It's fine, we're totally cool with this, although seething a bit. The deeper into winter it finally takes place, the better.Quite! All that terrible hassle for nothing.
Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support
- Thread starter Zabo
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Agreed. There's so much I could have done yesterday instead, particularly with that bloody appointment being halfway through the day, therefore trashing both my morning and afternoon!OK, I suppose, but it is still a very bad way to treat people.
Thanks.
WouldBe
Dislicksick
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
I said that and secretly recorded it.
I is far too honest and upright to even think of covertly recording anything!I said that and secretly recorded it.
Not that I'd admit to it anyway..
With, as I recommended months ago, someone furiously taking notes as watertight cover-up for why you have a transcript
Whether VP had a recording device is entirely his own business - he might have forgotten to remove the one used at home from his pockets...
Even as his carer, I wouldn't dream of violating his privacy by rifling through his pockets.
Even as his carer, I wouldn't dream of violating his privacy by rifling through his pockets.
Yup. My last one was ATOS-recorded, with no operator other than the assessor.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Sorry to hear you had a wasted trip Greebo and ViolentPanda - hope it hasn't caused too much exhaustion and pain.
Thanks. If VP's got enough energy to read and post on urban, it's just about bearable.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Thanks. There's a fair bit of pain, but I was expecting that and that I'd feel as wrung-out as a dishcloth for days afterward. As Greebo says, if I have enough energy to read, and to post here, the pain etc is tolerable, and my mien is "just about bearable", apparently.
dynamicbaddog
run for your life
I had my ATOS medical in Balham yesturday. I had it recorded and took a friend with me. I had to convince them that even though I am now a full time student I still have limited capacity for work as university is very different to a workplace and I am only able to be attend uni due to the support I get from the disability team . I was very nervous but I think I got all my points across. The woman doing the interview was typing quite a lot as I was speaking, she seemed sympathetic and I didn't get the impression that she was trying to catch me out or anything. As supporting evidence I took along a letter from the Disability team at uni which explains all the concessions I get (10 minutes restbreaks every hour etc) I tried to get a letter from my GP (whom I've been seeing for 20 years)but he was useless, he said writing a letter was outside his remit and he would have to charge me for doing it and that he probably wouldn't be able to write it in time for the assessment anyway. I asked him if the DWP had been in contact with him about my case, he looked in my file and said they had written to him in June, but the reply was submitted by another GP at the surgery whom I've never seen before.
After the interview was over and she switched off the machine she asked me if I was O.K and said she hoped it hadn't been too traumatic for me. I was trying to get her to tell me if I had got enough points or not but all she said was that she would pass my information on to the decision maker and I would know in a few weeks. However she did say that I would probably have to attend further medicals later on to see if my condition has improved or deteriorated which maybe a sign that they are not planning to chuck me off ESA just yet. Nothing I can do know expect wait for the letter from the decision maker and in the meantime try to fret too much too much about it....
After the interview was over and she switched off the machine she asked me if I was O.K and said she hoped it hadn't been too traumatic for me. I was trying to get her to tell me if I had got enough points or not but all she said was that she would pass my information on to the decision maker and I would know in a few weeks. However she did say that I would probably have to attend further medicals later on to see if my condition has improved or deteriorated which maybe a sign that they are not planning to chuck me off ESA just yet. Nothing I can do know expect wait for the letter from the decision maker and in the meantime try to fret too much too much about it....
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Glad it wasn't too bad, but sorry your GP didn't do their job. It would be worth getting a copy of the letter submitted to the DWP anyway for your own records, but I think it's interesting that someone submitted something to them and you're only finding out now.I had my ATOS medical in Balham yesturday. I had it recorded and took a friend with me. I had to convince them that even though I am now a full time student I still have limited capacity for work as university is very different to a workplace and I am only able to be attend uni due to the support I get from the disability team . I was very nervous but I think I got all my points across. The woman doing the interview was typing quite a lot as I was speaking, she seemed sympathetic and I didn't get the impression that she was trying to catch me out or anything. As supporting evidence I took along a letter from the Disability team at uni which explains all the concessions I get (10 minutes restbreaks every hour etc) I tried to get a letter from my GP (whom I've been seeing for 20 years)but he was useless, he said writing a letter was outside his remit and he would have to charge me for doing it and that he probably wouldn't be able to write it in time for the assessment anyway. I asked him if the DWP had been in contact with him about my case, he looked in my file and said they had written to him in June, but the reply was submitted by another GP at the surgery whom I've never seen before.
After the interview was over and she switched off the machine she asked me if I was O.K and said she hoped it hadn't been too traumatic for me. I was trying to get her to tell me if I had got enough points or not but all she said was that she would pass my information on to the decision maker and I would know in a few weeks. However she did say that I would probably have to attend further medicals later on to see if my condition has improved or deteriorated which maybe a sign that they are not planning to chuck me off ESA just yet. Nothing I can do know expect wait for the letter from the decision maker and in the meantime try to fret too much too much about it....
