ESA Migration - Timescales?

Manicdepressionsucks

Good morning everyone.
I wont bore you too much with the details of my Illness save to say I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder 11 years ago.

I had a glittering career which I managed to hold down for 6 more years after diagnosis before this b**tard of an illness came and flattened everything I had worked so hard for.

I am currently in the embryonic stages of ESA migration from IB.

I sent my ESA form back a week last Monday.

My question is how long will it take for me to hear a peep from them now?

I guess the answer will be "how long is a piece of string?" but I need to know some sort of ball-park timescale. I have started with my 'bad behaviours' and bitter experience shows me where that leads.

I am quite prepared for all this to go to appeal. My Psychiatrist, Social Worker, CMHT and GP are all backing me 100% tho'

Why anyone would think anyone would choose this life, this humiliation of scraping by is beyond me, that however is a different issue.

Thanking you in advance for your responses.

Manicdepressionsucks

How long has it taken for anyone else to receive ANY news after sending in the ESA50 form please?

mia01

Hello, I know how worrying the transfer can be and there are a lot of horror stories about tribunals and so on, but thought that I would try and reassure you with our experiance. My husband suffers from Depressive illness with somatic symptoms as well as suicidal episodes and anxiety attacks. Anyhow, we posted his ESA50 form back to DWP on 11/05/11 , along with a copy of his care plan from the Psychiatrist and referal letter for CBT ( which incidentally he is still waiting for and could be waiting for a long time it seems )
I received a phone call on the 10/06/11 saying that he has been awarded ESA and has been placed in the work related activity group from a guy who seemed very knowledgable and helpful, he answered all my questions and spent quite a long time going over everything with me. We received a letter to confirm this 2 days later.
My husband did not have to attend a medical and all the stress we had prior to it being confirmed was unfounded. I hope that you hear something back soon.

Manicdepressionsucks

Mia

Thank so much for taking the time to reply. Your reassurance is very valuable.

BTW. I waited 36 months for CBT/ The Managing Mental Health course. It was excellent. It needs one to put in a great deal of effort, which can often be painful requiring a great deal of self-examination. however it is worth it!

Thanks again

mia01

You are welcome, this new system is causing a lot of stress for a lot of people who genuinely rely upon benefits in order to survive. I would glady not have to claim anything if it meant that my husband was well again!
Ouch , thats a long wait for CBT! My hubby "referal" session with the CBT guy back in November and we were told then that we could expect a wait of around 18 months, however, with all the cutbacks being made I am sure that the wait will be longer. I have heard good things about CBT and I am optimistic that it will help. Its just frustrating that my hubby has been in limbo for so long, and I imagine that everyone with a mental health illness feels the same when stuck on a waiting list :eek:

Anyway, good luck with your claim, I hope that it goes smoothly for you x