Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support

[tufty79]

im waiting on the letter, but he said very clearly not to worry, that my ESA would continue etc. and he would be informing them (DWP) to that effect. I have complete faith in his honesty

i really hope he was being straight with you.
*adds to reasons why we should all be requesting our assessments to be recorded*

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

i really hope he was being straight with you.
*adds to reasons why we should all be requesting our assessments to be recorded*

I remember when b/f's assessment for Freedom Pass came up. Woman seemed really nice and on seeing the state of his feet (this was when his feet had started changing colour with the vascular disease) even said it looked incredibly painful etc.

Did he get his Freedom Pass renewed? Did he fuck

 

[Greebo]

I remember when b/f's assessment for Freedom Pass came up. Woman seemed really nice and on seeing the state of his feet (this was when his feet had started changing colour with the vascular disease) even said it looked incredibly painful etc.

Did he get his Freedom Pass renewed? Did he fuck

There's a local and very eminent GP on whom I wouldn't piss if he were on fire. The pack of lies which he wrote down during (and after) VP's DLA medical beggared belief.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

There's a local and very eminent GP on whom I wouldn't piss if he were on fire. The pack of lies which he wrote down during (and after) VP's DLA medical beggared belief.

That's the problem. New GPs new. His old one (although slightly incompetent when it came to his vascular disease) loved him and gave him almost anything he wanted (within reason).

 

[yardbird]

Thank god my ESA50 did the trick - I don't know how I could have coped with another assessment.
I was very well prepared re recording, witness and everything else that I could think of and it would have been at home.
None the less, the thought of it makes me shudder.

 

[Greebo]

That's the problem. New GPs new. His old one (although slightly incompetent when it came to his vascular disease) loved him and gave him almost anything he wanted (within reason).

This one wasn't VP's GP, it was a GP doing extra work as a BAMS doctor (aka Examining Medical Practitioner).

 

[Psychonaut]

That's reassuring (assuming he is being honest though).

How long did interview take and what kind of questions did they ask you that you weren't expecting?

id have to ask my note-taker for the time, it didnt seem like very long time & dont i think there were any suprise questions - id allready read a list of MH questions from benefitsandwork.co.uk and i suppose we got through about 40%-60% of them. tidying, cooking, shopping, television are the ones i remember. All my answers were quite truthfully 'odd' (for instance i dont possess a television) so i wasnt simply yes and no-ing my way through it. My mother did interject a few times for instance to say that if i hadnt had stayed at her house the previous night and then been accompanied theres no way i would have gotten to the centre at all.

I did a pretty good job on the ESA50, giving lots of supporting examples that had happened recently. and visited a local advocacy centre where they suggested a few amendments for clarity and to ensure there was nothing there that could backfire at a tribunal. The advocacy worker was confident that i would get some points initially, but should expect to appeal. Ive heard they win 90% of appeals so its very importnat that everyone should investigate whether theres a dedicated disabled rights type of group in their area.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

This one wasn't VP's GP, it was a GP doing extra work as a BAMS doctor (aka Examining Medical Practitioner).

Oh!

Shit, have just noticed time.

 

[Psychonaut]

Your faith is touching. I hope it won't turn out to be misplaced.

Even so, if it gets my mother (note-taker) to stop voting tory then it wont have been a total loss

 

[Greebo]

Oh!

Shit, have just noticed time.

See you later.

 

[tufty79]

Thank god my ESA50 did the trick - I don't know how I could have coped with another assessment.
I was very well prepared re recording, witness and everything else that I could think of and it would have been at home.
None the less, the thought of it makes me shudder.

i wasn't - all i managed to do wrt preparation was convince myself that i'd have to appeal it didn't really help either that the person who originally said they'd come with me forgot about it. Twice. When i rang atos to explain i wasn't attending without someone else, they logged my reason as 'transport difficulties'... Luckily i managed to find someone to come with me at very short notice for the rearranged appointment. Oh, i got the telly question too, and don't have one.

 

[Libertad]

Here is a copy of LIMA(version 2) Technical Manual:

http://issuu.com/atosvictims/docs/lima-v2-technical-manual

Hope this can be of some help.

 

[yardbird]

Here is a copy of LIMA(version 2) Technical Manual:

http://issuu.com/atosvictims/docs/lima-v2-technical-manual

Hope this can be of some help.

Thanks Libertad - shall read with interest

 

[laptop]

Is the manual downloadable somehow?

