ESA Medical Assessment

cally57

On July 26th i underwent an operation on my elbow. I was unemployed and claiming JSA. 2 days after the operation i stopped claiming JSA and and was told i could claim ESA. Today i have been for my medical assessment. I was told that if i disagree with their decision which i will receive in the next few days, i will be able to dispute it. Next week ( 6th sept ) i return to see the specialist who operated. I know from the pain and discomfort i am still suffering that he will say that i am not fit to be employed yet. If Atos Healthcare think i am fit to be employed does this mean i lose my benefit?? How do i stand on this and why does a doctor working for Atos Healthcare believe they have more experience than an orthopedic specialist, to overule any decision he might make next week. If he says i cannot go back to work and Atos Healthcare say i can, i am left in deep trouble and without benefits.

[Deleted User]

the Atoss(as in dont give a) doctor makes a report to the dwp decision maker who then decides if esa continues or not,if you disagree with the DM then you have the right to appeal.

cally57

What is worrying me john is, if they reject me, i am left with nothing. I am 53 and live on my own so what will i live on. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they dont stop it........and thank you for ure advice

Indie_Kid

You can claim ESA at the assessment rate until you have your tribunal.

Morglin

cally57 wrote: »

On July 26th i underwent an operation on my elbow. I was unemployed and claiming JSA. 2 days after the operation i stopped claiming JSA and and was told i could claim ESA. Today i have been for my medical assessment. I was told that if i disagree with their decision which i will receive in the next few days, i will be able to dispute it. Next week ( 6th sept ) i return to see the specialist who operated. I know from the pain and discomfort i am still suffering that he will say that i am not fit to be employed yet. If Atos Healthcare think i am fit to be employed does this mean i lose my benefit?? How do i stand on this and why does a doctor working for Atos Healthcare believe they have more experience than an orthopedic specialist, to overule any decision he might make next week. If he says i cannot go back to work and Atos Healthcare say i can, i am left in deep trouble and without benefits.

If your claim gets rejected, ask them to send form GL24 to appeal on.

They will then reconsider it, and if they still reject your claim, you can take it to appeal.

This site gives good info about ESA etc.,:

http://afraser.com/welfare/esa.html

Lin

atrixblue.-MFR-.

the likly hood of falling into a support group for esa will be very minimal, the doctor will make assessments on whether how long it will be likly that the recovery time for you operation will take, i.e 2 months -12 months, whether your right handed or left handed and whether the operation was undertaken in your righting hand, how farr you can bend then arm without weight on it and whether you can use the arm at all. IF you are otherwise fit and healthy and no no mental health factors then i only see one way that assessment can go and that they way you dont want it to go.

i know this will sound unfair to you but your assessment took place as soon as you came into view of the medical centre you attended, whether you drove there or not.
if you drove there then you have no dispute that your arm is so incopacitated you cannot use it as both arms are required to drive and this will be taken into account in you assessment as the assessor would of asked you how you got to the centre that day if you replied i drove by car then uh oh one mark against you.
if you took the bus this is considdered as you can travel on public transport.
if you were given a lift by family memeber then this is different as you have a means to say i had have a family member drive me as i am in so much pain useing public transport is not viable as the slightest knock to my elbow causes allot of pain and discomfort and the operation site has stitches any knock or jolt could cause the stiches to loosen or come away and cause bleeding.

to pass these assessments these days you have to be virtually so incopacited you need to be carried through their door on a life support machine.
sounds ludicrous i know but beleive me these assessments are desinged for people that are of serious illhealth, terminally ill (and then you can be found fit to work!).

do not want to scare monger you but prepare you for the worse.

i have brittle asthma and severe depression and anxiety am 26 years old i have been in ITU in hospital in the recent past, was retired from my beloved job by my consultant because my chest is so unpredictable i can be fine one min and gasping for air turning blue and dying before your eyes the next min, i only passed my medical assessment is because i had a severe attack in the morning of my assessment and even after medication and nebulisation i was still finding it hard to breath and wheezing all over the place could barely walk and had my bro in law there to communicate for me as i couldnt speek i was so short of breath, i could prove the assessor i had infact taken my meds as i could show him my nebuliser and medication and recent script from the recent scrip and meds he could work out the dosages i had taken from my recent medications to that morning. plus i was sucking on my inhaler like it was no tommorrow just to keep me going till i got home to go on my nebuliser again and see the doctor.

Indie_Kid

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

i know this will sound unfair to you but your assessment took place as soon as you came into view of the medical centre you attended, whether you drove there or not.
if you drove there then you have no dispute that your arm is so incopacitated you cannot use it as both arms are required to drive and this will be taken into account in you assessment as the assessor would of asked you how you got to the centre that day if you replied i drove by car then uh oh one mark against you.

This is wrong - you can get adaptions so that you don't need to use both hands for driving.

i could prove the assessor i had infact taken my meds as i could show him my nebuliser and medication and recent script from the recent scrip and meds he could work out the dosages i had taken from my recent medications to that morning.

This means nothing. I have medication that is taken when I need it (it says this on the script) and there is no way of proving that I took it today.

[Deleted User]

cally57 wrote: »

What is worrying me john is, if they reject me, i am left with nothing. I am 53 and live on my own so what will i live on. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they dont stop it........and thank you for ure advice

if you fail the medical for esa and lose the appeal then you should be able to claim jobseekers allowance providing you are avaliable for work,you can put some limitations on the work you are avaliable for due to medical reasons

generalcuster

cally57 wrote: »

On July 26th i underwent an operation on my elbow. I was unemployed and claiming JSA. 2 days after the operation i stopped claiming JSA and and was told i could claim ESA. Today i have been for my medical assessment. I was told that if i disagree with their decision which i will receive in the next few days, i will be able to dispute it. Next week ( 6th sept ) i return to see the specialist who operated. I know from the pain and discomfort i am still suffering that he will say that i am not fit to be employed yet. If Atos Healthcare think i am fit to be employed does this mean i lose my benefit?? How do i stand on this and why does a doctor working for Atos Healthcare believe they have more experience than an orthopedic specialist, to overule any decision he might make next week. If he says i cannot go back to work and Atos Healthcare say i can, i am left in deep trouble and without benefits.

ATOS, I believe, are not interested in how your medical condition/disability is treated - what they are interested in is if, given the restrictions of your illness/disability, you are fit to do some work. If the answer is yes you can do some type of work, then you are either placed in the work group to help you find that work, or if they think that you are able to find work with the help of the JC+ staff, then you should be claiming JSA not ESA.

When you think about it, even using a laptop, opening envelopes or even painting pictures could be classed as work. I know this to be a fact, as in one of my 'work interviews' they asked if I could use a computer and deal with the internet/emails, in which case I should be looking for work around those things, not claiming ESA. I have joined this forum and am writing this - so that proves that they are right - even though I disagree with them!

cally57

Thank you everyone. Not had the letter yet but see the specialist today so we will see. Ure advice is brilliant and i thank you all for taking the time to contact me...... Carolyn x

cit_k

cally57 wrote: »

Thank you everyone. Not had the letter yet but see the specialist today so we will see. Ure advice is brilliant and i thank you all for taking the time to contact me...... Carolyn x

Ring them up and ask them to send you a copy of the medical report ATOS compiled.

They have to send it (free).

They will have it by now, and pass or fail, its a important document for you to keep for future reference.

Warning - do not be shocked if it is a work of fiction when you read it.