18 months to clear the backlog, says Maximus: http://www.theguardian.com/society/...sessment-backlog-maximus-health-services-atos
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
I think it will realistically be more than that.
Does that mean, do you suppose, that those of us who were due re-assessment in late Jan/early Feb will still be in this backlog, or that they will have this group first in their targets?
superfly101
Well-Known Member
It doesn't really mean anything.
What happens next will be dictated by DWP policy which will evolve as they see fit to suit how they want to manipulate the figures they give out.
What we have at present is regional differences in work load; so in some areas it's business as usual, in others they will be prioritising certain claimant groups based on work loads/DWP policy, these priorities will be completely different from one area to the next and can change at any time.
Even if your in an area where there's a huge backlog and your group is not being prioritised you can still get caught by a random selection for quality auditing.
In short stop worrying about it and expect & prepare for re-assessment to happen around the time originally stated. If you're lucky, you're lucky so treat it as a bonus, if not you haven't lost anything as it was scheduled to happen anyway.
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equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
This is just my personal feelings but I don't think you'll be the first group to get re-assessed. There's been a lot of other people waiting for reassessment for longer, so I think they would tackle those that have been waiting the longest first.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
I know that's a hard thing to do, but if you can, try to do it.
It makes me very angry that people are made to feel like this when they are in a vulnerable place and aren't able to fight their corner. This is why NI is paid after all.
andysays
Love and solidarity
I've been claiming ESA since September of last year and apart from filling in an initial claim form way back then, the only evidence which I have submitted has been regular medical certificates from my GP. I've finally had a letter from ATOS calling me in for an "assessment with a healthcare professional" in early December and I've got a couple of questions I hope people can help me with.
First, am I right that this assessment is to decide if I will still continue to get ESA and if so whether I get put in the Support or Work Related Activity Group?
And second, it mentions the option of bringing medical reports from doctor, consultant or support worker. I don't have either a consultant or support worker, the closest I have to anything like this is a letter from a Clinical Psychologist relating to my recent assessment for therapy with the Complex Care Team. Although it isn't directly related to whether I can work or not, it does mention some of the issues I had with relating to people when I was last working and ongoing problems in that area. Is this likely to be considered admissible/useful?
First, am I right that this assessment is to decide if I will still continue to get ESA and if so whether I get put in the Support or Work Related Activity Group?
And second, it mentions the option of bringing medical reports from doctor, consultant or support worker. I don't have either a consultant or support worker, the closest I have to anything like this is a letter from a Clinical Psychologist relating to my recent assessment for therapy with the Complex Care Team. Although it isn't directly related to whether I can work or not, it does mention some of the issues I had with relating to people when I was last working and ongoing problems in that area. Is this likely to be considered admissible/useful?
Yes and yes (wrt the second part, *anything* relevant you can take in is useful)
Is your gp up to speed with what's going on with you? Worth asking if they can also provide info as to how your illness is affecting your day to dayness/ability to work..
Is your gp up to speed with what's going on with you? Worth asking if they can also provide info as to how your illness is affecting your day to dayness/ability to work..
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
andysays
Love and solidarity
tufty79 equationgirl
Thanks for that.
I wouldn't necessarily have thought getting a letter from my GP would be necessary/helpful - she doesn't have a detailed picture of what's going on with me, only gets an impression from seeing me for 5 minutes or so each month saying "I don't really feel ready to think about going back to work yet", but maybe that would be useful. She does also have my entire (long and extensive) medical history to draw on, I suppose.
Two further questions
I'm likely to have to pay for getting her to write a letter, aren't I?
What else do they base the decision on, apart from my year old original application? Is there a standard list of questions they ask, and if so does anyone know how I can get hold of one so I can think about how I should answer them? (it's almost like preparing for a job interview, isn't it )
And an entirely unrelated issue: I'm not getting alerts saying I've been tagged for some reason, as if I didn't have enough to contend with
Thanks for that.
I wouldn't necessarily have thought getting a letter from my GP would be necessary/helpful - she doesn't have a detailed picture of what's going on with me, only gets an impression from seeing me for 5 minutes or so each month saying "I don't really feel ready to think about going back to work yet", but maybe that would be useful. She does also have my entire (long and extensive) medical history to draw on, I suppose.
Two further questions
I'm likely to have to pay for getting her to write a letter, aren't I?
