Been called for medical - not happy

earthbound_misfit

OP: What kind of work have you done before? Is there anything you're interested in trying? If you do get ESA you may get access to training schemes, discounted/subsidised college courses etc. And then there is the 'permitted work' route back into employment too, where you can try working part-time for a bit to get used to it again.

krisskross

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

No job conditions should be horrible enough to leave someone feeling like that. If they are it should be a damn sight better paid so you only had to endure it part-time for the same money! It's the bigger system, we have it all wrong, what different people's work is 'worth' in wages...

I was a nurse and I bet there is not a single one of us working on the front line that hadn't experienced all those emotions etc.

Of course the sheer joy in helping to bring someone back to health, the camaraderie, the meeting lots of lovely people will balance the equation but nonetheless there can be few jobs that do not cause stress etc. And surely we all need some stress in our lives, things would be very boring if there were no ups and downs.

princessdon

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

Is what a valid reason? The fact that it's easier? If someone is too ill to work then obviously the route to keeping body and soul together should be easier than work, ie. state support.
But people with treatable conditions should actually be able to access the treatment they need to recover. Benefits should be a safety net while this happens. And for people who won't recover but will recover enough to do limited/flexible work, there should be appropriate support, training schemes, and employment opportunities. Otherwise they will just be on a different benefit forever.


No job conditions should be horrible enough to leave someone feeling like that. If they are it should be a damn sight better paid so you only had to endure it part-time for the same money! It's the bigger system, we have it all wrong, what different people's work is 'worth' in wages...

By that logic over half of the UK would be unable to work or working part time and needing benefits. Work can and is for most of us stressful at times (we'd ALL like to be paid to not work), the good times outweigh the bad and having company, friendship and a job that you enjoy (even if 60% of the time) can be very good for mental health.

Given that everyone has Mental Health issues (it's like physical health in that you have good and bad times, but we are all suscptible to it) then ruling out work for EVERYONE with mental health issues is dangerous. Some will benefit from work, others will struggle, but in all honesty the world would fall apart if everyone decided to throw in the towel if having a poor mental health period. That is why benefits need to be tailored more to their needs, give support to return to work (not remove this forever), because very quickly a "cold" in mental health (ie something that can be recovered from quickly) becomes a longer term issue as GP's don't react quick enough and employers don't understand it.

I was "forced" to do Mental Health First Aid Training recently at work and it opened my eyes a lot and although I am not now a manager (re-depolyment) I would react differently as a manager in the future. Little things I have done in the past (with good intentions) like sending flowers and texts I know now were not appt. More training and awareness needs to be given to all. People go down hill quickly and return to work becomes a barrier it needed not have been if reacted to quickly

zoominatorone

MUMZ2BEE wrote: »

This type of benefit fraud makes me so angry as well.

I have had heart problems since birth, and my medical notes at the doctors surgery are very lengthy of ALL my problems!!

Its people like this claiming benefit dishonestly that makes it hard for genuine claimants!!

Oh come on!

How can someone who has been on sickness benefits for 20 or so years and never had a medical for them say it's hard for genuine claimants?

ab.da54

mazza111 wrote: »

I have to take back what I said about the winter fuel allowance, I thought all pensioners got it, but it's only some on certain benefits that do get it.

I thought all pensioners got the winter fuel payment but only those on certain benefits got cold weather payments ??

krisskross

zoominatorone wrote: »

Oh come on!

How can someone who has been on sickness benefits for 20 or so years and never had a medical for them say it's hard for genuine claimants?

Especially when her assertions of being genuine have never been put to any test.

mazza111

ab.da54 wrote: »

I thought all pensioners got the winter fuel payment but only those on certain benefits got cold weather payments ??

I thought that too, then i read somewhere earlier that not all do get it. So I'm wondering where I read it now lol. Seems it's if you get state pension and not as I read it earlier. I apologise yet again, it's been a very busy week here with hospitals, doctors, physio, OTs etc. My brain is not quite working properly. I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can have a couple of beers and chillax for a while, be glad when this week is over.

zoominatorone wrote: »

Oh come on!

How can someone who has been on sickness benefits for 20 or so years and never had a medical for them say it's hard for genuine claimants?

Well you just need to read the news papers or the amount of threads on forums to see that something's going wrong with the system. Mumz is the only person I know of to be on benefits that long without a check, I was on IB for about 6 months back in 96/97 and I had to go for a check around month 3. I'll say it again and again, I welcome the WCA, but they must be done fairly and honestly. ATOS are not ticking those boxes for my liking at the moment. There's just too many being wrong for us all to be wrong.

I think we've all forgotten what the benefits board is for, and even I'm guilty of it, it's for getting advice, not for discussing policies

PippaGirl_2

My fil was put on IB following a triple heart bypass and spent the remaining 20 years to his retirement on it without a medical. He could definitely have worked though, he was very fit and active. You can see why the benefit system DID need changing but unfortunately the pendulum has swung too far the other way and now genuinely sick and disabled people are being declared fit for work when they definitely aren't.

mazza111

Riversong wrote: »

I havent read the whole thread but if someone is that worried about the assessment, maybe they know deep down they don't qualify.

No I think they are more likely to be worried because they see the amount of people that ATOS are finding fit for work who quite clearly aren't. Especially for MH reasons.

Unless you've been to one of these assessments, and seen one of the reports, you really have no idea about the lies that they are telling about people.

What would you like to be able to do if you were able?

I'd like to socialise with my friends, or maybe go to the pub now and again.
Translates to Miss xxxxx goes to the pub regularly to socialise with friends.

Do you have any pets at home?

Yes I have a cat, my mother comes down to feed and water him when she's bringing my dinner.

Translates to: Miss XXXX can look after her cat without any problems.

I've even heard of one man who's (non) impotency problems were mentioned. Mr. X has no problem in getting and maintaining an erection.... Now, sorry, but !!!!!! has being able to get and maintain an erection have to do with being able to work? Yes, ok, some medical problems can cause impotency, but just because it's the one part of the illness that doesn't affect you, doesn't mean it should be brought up in a WCA. It's really not work related unless he was a gigolo or fancied going into this line of work :eek:


So I would imagine reading some of the stories on here, and in the press, are the reason why people are so scared of going for the WCA.

PippaGirl_2

Riversong wrote: »

I havent read the whole thread but if someone is that worried about the assessment, maybe they know deep down they don't qualify.

I don't think that's the case at all. Fears gather because of knowing that so many assessments are fictionalised by assessors for whatever reason including meeting targets, of knowing you are too ill to work but not knowing if you tick the right boxes, of facing an assessment when any social situation means intense anxiety and panic, of the result being not having a source of income and knowing you are unable to work so cannot change that and of the general stress of all that together. My anxiety was massive when I went for my last assessment and the assessment was terminated early by the Doctor who recommended I be placed in the support group so I definitely qualified and I knew I was too ill to work but that didn't stop the anxiety about the assessment.