Atos Home Visit

OldMotherTucker wrote: »

You only hear the bad stories on here - and I think that individuals who work for Atos are unfairly judged and lumped together. Trained and committed HCP's don't just turn rogue because they work for Atos!

I'm not terribly convinced by this. Sure there is a bias towards bad stories otherwise people probably won't be seeking advice. But I have contact direct and indirect with healthcare professionals who very clearly believe that working doing disability assessments for the DWP is the pits of the profession (a phrase you might hear me stealing from one nurse I know).. something you do only if you're desperate for money or are carp at your job or care little for patients. I think there have been similar claims elsewhere along these lines... whilst those driven out (coming to public attention) have come across as well intentioned HCPs. And it seems very clear there are institutional issues... it cannot be an accident for example that when claimants query whether the evidence has been properly studied in advance of their assessment it becomes clear it has not in large numbers of cases (I knew the chances were very high the HCP in my case would break protocol before I even saw her - she confirmed it whilst taking a private call on her phone!)... complaints tend to fall into very narrow channels implying wider failures rather than odd rogue HCP.


So my view is trained and committed HCPs probably won't typically do this job.. precisely because they are professional. Think about it for a moment... you've spent years wanting to be a doctor or nurse or mental health specialist etc... you've dedicated time and money into training... and then you shift your focus from patient treatment and care and professional examination to what is put onto the table here for disability assessments (where I understand these companies even advise HCPs to refer to patients as customers instead). It is absolutely no surprise that we end up with the pits of the professions and for those well intentioned and retaining a professional outlook I expect the demands on efficiency and internal targets as well as training (which we have seen exposed for what it is by those undercover) and directives will leave them requiring significant shift of approach or resignation/dismissal. As a quick point... I have never in my life seen a professional of any trade be as disgusting in their 'greeting' to me or someone I was around as was the HCP to my wife... it is unthinkable that an HCP in the NHS would get away with that for long before attracting some serious career challenging complaint. It seems to me no accident that similar complaints seem fairly common... including one recently on here I note from a claimant who had a home visit with a relative in attendance.

As another note... your assessment sounded like it lasted a lot longer than typical (twice the length of mine for reference and I claimed disablement in all activities I think.. and was well prepared to talk a lot..lol)... I wonder if you've seen an HCP who might be having their performance looked at soon enough! And that's my concern... the number of good HCPs will be driven out by internal measures or demands of the role that shift them from their usual professional outlook. You've seen some of them appear as whistle-blowers over the years in particular when doing WCAs for ESA.

I advise the Op gets a hold of the assessment report (as I did on their other thread)... to give some reassurances.. and if not advance warning. Having these reports (promptly) can be useful in a range of ways including in future claim. All the best.

As general advice aside from that... I think claimants should have a healthy caution regarding these assessments... they're rarely likely to ever be wholly accurate due to their nature but you can take steps to direct some accurate selection of descriptors. The default in the activities is that you trigger the zero points scoring descriptor... consider it your job to take the HCP away from being able to select that if you have disablement in the activity. Prepare well... and prepare to take some control of the assessment in terms of ensuring you place into the assessment your difficulties and explain them. Many claimants say they felt rushed and this will be largely because of the pressures of time. Remember it is your assessment... not theirs. Take a supporter with you if you can too.... it is inherently possible that witnesses present a psychological influence on the integrity of the assessor as well as obviously providing claimant some support and potentially have some input. And in the end remember... these assessments may be typically the primary evidence used by the DWP but if they're 'bad' they are certainly no impenetrable barrier to a sound award in challenging the decision or future claim. A significant chunk of those successfully appealing didn't even get any points at assessment suggesting tribunals are content to consider many HCP reports as effectively evidential junk... and on occasions seem to be provoked to use terminology like this.

dave030445 wrote: »

God the wait is killing me and it was only yesterday why they keep you waiting so long, when they know its so important to, us but hay im not the only one they have to deal with.

Hence my advice to get reports ASAP... hopefully will put mind at ease.. it isn't the decision but there's a very good chance the decision will mirror it. Probably could get the report in a week... decision more likely several weeks.