Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support

[ViolentPanda]

I work with young adult carers, caring for people with all sorts of disabilities and mental health issues. Some have attended appointments with the people they care for and say they are extremely intimidating. The appointments are an hour long. With many conditions they change on a day to day basis so how they can access what someone's capabilities are in an hour is beyond me. People with mental health issues who are paranoid and delusional are not often honest or even aware how ill they are. In one case the parent of some one i support had their benefits cut as a result of one of these assessments. Then due to the resulting stress of having no money and complicated forms to complete ended up in mental health hospital again for a few months. Hardly a cost saving exercise is it! I've also heard that their are bonus incentives for atos staff to get people off of benefits, but i can't say for sure that's true. IMO this system only serves to go after the most vulnerable people in society to save a few pennies. If you have one of these assessments go in the worse pain you possibly can as ViolentPanda says. They assess you in the waiting room and your ability to get into the examining room and walk from the chair to the bed.....or so i've heard!

All of the Incapacity Benefit medicals I had (administered, if I recall correctly, by doctors working for Schlumberger-Sema, the company that had the contract for doing so at the time), you were very much observed by the reception staff. As I walk with sticks, and take a while to sit on or rise from a chair, I'm absolutely sure I made a "better" impression than those people who had nothing visibly wrong with them.

 

[tufty79]

My first ESA assessment, they commented on me waiting outside cos I'm not good with waiting rooms...

 

[Awesome Wells]

This might be a more apt forum than the vanilla campaign forum.

http://jaynelinney.wordpress.com/20...rules-when-threatening-support-group-members/

Not really news to anyone I suppose, despite being against the rules.

 

[equationgirl]

This might be a more apt forum than the vanilla campaign forum.

http://jaynelinney.wordpress.com/20...rules-when-threatening-support-group-members/

Not really news to anyone I suppose, despite being against the rules.

DWP in not following their own guidelines shocker.

Details from this link suggest that the wrong template has been used by the Job Centre:
http://samedifference1.com/2014/09/17/more-details-of-the-shirebrook-jobcentre-situation/

Advice is to take the letter, copies of the relevant DWP manual pages and the FOI request answer on the topic into the job centre at the appointment. It would interesting to know if this is isolated to this particular job centre (someone could have gotten a bit over-zealous, for example) or if other people around the country have experienced similar (which would suggest some kind of systematic policy by the DWP).

Please remember that this thread is primarily used by people looking for support through the process - linking to horror stories, especially if they might be an isolated incident, isn't particularly helpful sometimes.

 

[equationgirl]

My first ESA assessment, they commented on me waiting outside cos I'm not good with waiting rooms...

I get the impression they look to judge claimants on anything and everything, no matter how ridiculous. You waiting outside in the context of your health problems makes perfect sense - had they looked at your file ahead of the appointment they would have seen that.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I get the impression they look to judge claimants on anything and everything, no matter how ridiculous. You waiting outside in the context of your health problems makes perfect sense - had they looked at your file ahead of the appointment they would have seen that.

They seem to do that. The assessor was waiting downstairs at recept with the security guard when I accompanied Buscador to her asessment - we had walked about in the street until she was just on time, so that she wouldn't have to wait - assessor was watching us arrive - how we signed in, not getting in the lift, then still made us wait 10 mins in waiting room, which freaks Busc out - she can get PTSD flashbacks in waiting rooms, which was writen in her form, so I think they were just testing her. She was so wound up she had a bit of a break down in the 'medical', which probably helped in the end.

Thanks to this thread we had been forwarned about traps they set eg. a simple enquiry about smoking roll ups could equal 'has fine dexterity skills' in the report. Busc truthfully answered that she had prerolled them the previous day as she knew she'd be too on edge to roll them and would need to smoke more because of the stress.

 

[equationgirl]

They seem to do that. The assessor was waiting downstairs at recept with the security guard when I accompanied Buscador to her asessment - we had walked about in the street until she was just on time, so that she wouldn't have to wait - assessor was watching us arrive - how we signed in, not getting in the lift, then still made us wait 10 mins in waiting room, which freaks Busc out - she can get PTSD flashbacks in waiting rooms, which was writen in her form, so I think they were just testing her. She was so wound up she had a bit of a break down in the 'medical', which probably helped in the end.

Thanks to this thread we had been forwarned about traps they set eg. a simple enquiry about smoking roll ups could equal 'has fine dexterity skills' in the report. Busc truthfully answered that she had prerolled them the previous day as she knew she'd be too on edge to roll them and would need to smoke more because of the stress.

I'm glad the thread was helpful, although it does sound like they were deliberately testing her from the minute she got in. It's horrendous that the process was so traumatic for her

 

[friendofdorothy]

I'm glad the thread was helpful, although it does sound like they were deliberately testing her from the minute she got in. It's horrendous that the process was so traumatic for her

fortunately it was ok - she is in the support group now.

 

[Greebo]

ATOS today, here goes nothing...

 

[Quartz]

ATOS today, here goes nothing...

((Greebo ))

 

[WouldBe]

ATOS today, here goes nothing...

(((Greebo)))

Hope it goes well.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Jus

ATOS today, here goes nothing...

Just Seenthis . wishing you and VP best of luck

 

[tufty79]

Good luck both of you, (((vp & greebo)))

 

[Greebo]

We're ba-ack. I'll leave ViolentPanda to rant, as the boss bloke at the centre was v apologetic and so VP couldn't really swear at him!

