Incapacity failed medical

andy1976

Hi all im new so be gentle...I had a medical back the other week and to my disbeleife they failed me..Most of the questions on the medical i had back on wednesday they did not ask me.I have written a letter of appeal and i shall post it up now as im so annoyed at the system we have to live with.




I shall now list out the questions she did not ask / and the ones that are incorrect.And give reasons as to why they are incorrect.


(Capability tasks / completion of tasks)

Can you answer the phone reliably and take msgs yes 0 points

No I can answer the phone and take msgs from people I know but if anyone else rings I get anxious and ask them to ring back when someone is here.

Do you often sit for hours doing nothing No 0 points.

Yes some days I sit and do nothing for a few hours or just lay on the bed or even just stare out of the window watching the world go by.But then this depends from day to day some days or ok other days are not so ok.

Can you concentrate to read a magazine article or follow a radio station or TV programme yes 0 points.

No I can't read a magazine/book for long nor watch a TV programme at length as I get irritable and anxious and need to move about or do something else to occupy me for a while. I generally go on the PC on a car forum as I have a love for cars as I was a mechanic prior to all this happening and that tends to keep my anxiety down.

Do you overlook or forget the risk posed by domestic appliances or other common hazards due to poor concentration no 0 points.

I have frequently left the stove / oven on and that's why I have meals cooked for me as I told the assessor. I did not tell her about leaving the stove on as she only asked who cooked for me.

Has agitation confusion or forgetfulness resulted in mishaps or accidents in the past 3 months NO 0 points.

Didn't get asked this directly either.But yes agitation is my biggest problem and I tend to lash out and punch or kick walls.Im slowly starting to realise I come of worse.

(Daily living)

Do you need encouragement to get up and dressed no 0 points.

She didn't ask me this direct she just asked what time I got up most days.And yes I do need encouragement to get dressed or get up as most days I have nothing to look forward to so can't see the point.

Do you drink alcohol prior to mid day no 0 points.

She didn't ask me this direct but asked if I did drink alcohol and I replied yes occasionally on the weekends but I have learnt that even thou it makes me feel great when I have consumed alcohol I suffer for it more so for a few days after as it intensives my anxiety..I even went on to tell her I had a bit of a problem with it in the past and use to drink every time I had to leave the house .I even had a can of lager in my bag with me at the assessment as I take one with me when I need to go out incase I get extreme anxiety. I even told her this during the assessment.


Do your sleep problems interfere with daily activities no 0 points

She did not ask me this either but asked what my sleep pattern was like .I told her I don't generally fall off to sleep until 4 am ish and usually need to take a vallium and then wake every hour or more and also I don't get up until about 10.30 ish. I also have to have a sleep at 4 pm for about an hour and half and this is the best sleep I have in a 24 hr period. I have this sleep as by this time I am exhausted and with out this sleep the evening would be more difficult for me as me anxiety is higher when I am tired.So the answer should be yes as it obviously interferes with my daily activities. I'm stumped at why she ticked it as a NO to be honest.

(coping with pressure)

Do you avoid carrying out routine activities as you are convinced they will prove too tiring or stressful NO 0 points.

How the hell she marked this as a no is beyond me.Of course I avoid stressful situations as it makes my anxiety worse.

I'll give a few examples. I have a son who I see every weekend. I have family or friends to collect him and to drop him off as I can't do it myself. I can never be left with him on my own as the anxiety is too much for me.And now that he is getting older he is asking me to take him out and to go to the park I always find myself telling him no not today as obviously it causes me anxiety.Just this weekend he wanted me to take him to the fair but I had to once again tell him no.He has also himself started to pick up on things and asks why I don't take him out.And as maybe you can imagine that is very upsetting as I have missed out on so much with him. I have even missed doctor appointments due to my anxietey.Back last year I lay on the sofa in agony for 3 days with a severe tooth infection that got so swollen nhs direct told me I had to visit the dentist as if the abscess burst it could give me blood poisoning.And this is not the first time I have been in this situation .I have not visited the dentist in years for check ups or to have any work done and my original dentist struck me off his list because I had not been for so long .I have missed appointments for physio for me knee.Four weeks ago my Nan who I have always been very close to was in hospital with problems with her heart and I could not bring myself to go and visit her even thou it could have ended up being the last time I saw her. I can't go to the shop alone. I rarely see my brother who has two children that I adore and he only lives most of the time he does his best to come to my home and see me. I rarely visit my parents and at one point 6 months past with me not going to see them and they also only live miles away.But again my dad and mum pop up here to see me and also my sister pops in most days to see if I'm ok. If I do go to see me parents or brother it is generally late evening as this is when I feel more comfortable doing it. Don't ask me why as I'm not sure myself. But I think its mainly because I know I can have alcohol if it gets to much for me. I don't go clothes shopping for myself nor do I go food shopping .I have not been down to my aunties for years and I'm also very close to her .So as you can see I do avoid situations as much as I can as it is to much for me.Your more than welcome to contact my family and ask these questions and if you need contact details then please do not hesitate to ask for them.

How the hell she answered this as a NO is just pure crazy after all she only spoke to me for 15 minutes and she does not live what very limited life I have.