(Anticipating it possibly disappearing from issuu.com - and it's late...)

 

[yardbird]

Thanks Libertad - shall read with interest

I get a bit tired if I have to concentrate too long so I'll take a break, but I love this:

Tip - Observed Behavior is Important.
LIMA is programmed to give more weight to observed behavior than to either the history or the examination.
(My italics)

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Is the manual downloadable somehow?

(Anticipating it possibly disappearing from issuu.com - and it's late...)

Yeah, the text is too small and every time I click on the magnifying glass, I lose it

 

[yardbird]

Yeah, the text is too small and every time I click on the magnifying glass, I lose it

I didn't click on it, just used the scrolling wheel and woosh.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I didn't click on it, just used the scrolling wheel and woosh.

Ah, it's alright, I've just been looking at it after expanding the screen

That's a bit worrying about the observed behaviour especially if you attend the assessment on a rare good day that you might have rather than an average or bad day

 

[WouldBe]

Here is a copy of LIMA(version 2) Technical Manual:

http://issuu.com/atosvictims/docs/lima-v2-technical-manual

Hope this can be of some help.

Interesting.

I didn't see in that any mention that the Lima software would halt an assessment if carried out by a non-GP in cases of neurological problems which I understood it did.

It also states that "Lima will require you to complete a mental state examination if the claimant has indicated a mental health problem on the IB50". My Hcp "couldn't be arsed" to do the mental exam so I take it that anxiety, panic attack, confusion and aggressive behaviour aren't mental health problems any more.

 

[WouldBe]

Ah, it's alright, I've just been looking at it after expanding the screen

That's a bit worrying about the observed behaviour especially if you attend the assessment on a rare good day that you might have rather than an average or bad day

Get signed up to a short acting course.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Get signed up to a short acting course.

How does someone with no short-term memory learn these skills?

 

[yardbird]

How does someone with no short-term memory learn these skills?

I write everything down and if I'm lucky repetition makes some of it stick.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I write everything down and if I'm lucky repetition makes some of it stick.

This is the point I've been making to friends and rellies for years when they say "why bother reading so many books, you'll just forget what's in them". Well, if I read them 2 to 3 times consecutively, the info filters into my long-term memory, but frankly, that's not something I'm prepared to do with everything I read, just stuff I really need to remember.

 

[WouldBe]

How does someone with no short-term memory learn these skills?

He doesn't need to have short term memory just to pretend he has all his worst symptoms at once.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

He doesn't need to have short term memory just to pretend he has all his worst symptoms at once.

Pretending involves thinking

 

[WouldBe]

So his worst symptoms haven't filtered down to his long term memory then?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

So his worst symptoms haven't filtered down to his long term memory then?

He knows he gets pain in various places but he'll only mention the one that's bothering him at that particular time, and if he's sitting down, then his legs aren't bothering him

 

[Disjecta Membra]

Well I had my "evaluation" today, as for the actual test, i didnt really get any feedback. Will inform you more after the 4/6 week bureaucracy. It was interesting that we spoke for a long while as the examiner wrote many notes on her pc but when my mum started writing notes she was told that anything she wrote down couldnt be used in appeal/court and the examiners name couldnt be used. So if i went alone I'd hardly have anything later on to rely on because of my dyslexia. The test itself was really short and i felt focused on redicules things, I'll just have to see whether they now think i can work because i can touch my index figure and my thumb but (they actually tested this)

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Well I had my "evaluation" today, as for the actual test, i didnt really get any feedback. Will inform you more after the 4/6 week bureaucracy. It was interesting that we spoke for a long while as the examiner wrote many notes on her pc but when my mum started writing notes she was told that anything she wrote down couldnt be used in appeal/court and the examiners name couldnt be used. So if i went alone I'd hardly have anything later on to rely on because of my dyslexia. The test itself was really short and i felt focused on redicules things, I'll just have to see whether they now think i can work because i can touch my index figure and my thumb but (they actually tested this)

So you talked for a long while but the physical test was really short?

You can't even use the examiner's name? I assume they introduce themselves, or you're just not allowed to use it in any appeal?

 

[Disjecta Membra]

Yeah she had a name badge on, she just seemed slightly uncomfortable when my mum pulled out her pen and pad, then read to us some stuff regarding documenting it which was mainly just, write if you want(for your reference) but it's meaningless beyond that , she then just reiterated the fact that had we given prior notice they would have provided recording equipment. Typically i was having a really good day physically as always with these things.