 

[ViolentPanda]

Well, that was a pint and a half of full blown shite in every bar!!!
We got there with plenty of time in hand, got the paperwork copied, showed them my proof of identity etc, then sat in their torture-chairs for about 20 minutes until called through to an assessment room. The bod introduced himself as a physiotherapist (great! Physios know so much about the effects of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and deafness! ), and I asked (just to check, as I didn't see the recording equipment) "this is being recorded, isn't it?". Guess what? That's right, there had been a communication problem, and even though I'd spoken to the person in charge of recordings for the entire region, somehow the info hadn't been actioned, and there was no equipment or operator available! Couldn't have a go at the staff, because it wasn't their cock-up, it was the fault of their regional centre at Wembley. Excuses about shoddy corrupt databases were made (believable, given the shite patchwork of IT kit Atos use), apologies offered, and a new appt with recording eqpt and operator present was promised.
I'll believe it when I see it!

 

[yardbird]

I hear the bollocks about an "operator" again grrr.
They don't need a fucking operator and the "equipment" is a piece of piss to work.
For most punters it's a manoeuvre just so as NOT to record the assessment.

 

[Greebo]

This is how annoyed VP is - too far gone to even swear properly.

 

[tufty79]

Well, that was a pint and a half of full blown shite in every bar!!!
We got there with plenty of time in hand, got the paperwork copied, showed them my proof of identity etc, then sat in their torture-chairs for about 20 minutes until called through to an assessment room. The bod introduced himself as a physiotherapist (great! Physios know so much about the effects of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and deafness! ), and I asked (just to check, as I didn't see the recording equipment) "this is being recorded, isn't it?". Guess what? That's right, there had been a communication problem, and even though I'd spoken to the person in charge of recordings for the entire region, somehow the info hadn't been actioned, and there was no equipment or operator available! Couldn't have a go at the staff, because it wasn't their cock-up, it was the fault of their regional centre at Wembley. Excuses about shoddy corrupt databases were made (believable, given the shite patchwork of IT kit Atos use), apologies offered, and a new appt with recording eqpt and operator present was promised.
I'll believe it when I see it!

Ffs

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Well, that was a pint and a half of full blown shite in every bar!!!
We got there with plenty of time in hand, got the paperwork copied, showed them my proof of identity etc, then sat in their torture-chairs for about 20 minutes until called through to an assessment room. The bod introduced himself as a physiotherapist (great! Physios know so much about the effects of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and deafness! ), and I asked (just to check, as I didn't see the recording equipment) "this is being recorded, isn't it?". Guess what? That's right, there had been a communication problem, and even though I'd spoken to the person in charge of recordings for the entire region, somehow the info hadn't been actioned, and there was no equipment or operator available! Couldn't have a go at the staff, because it wasn't their cock-up, it was the fault of their regional centre at Wembley. Excuses about shoddy corrupt databases were made (believable, given the shite patchwork of IT kit Atos use), apologies offered, and a new appt with recording eqpt and operator present was promised.
I'll believe it when I see it!

This is how annoyed VP is - too far gone to even swear properly.

I take it that means the assessment wasn't carried out?

 

[Greebo]

I take it that means the assessment wasn't carried out?

Correct - postponed until er they can find their arses with both hands, a map, a torch, and two mirrors!

Boss bloke said he 'd try to set it early afternoon again though - small mercies.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Correct - pootponed until er they can find theire arses with both hands, a map, a torch, and two mirrors!

Boss bloke said he 'd try to set it early afternoon again though - small mercies.

Surprised they didn't threaten you with withdrawal of funds for not being cooperative (or something along those lines)

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Correct - pootponed until er they can find their arses with both hands, a map, a torch, and two mirrors!

Boss bloke said he 'd try to set it early afternoon again though - small mercies.

Maybe they were using GPS. It's not very reliable

 

[Greebo]

Surprised they didn't threaten you with withdrawal of funds for not being cooperative (or something along those lines)

Can't - papertrail proved it'd been formally requested, and I emphasised VP's bad memory, and got pad & pen out.

 

[Quartz]

Can't - papertrail proved it'd been formally requested, and I emphasised VP's bad memory, and got pad & pen out.

A document a day keeps ATOS at bay?

 

[Greebo]

A document a day keeps ATOS at bay?

Yep - be prepared to beat them at their own game, at least when it comes to paperwork.

No need to lie or square up to 'em - just be firm, quiet, and politely sure of what you'll tolerate.

 

[Libertad]

What a fuckabout though, all that wasted energy. (((VP and Greebs)))

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

What a fuckabout though, all that wasted energy. (((VP and Greebs)))

and how many are going through this same shit every day. They probably do it on purpose in the hope that you'll say that now you're here, you may as well get it over with and people will skip the recording

 

[Greebo]

and how many are going through this same shit every day. They probably do it on purpose in the hope that you'll say that now you're here, you may as well get it over with and people will skip the recording

Which is why it's worth the rest of us remembering the ones who do get fucked over and standing our ground when we can. Even when exhausted, in pain, or just plain fed up and worn down!

 

[Celyn]

...
I'll believe it when I see it!

Quite! All that terrible hassle for nothing.

 

[Celyn]

Can't - papertrail proved it'd been formally requested, and I emphasised VP's bad memory, and got pad & pen out.

Oh, that is good, at least.