Budget - tougher for DLA claimants

easy

jimbms wrote: »

I have looked through over 400 pages on this thread about this subject and I cannot for the life of me understand what all the fuss is about, Here in the Isle of Man we have had this proceedure for years and it works very well, in fact quite often claimants have their DLA increased due to the doctors report, I myself was upgraded to high rate mobility on the last medical much to my suprise. The initial visit unless they suspect fraud is done by your own GP and so are all subsiquent. Quite often after the initial medical the visit is just to ensure a) you still have the condition and b) to make sure that you have everyting in your house you need to help you and if not it gets arranged. This we have found not only speeds the process up and ensures you get what is needed but also cuts out the inevitable skivers and con artists who give genuinly disabled a bad name and clog up the system. On the count of people with mental illness who claim, quite often this is done via a statement from their CPN. In my view the only people who have anything to fear from an assessment are the ones who are false claiments in the first place.

I agree with you jimbms. A system of medical assessment, including input from the doctor who knows you, has got to be the way to go (and would actually be a return to the way the system worked when I first got mobility allowance). The onbly peple to worry about this idea are those who don't actually have a medical reason for being disabled i.e. false claimants.

Trialia wrote: »

's exactly it: it could not work well with the present infrastructure for England and Wales. ATOS are the contractors the DWP set to do medical exams on claimants, and they're horribly flawed in that. Yours may work just fine, and perhaps if a similar system were implemented here with the underlying infrastructure being the same it might work, but as it stands? Unfortunately not.

Trialia, Please take notice of my posts of yesterday. There is no reason to think that it will have to fit in the infrastructure we have today. The proposal is not to be implemented for another 3 years. I believe the reason for that is that the govt know the current system of assessments for ESA is not adequate, and they will be looking to implement assessments differently. If they were going to do this using the current ESA model, they could have put it in place tomorrow.

By my guess, ATOS is costing a fortune to do it anyway, and the govt will realise that it's cheaper to use existing physicians.

Indie_Kid

easy wrote: »

The onbly peple to worry about this idea are those who don't actually have a medical reason for being disabled i.e. false claimants.

This is where you're wrong. I am a genuine claimant. However, how on earth someone is meant to prove half of the things DLA covers? (supervision, reminders, etc) Yes, I have evidence that says I do need supervision due to my behaviour - but how on earth would that be proved in a medical? Add to that having 2 rare condition plus a rare side effect as a result.

If my GP and consultants were to do it (they know about the various pain issues) than maybe I wouldn't be so against it. However, none of them know about most of my needs. Yes, some of them are common sense; but others are less so.

easy

sh1305 wrote: »

This is where you're wrong. I am a genuine claimant. However, how on earth someone is meant to prove half of the things DLA covers? (supervision, reminders, etc) Yes, I have evidence that says I do need supervision due to my behaviour - but how on earth would that be proved in a medical? Add to that having 2 rare condition plus a rare side effect as a result.

If my GP and consultants were to do it (they know about the various pain issues) than maybe I wouldn't be so against it. However, none of them know about most of my needs. Yes, some of them are common sense; but others are less so.

But you will probably be going to a meeting where you get to explain those needs !!!!

What is it that is so difficult to understand about that ????

cyclonebri1

easy wrote: »

I agree with you jimbms. A system of medical assessment, including input from the doctor who knows you, has got to be the way to go (and would actually be a return to the way the system worked when I first got mobility allowance). The onbly peple to worry about this idea are those who don't actually have a medical reason for being disabled i.e. false claimants.

I totally agree with the quote

The thing that really worries me about this is exactly that they will not give sufficient account of medical history, just if you fall over during the interview.

I'm sure the fraudulent factor could manage that :mad:

I was awarded an indefinate award a year or so ago, that |I was perfectly at home with, it was the right descision.

Today I have 2 sets of feelings;

1) My DLA is safe untill 2013

2) I have 3 years to worry about what happens then



Mental cruelty? you decide

cyclonebri1

easy wrote: »

But you will probably be going to a meeting where you get to explain those needs !!!!

What is it that is so difficult to understand about that ????

The problem is we don't know, and are lift in limbo for three years, even a sick (sic) animal gets put out of it's misery before that.;)

Indie_Kid

easy wrote: »

But you will probably be going to a meeting where you get to explain those needs !!!!

What is it that is so difficult to understand about that ????

You are aware of how some peoples' DLA medicals have gone? They tell the EMP one thing and the EMP writes another.

easy

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I totally agree with the quote

The thing that really worries me about this is exactly that they will not give sufficient account of medical history, just if you fall over during the interview.

I'm sure the fraudulent factor could manage that :mad:

I was awarded an indefinate award a year or so ago, that |I was perfectly at home with, it was the right descision.

Today I have 2 sets of feelings;

1) My DLA is safe untill 2013

2) I have 3 years to worry about what happens then



Mental cruelty? you decide

I really, honestly, don't believe that a long-term benefit (which is what DLA is) will be decided solely on the strength of a single meeting. I'm certain that medical history will be sought, as it is now.
Don't forget the PM has experience of living with a disabled child, and, as I saaid earlier, you can write to the minister to express your concerns, while they are formulating the policy.

I also have an indefinate award. But I'm certainly not going to spend the next 3 years worrying about this. Life is for living NOW. Worry about a problem when the problem arises, rather than worrying about something which might never happen.

Anyway, you could have won the lottery/inherited a fortune from a long-lost aunt by then, in which case DLA will be just a drop in the ocean.

de1amo

i do wonder if a GP who can sign people off from work and has a fair idea how each illness affects the person in their care cannot quite easily write a report for each person under their care in regards to there illness for the dwp--the one report could kill two birds with one stone--for dwp incapacity and then dla claim--it would be a confidential report based on years of observation and personal knowledge of the case--its an expert witness--the dla and dwp could be reduced in size and money focussed spent on getting highly trained 'readers of the report--no need for the armies of staff and docs who have no idea about the claimants history--i know i am being silly but i am mad!!

[Deleted User]

easy wrote: »

But you will probably be going to a meeting where you get to explain those needs !!!!

What is it that is so difficult to understand about that ????

I take it you have never been to one of these medicals with the DWP then. Its hardly like visiting you're GP where you can sit down, chit chat and tell them your woes.

More like a foreign call centre with the 'doctor' reading from a script. If you're answers dont fall in line with their script it all falls apart.

Indie_Kid

easy wrote: »

Don't forget the PM has experience of living with a disabled child.

And this means he knows everything about every disability how?