Are you able to cope with changes in daily routine yes 0 points.

Like hell can I she never asked me this direct. I don't like any change in my daily routine at all I don't even like things out of place .I have had people ringing me to come and sort the loft insulation but I keep putting them off due to not liking change in my day. I feel very strongly about my daily routine and even go over it in my head at night what I have to do the following day and it's 99% of the time the same thing. Boring as it sounds but id like to see someone given this condition and see how well they cope.

Do you frequently find there are so many things to do that you give up because of fatigue apathy or disinterest NO 0 points.

Can't recall her asking me this directly either.But the answer would have been yes. I have many jobs that need doing around the house and I tend to start them and give up half way through as things stress me very easily and make me tired.For example I had to strip the paint of the landing and stairs I got half way through it and gave up.That was over a year ago.Your more than welcome to come to the house and see the jobs around the house I have given up on purely because I either lose interest or they stress me out and make my anxiety worse.Even just writing this letter out is causing me great anxiety and I'm now on my second dosage of vallium.

(Interaction with other people)

Can you look after yourself without help from others Yes 0 points.

Not recall being asked this directly either and the answer is NO. Obviously you can see my reasons for not being able to look after myself without help from others from what I have written above. Few quick examples.Who will do my shopping ? Who will pick Lewis up ? Who will be here when I have Lewis ? Who will take me to the shop round the corner ? Who will go round the corner with me to post this letter ?

Do you get so upset by ordinary events that it results in disruptive behavioural problems No 0 points.

She didn't ask me this direct either she only asked about my mood swings.And my answer to this would be yes as the smallest of things like someone being late or someone not doing what I asked them to do can deeply upset me and put me in a foul aggressive mood for days.

Do mental problems impair your ability to communicate with other people NO 0 points.

At times yes as said above if I do not know the person very well I find it hard to communicate more so as I get anxious and mumble and mix my words or my mind just goes blank.This started at the same time I get this illness as I said to the lady my boss use to come and pick me up for work about 10 years ago as I could not travel to work alone and at times I found myself not being able to deal with the public or answer the phone .I was a mechanic at the time so meant I had to deal with a lot of people asking questions about their cars or me explaining what was wrong with them.But it got to point where I could not do this.My boss was very understanding with me but it got to a point where I had to unfortunately leave.And this deeply saddens me as I loved this job.

Do you prefer to be alone for most of the day NO 0 points.

She didn't ask me this direct either but to answer it as a no is wrong.As at times yes I do like to be left alone as some days I find interacting with family a chore and just want to be left alone. Mainly because when I do feel down I'm snatchy and not a very nice person to be around. There have been times when I have fallen out with friends and family because this.

cattie

I couldn't read through all your post as it was too long & a bit rambling. And to be honest, I fear the DWP will be of the same mind when they receive it, if this is indeed what you are going to post to them.

When writing letters to DWP it's best to keep things as short & concise as possible, using bullet points & stating only that which is necessary, as this makes things easy to read & gets the point across in a clear & understandable way.

If there is any medical evidence which wasn't given consideration, then copies of such evidence should be attached with the letter of appeal.

If you haven't sent this letter yet then the best course would be to either condense it down drastically or get some advice from an experienced welfare rights advisor about getting help with the appeal.

andy1976

How can you see it as rambling if you have not read it all ?

Tried the short respone before and it does not work lol whats wrong with telling them how it is ?

seven-day-weekend

It IS far too long.

And I have read it all.

You need to mention all those points, but do it in a much more concise way, like writing a report, not like a letter to a friend.

Hope this helps.

helenlb

Hi there I know it's a distressing and stressful time, but cattie does have a point they wont read it in full.

Contact your local welfare rights service, try your local authority or the CAB, good Luck

Charis

Only someone who has experienced prolonged, intense anxiety can appreciate how crippling it can be. I speak from experience.

Have you thought of contacting your local branch of Mind? They will have had experience of people in your situation coming up against the indifference of the system and could help you word a much shorter statement outlining your problems. Your local branch seems to be Cardiff but they do have an outreach service and can be contacted by email.

Life with intense daily fear is hard enough. Don't try to take on the world alone. Here's the link to Cardiff Mind
http://www.mind.org.uk/Mind+in+your+area/Regions/cymru/Cardiff+Mind.htm

There's an email address and phone numbers on that page.

Charis

healy

Yes I agree with the others it is much too long. I could not read every word either and I think it would be the same for most people especially a busy DM.

You can certainly leave out the first 3 or 4 pages as they are not interested in anything other than the medical.

Short, concise replies to the descriptors will be much better than long winded replies.

andy1976

well i covered everything imo so they dont need to reply with the usuall same questions.

festering_plates

Ask them for a home visit. Oh and please don't send that letter untill you have spent some time rewording it becuase you have some discrepancies which might not get you your desired results.

healy

festering_plates wrote: »

Ask them for a home visit.

The OP has already had the PCA assessment medical.

alwaysonthego_2

I agree with the others, it is too long and conversational. I often see clients who bring in 10 page letters and expect me to read them, I don't have the time. You should write a formal letter which is concise and to the point.