Incapacity benefits stopped, help needed.

rogerblack

bestpud wrote: »

They aren't assessing the illness though... That is the job of the specialists for that particular illness.

Their job is to collect job relevant data.

An oncologist with 20 years experience will (hopefully) know all there is to know about cancer treatments, but they won't necessarily know if there is any jobs the patient may be able to do.

In theory it is better to have someone who isn't an expert in the claimants condition as they have different priorities..

Arguably yes.

However, a problem is that due to poor knowledge of the condition(s) the claimant has, the proper evidence may not be gathered.

For example - I have chronic fatigue.
The doctor - while doing a reasonable job - failed to pick up that I'd entered my mobility incorrectly on the forms - I was basing it on what I could do once a day, with struggling, on good days, and did not query other aspects that could have lead to points in the 'mental function' descriptors.

For claimants with complex problems, especially when they don't consider one area their 'main' problem, so don't emphasise it in the initial application, the health-care professional should in principle be ideally placed to get full details of the health of the claimant.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like this if the doctor or nurse involved has simply read the several paragraphs on the disease in the diagnostic manual, and explores aspects of the disease that the claimant doesn't suffer from that those happen to highlight, rather than understanding the condition, and moving on to explore other aspects.

~Chameleon~

paddedjohn wrote: »

isnt agrophobia a fear of open spaces?

No, this is a commonly held misconception. In my experience it is a fear of being in a public place without any means of escape. But, you could arguably say that somebody with agoraphobia would find it extremely difficult to attend music festivals, I know I certainly would!!

bestpud

paddedjohn wrote: »

isnt agrophobia a fear of open spaces? the op seems to like camping and music festivals , after seeing this in her previous posts im wondering if it is in fact the correct decision to stop her benefits. There must be something workwise she is capable of.

There's a few like that on here!

But after years of camping and festivals all summer long, it's easy to see why a job is unpalatable!!

LadyMorticia

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

No, this is a commonly held misconception. In my experience it is a fear of being in a public place without any means of escape. But, you could arguably say that somebody with agoraphobia would find it extremely difficult to attend music festivals, I know I certainly would!!

I still have some degree of agoraphobia (although, not as bad as it once was) and there is no way that I could attend musical festivals or go camping. Not helped by the fact I'm in a wheelchair either!

Saying that though, maybe their agoraphobia varies? Or they have to take extreme lengths to be able to do these things.

Only the OP knows.