Good result, friends daughter placed on support group on appeal.

zzzLazyDaisy

Just thought I would let you know about my friend's daughter, to give you a success story.

She has multiple health conditions, physical and mental, and mild learning difficulties. She lives on her own, with support from carers and various professionals. She has been on long term IS and also HRM/MRC DLA.

She completed her ESA50 with assistance from her support worker, and then was called for assessement. She arrived for the assessment with her carer only to be told it was cancelled. Another assessment was arranged but by this time she was so anxious and upset, and generally unable to cope that she ended up sectioned for her own safety and so could not attend the second assessment either.

Now there is no doubt that, on paper, she meets the descriptors for the support group on three different criteria. But what happened was that when she could not attend the assessment owing to being in hospital, the papers were passed to an ATOS doctor who reported that she would be fit for work within three months with no face to face interview at all (and it would seem, without even reading the medical reports submitted with the ESA50).

So she was placed in the WRAG group. This decision was appealed, and we have just heard that her case has been reconsidered and she has now been placed in the support group - on the same evidence that was provided with the ESA50. The only extra thing the decision maker had was a letter pointing them to the parts of the various documents already submitted and pointing out that this comes within the descriptors for the support group.

The only possible conclusion is that neither the ATOS doctor* nor the decision maker read the papers first time round.

*It was a doctor in this case as only an ATOS doctor can cancel an assessment appointment, so the case had to go to a doctor at regional office for the assessment to be cancelled.

Sadly, the process from first receipt of the ESA50 form, to receiving the decision that she is in the Support Group, has taken over a year. During this time the pressure and stress of worrying if she might lose her money and therefore her home, has put her in hospital three times, and she is now much worse and needing a higher level of support to cope independently, than when the process first started.

So if you think you should be in the support group, and you can show you meet the descriptor (s), do appeal the decision.

Folar

I'm really pleased to hear she finally won her battle. It's disgusting the hoops that genuine people are made to jump through and it has obviously been detrimental to her health.

Ellejmorgan

ESA system is unworkable and needs to change.
Glad the battle was won but it shouldn't have been this way to begin with and sh's not the only one..
I wonder how much extra these appeals cost the government..

geoffky

Next step will all disabled people will be required to wear yellow stars and normal people will sit idly by..
Because they are not ill but scroungers....mark my words

rogerblack

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

But what happened was that when she could not attend the assessment owing to being in hospital, the papers were passed to an ATOS doctor who reported that she would be fit for work within three months with no face to face interview at all (and it would seem, without even reading the medical reports submitted with the ESA50).

I would strongly recommend you make an official complaint.
While you may feel that this does nothing - lack of complaints proves the process is perfect.

Brassedoff

I am very happy for her that she won her appeal and please as Rogerblack has said, complain. If everyone who won their appeal then did a full and comprehensive complaint, it would soon stop these moonlighting medics from doing what they are doing. Once one or two start losing their registrations to practice the sooner all these lying, cheating medical reports will stop.

zzzLazyDaisy

Just to say thank you for everyone's response.

And to tell you that she has just had another ESA50 drop through the door, only a couple of days after we got the letter confirming that she is in the support group. We phoned up to tell them of their 'mistake' only to be informed by some snotty cow (sorry) that even claimants in the support group are assessed regularly, and yes, she must complete the ESA50 form, and no, it isn't a mistake.

My friend's daughter has spiralled into a complete melt-down.

:-(

Parva

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Just to say thank you for everyone's response.

And to tell you that she has just had another ESA50 drop through the door, only a couple of days after we got the letter confirming that she is in the support group. We phoned up to tell them of their 'mistake' only to be informed by some snotty cow (sorry) that even claimants in the support group are assessed regularly, and yes, she must complete the ESA50 form, and no, it isn't a mistake.

My friend's daughter has spiralled into a complete melt-down.

:-(

That is absolutely disgusting. I would find out who her local MP is and raise this issue as a matter of urgency. The mind boggles. :mad:

Limana68

Even if you write a letter of complaint it may get 'lost'.
We have wrote two letters and neither of them arrived.
We have given up!:mad:

HB58

I have heard of this happening quite a lot. The DWP make the excuse that the re-assessment period runs from the date of the first decision, with appeals taking so long it is just 'coincidental' that the claimant is due to be reassessed as soon as the appeal is over.