Ask Atos Healthcare disability assessment questions

Muttleythefrog

schrodie wrote: »

It would be interesting to see how often the Pre-Board Check system is carried out and how often ESA113 forms are issued!

I'll bet they don't study all the reports I'll be sending this month.. around 8 letters/reports with ESA50. Including an ATOS ESA85 and ATOS ESA85A..lol

Olive_Oyl

Muttleythefrog wrote: »

THEY DO NOT ALWAYS DO THIS! For example they sometimes do not read the ESA50

Or in my case conducted the assessment without it .

Muttleythefrog

Olive_Oyl wrote: »

Or in my case conducted the assessment without it .

Oh gosh yeah... although in some cases the ESA50 won't be completed or even sent to claimant (both of which could lead to genuine and procedurally justified situation of no ESA50 being available to HCP) some people have reported it wasn't made available to the HCP due to some logistical problem. That would seem a recipe for poor assessment and one wonders why an assessment would go ahead without such important information if it exists.

Atos_Healthcare_representative

Auld_N_Knackered wrote: »

Why are nurses that do assessments allowed to override GP and Surgeon reports? Are the doctors not more qualified than a nurse? Everything that has been sent to Atos has been ignored or dismissed by lesser qualified individuals. Another point I am doubly incontinent, my GP and Surgeon back me on this but Atos says they and I are lying, what have I got to do to prove my medical conditions when Atos repute every one of them and give 0 points. I get the higher rate mobility but Atos says I can walk 500 metres which is lies on their part, I cannot walk the length of myself without stopping or falling over.

Auld N Knackered, we can't go into details of specific cases on here, but you can contact us via the e-mail address in our profile to discuss your experience.

nogginthenog

Atos_Healthcare_company_representative wrote: »

Atos Healthcare isn’t involved in the decision making or appeals process. However, the focus of a Work Capability Assessment is to assess how you’re affected by your medical condition and the tribunal will want to know how your neuralgia is impacting upon your day to day life. While the actual diagnosis is of less importance than its impact, any information you send to them will be taken into account.

That just makes it one persons word against another,

For instance claimant says i cant walk 20 meters without pain or discomfort

atos Doc/Nurse..Claimant can walk 20 meters without pain.

Of course you have to take the medical evidence into account.

It is a matter of likleyhood, ...just like doing Jury Service you weigh up the evidence.

Atos_Healthcare_representative

Auld_N_Knackered wrote: »

:mad:So you are saying that Atos collect the info and a faceless 3rd party makes the decisions. If that is correct who are these people and what qualifications do they have. By the way I have seen the report from the Assessor and it does not tell the truth re evidence presented to her. She has in fact made decisions that the next lot take onboard and score accordingly.

Hi.

People called Decision Makers at the DWP make all benefit decisions. The report produced by Atos Healthcare is one of the pieces of information that they take into account.

Muttleythefrog

Atos_Healthcare_company_representative wrote: »

Auld N Knackered, we can't go into details of specific cases on here, but you can contact us via the e-mail address in our profile to discuss your experience.

Or alternately he could look at your website regarding the complaints procedure of course. Why on earth would the claimant want to 'discuss their experience with customer relations'... it won't achieve anything except give ATOS an opportunity to stall the claimant in actually getting the matter resolved through appropriate legal channel or formal complaint processes with appropriate bodies. This is all PR and not claimant help.

Atos_Healthcare_representative

volintier wrote: »

More to the point, what would happen if the claimant refused to consent to a physical examination - one where the assessor would be touching the claimant?

Not all WCAs will include a physical examination, and those that do will only involve areas relevant to that individual. A physical examination, whether as part of a WCA or not, requires the explanation of what would take place by the healthcare professional, and the consent of the individual, before it can be carried out. If an individual does not wish to have a physical examination carried out at all – or does not want to perform some aspects of it – that is fine and they do not have to give a reason. The healthcare professional will note this in their report, explaining that a physical examination was not carried out at the claimant’s request, and will complete their assessment with what information they do have.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Why do ATOS keep ringing me when they have been informed not to on no less than 5 occasions and i have a letter from you dated three month ago which ATOS states:

" i can assure you that this will not happen ever again,the manager of the contact centre has been informed and they will make sure that your phone number is taken off and that you will not be called again"

Funny that they called again today:mad:

Atos_Healthcare_representative

clouty wrote: »

The way the HCP fills in the LiMA form impacts directly on the information sent to the decision maker, and the ATOS LiMA programme scores the claimants. 15 points gathered from all of the questions should be a WRAG decision, 15 points scored on a single descriptor should be a Support Group decision - so how the ATOS rep can say they have no say in decisionmaking is beyond me. It's a very convenient fudge - the DWP let ATOS take all the flak, and ATOS respond by saying (wrongly in my view) that

I agree ATOS has no input into appeals after the assessment process, but the ATOS assessment report (the ESA85) (which is not nothing, after all) is part of the appeal papers bundle sent for the consideration of the First Tier Tribunal.

All the descriptors within the WCA activities have a point score which is part of the ESA Legislation. While these scores are included in the LiMA program, to produce a report which offers advice to the decision maker, the decision as to which descriptors and points apply in every case rests with the decision maker.