Atos medical

highfive1983

Hello all ,I'm a newbie so please be gentle with me:).I currently am getting the assessment rate of ESA income based. I have Fibromyalgia, I know that I will have to take part in a medical assessment with Atos in the near future ,the thing that really worries me and I apologise for the next part of my post I also suffer from very very heavy periods to the point that when I am having my monthly I am so frightened to leave the house due to flooding .I take tablets from my gp for this problem but they don't really help, can I give this as a reason for changing a medical date if it happens to fall during my period.(Which admittedly lasts for upto 20 days sometimes)I don't want to look like I am just putting the medical off but I genuingly get to the stage that I daren't even move if I can help it as i flood so badly.

sunnyone

highfive1983 wrote: »

Hello all ,I'm a newbie so please be gentle with me:).I currently am getting the assessment rate of ESA income based. I have Fibromyalgia, I know that I will have to take part in a medical assessment with Atos in the near future ,the thing that really worries me and I apologise for the next part of my post I also suffer from very very heavy periods to the point that when I am having my monthly I am so frightened to leave the house due to flooding .I take tablets from my gp for this problem but they don't really help, can I give this as a reason for changing a medical date if it happens to fall during my period.(Which admittedly lasts for upto 20 days sometimes)I don't want to look like I am just putting the medical off but I genuingly get to the stage that I daren't even move if I can help it as i flood so badly.

I was the same, I had huge fibroids that couldnt be removed by ablation etc. so I had to have a hysterectomy and it was the best thing I ever did:)

I used to carry spare clothes in the car incase I needed them and I had quite a few very embarassing episodes, I could just have got changed, used 2 heavy duty mattress pads and a heavy duty tampon, then look down to to see Im covered in blood from the crotch to the knees, how embarrasing.

I always wore dark bottoms but that ddint really help when blood is literaly pumping down my legs.

I would speak to your GP and mention the medical, see what they say but you could try the pill with no breaks for holidays etc. the diffrent tablets did nothing at all for me apart from the iron to try and keep my heamaglobin (sp) up out of the danger range but my hysterectomy was the best thing and now for the first time in my adult life Im free from the shame of being covered in blood in public at the worst tiem possible but your treatment would depend on your age and if you want (more) kids.

pwales_2

thanks for that i will leave the rest of my spag boll i suddenly aint hungry no more :rotfl::rotfl:

burkey365

you know in advance each month when your period is so change the date, call them, ask for a house appointment, wear thicker darker clothes, even and i apologise for this , a nappy...do you not realise the government are reducing claims so you are playing into their hands if you do not do everything humanly possible to have this medical

andyandflo

burkey365 wrote: »

you know in advance each month when your period is so change the date, call them, ask for a house appointment, wear thicker darker clothes, even and i apologise for this , a nappy...do you not realise the government are reducing claims so you are playing into their hands if you do not do everything humanly possible to have this medical

The last time I asked about the chances of even passing the medical, the figure was approx 20%. Approx 40% fail and the other 40% don't bother going to the medical because they know they will fail!

Fail and appeal, then there is currently in my area a 15/18 month wait to get to the Tribunal.

Can't wait until I get my Old Age Pension in three years - then there will be no more of this system!

I feel for you and those younger than me.

dmg24

andyandflo wrote: »

The last time I asked about the chances of even passing the medical, the figure was approx 20%. Approx 40% fail and the other 40% don't bother going to the medical because they know they will fail!

Fail and appeal, then there is currently in my area a 15/18 month wait to get to the Tribunal.

Can't wait until I get my Old Age Pension in three years - then there will be no more of this system!

I feel for you and those younger than me.

Please stop giving figures which are blatantly untrue.

nogginthenog

1.2.1 WCA results for all ESA Claims [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]For all new ESA claims from October 2008 to November 2009, the breakdown of the DWP decision at initial assessment (by the end of May 2010) is as follows:
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Support Group - 6%
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Work Related Activity Group -14%
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Fit for Work - 39%
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Claim closed before assessment complete - 37%
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Assessment still in progress - 4%
[/FONT][/FONT]

1.2.2 WCA results for all completed assessments

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]For all completed initial assessments (not including assessments still in progress or people who left ESA before completing assessment) to the end of May 2010 the breakdown of the DWP decision at initial assessment is as follows:
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Support Group – 10%
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Work Related Activity Group - 24%
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Fit for Work - 66%
[/FONT][/FONT]

1.2.3 WCA Appeals

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Of people who made a claim for ESA between October 2008 and June 2009 and who were found Fit for Work at assessment, 32% have had an appeal heard by Tribunals Service [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]to date. [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]The original decision made by DWP has been confirmed for 60% of these appeals heard.
[/FONT][/FONT]6

andyandflo

dmg24 wrote: »

Please stop giving figures which are blatantly untrue.

Have I??
This is what I said:

The last time I asked about the chances of even passing the medical, the figure was approx 20% (14%+6% =20%). Approx 40% (39%) fail and the other 40% (37%) don't bother going to the medical because they know they will fail!

The figures given by the other poster are in BOLD

I may be a little out but not by much!!

And yes of the 39% that fail, approx 40% of them win at a Tribunal. This is another 16%. All in all approx 36% actually pass if you include the appeal cases.

And that is if you have the strength, energy, determination and drive to wait the 15/18months, gather the evidence together, prepare a submission and present the case at the Tribunal.

MrsManda

andyandflo wrote: »

the other 40% (37%) don't bother going to the medical because they know they will fail!

Are you a politician or sensationalist journalist?
There is no way of telling why people don't end up attending a medical but I'd have thought that it's because the majority of people applying are not ill for 13 weeks considering you're eligible to apply if you've been ill for four days.

FTW

If you've not had your assessment yet, try and make sure you audio record it (a dictation machine or a mobile with a record facility in the shirt pocket would do the job).

And no, you don't have to tell them that you're doing it.

Anyone who attends an Atos medical should do this - it's best to be prepared as far as they're concerned.

If you don't, you'll wish you had, because you can also expect the report they compile on you to contain many lies and misinterpretations.

nolegion

Well said, FTW. Always worth bearing in mind. And as I expect people are already noticing from developments reported over the w\e at another well-known site the source of advice concerning benefits, refusal by DWP|Atos to permit ‘overt’ recording is also ‘on the back foot’. Progress at last.