What else do they base the decision on, apart from my year old original application? Is there a standard list of questions they ask, and if so does anyone know how I can get hold of one so I can think about how I should answer them? (it's almost like preparing for a job interview, isn't it
)And an entirely unrelated issue: I'm not getting alerts saying I've been tagged for some reason, as if I didn't have enough to contend with
ViolentPanda<snip> I wouldn't necessarily have thought getting a letter from my GP would be necessary/helpful - she doesn't have a detailed picture of what's going on with me, only gets an impression from seeing me for 5 minutes or so each month saying "I don't really feel ready to think about going back to work yet", but maybe that would be useful. She does also have my entire (long and extensive) medical history to draw on, I suppose.
Two further questions
I'm likely to have to pay for getting her to write a letter, aren't I?
What else do they base the decision on, apart from my year old original application? Is there a standard list of questions they ask, and if so does anyone know how I can get hold of one so I can think about how I should answer them? (it's almost like preparing for a job interview, isn't it
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
And them having your medical history is quite important. It establishes that you're not inventing medical complaints, that you've actually attended the surgery in order to get those complaints treated.
Of course, it now appears that the ATOSsers etc don't regard you as having tried hard enough if you don't get yourself referred to a consultant for every little cough and sneeze.
Yes. Some doctors will do it for nowt, but they're few and far between, especially since the DWP started insisting in a letter from your GP/sending GPs a form to fill in regarding patients claiming ESA. At my surgery a 1-page letter costs £15, a multi-pager up to £45. Your surgery may vary, but those appear to be charge levels "recommended" by the RCGP.
What else do they base the decision on, apart from my year old original application? Is there a standard list of questions they ask, and if so does anyone know how I can get hold of one so I can think about how I should answer them? (it's almost like preparing for a job interview, isn't it
They're filling in "boxes" on their LIMA software, so yeah, they have "standard questions". IIRC equationgirl once linked to a "user manual" for the LIMA software that the so-called "healthcare professionals" use.
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wobbly
as vp says, depends on the doctor. i asked mine if she wanted payment for the letter she provided for university and she informed me she had absolutely no idea how to charge me and couldn't be bothered to find out.
the more info the better. any correspondance that discusses your condition. whether it's a summary of your description of symptoms or a confirmantion of diagnosis, discussion of medication or schedule for treatment.
if you're on medication, then also report the side effects and how they affect you.
I'll be honest, most of this will make bugger all difference if you get assessed by the standard atos drone. but gathering them together now will allow you to prove you did give the asessor all the available information when you go to appeal.
if you have a condition that isn't 'tick box' somethign with complex effects, variable effects then keep a written record. himself has a big book of loopy where we write down stuff like the time he tried to incinerate us. like the times he goes out and leaves the back door wide open. like the time he forgot to eat for 24 hours and decided to work himself up into a state and dump me because his procrastination was translated into me stopping him doing stuff. it really does help if you give the appeal as much info as possible. and a record made over time is a more valuable document than you scrawling out stuff from memory 3 days bfore they need the paperwork/
the more info the better. any correspondance that discusses your condition. whether it's a summary of your description of symptoms or a confirmantion of diagnosis, discussion of medication or schedule for treatment.
if you're on medication, then also report the side effects and how they affect you.
I'll be honest, most of this will make bugger all difference if you get assessed by the standard atos drone. but gathering them together now will allow you to prove you did give the asessor all the available information when you go to appeal.
if you have a condition that isn't 'tick box' somethign with complex effects, variable effects then keep a written record. himself has a big book of loopy where we write down stuff like the time he tried to incinerate us. like the times he goes out and leaves the back door wide open. like the time he forgot to eat for 24 hours and decided to work himself up into a state and dump me because his procrastination was translated into me stopping him doing stuff. it really does help if you give the appeal as much info as possible. and a record made over time is a more valuable document than you scrawling out stuff from memory 3 days bfore they need the paperwork/
andysays
Love and solidarity
And them having your medical history is quite important. It establishes that you're not inventing medical complaints, that you've actually attended the surgery in order to get those complaints treated.
Of course, it now appears that the ATOSsers etc don't regard you as having tried hard enough if you don't get yourself referred to a consultant for every little cough and sneeze.
Yes. Some doctors will do it for nowt, but they're few and far between, especially since the DWP started insisting in a letter from your GP/sending GPs a form to fill in regarding patients claiming ESA. At my surgery a 1-page letter costs £15, a multi-pager up to £45. Your surgery may vary, but those appear to be charge levels "recommended" by the RCGP.
They're filling in "boxes" on their LIMA software, so yeah, they have "standard questions". IIRC equationgirl once linked to a "user manual" for the LIMA software that the so-called "healthcare professionals" use.
Thanks, that's a useful way of approaching it. I'll make an appointment to discuss this with my GP ASAP and see if I can get her to write some sort of summary of my medical history as it relates to this. Even if I have to pay for this, sounds like it will be money well spent.
And I would be very interested in finding out more about these LIMA software questions if equationgirl or anyone else knows more about them - I find it much easier to prepare for this sort of thing beforehand than do it off the cuff.
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