visits.
I am thinking about looking for part time work, so I can attend to both needs as it were. This may be the answer, though this would mean continuing to live with my dad at age 43, and leaving my joke of a career on ice for even longer.

 

[yardbird]

Orang Utan I'm safe from all their shit now, but that's because I tailored everything for me and not for them. You helped me through it all and I chose the winning path. It's like a fucking game to these people so play it back.
You know - and we do as well - that you have been doing good things. Leaving London to help your mum because of the way she was/is and the bastards don't understand that at all.
Your health is fucked and anything that you say or do must convey that.
You won't be lying or cheating but you must play the game so that you get the right result.
It's poker.
No lies involved,but every day is your worst and this must be conveyed.
I reached retirement age at just the right time or it may have been that I caused physical harm to an assessor.
I haven't read all this but know that you are deserving, so just batter the shit out of an uncaring system.
My thoughts are with you.

^^ does all this make sense ? Fuck knows.

 

[equationgirl]

Makes sense to me yardbird - hope you are doing ok x

 

[BCBlues]

Brilliant post yardbird absolutely bang on

 

[Orang Utan]

thanks again all

my meeting is tomorrow and i know they're going to declare me fit for work - i did the ESA50 form online and I score 0 points and need 15. Hardly worth bothering to go to it really.

 

[friendofdorothy]

thanks again all

my meeting is tomorrow and i know they're going to declare me fit for work - i did the ESA50 form online and I score 0 points and need 15. Hardly worth bothering to go to it really.

Is this an official form on line or is it a random thing, I wonder how correct it is. Have you got a link
do you think your condition = 15pts? If you do, are you phrasing your answers right?
remember when answering any question, before you answer 'yes' ask yourself can you do that thing reliably, repeatedly and without pain (hope I have I got that phrase right) then the answer is really 'no'. eg can you walk 100m pershaps you can sometimes, but only with help, or it leaves you in pain or mental health conditions prevent you going out walking at all - then I'm not the answer is 'yes'.

You may as well go tomorrow whatever - what more could you lose and surely it can't do any harm.
Best wishes Orang Utan