Does warag advisor know all of your medical history?

johnsmi

Hi,

Just wondering if a person is in the wrag group and has to go to one of the work focussed interviews will the advisor there have full details of their medical history such as mental illiness etc?

Could be embarassing for the claimant particularly if some far out relatives work as an advisor or its a small close knit community.

Just wondring if they have full access to a clients medical history and reports by ATOS or ESA 50 forms and GP medical certs.?

Thanks for any info.

John

rogerblack

johnsmi wrote: »

Hi,
Just wondering if a person is in the wrag group and has to go to one of the work focussed interviews will the advisor there have full details of their medical history such as mental illiness etc?

As I understand it, no, they don't have access to everything.
However, they do have at the least the reasons you were granted ESA - and clearly if this was for MH reasons, they need to know it.
If you have an appointment with someone you know that you're not comfortable discussing things with, then you can request someone else.

This may or may not be granted.

johnsmi

Thanks Rdger for reply,

Another thing I'm a little curious about with all the talk about the bad decisions of ATOS why have so few GP's not got directly in touch with the DWP when they probably feel strongly that a person is not fit for work ( though I do realise that it is not the GP's job to reach the decision about a persons fitness for work) and maybe even feel that a persons life could be at risk because of the stress and other things that are involved.

If a GP was so concerned about a patient and was to ring the DWP and say "I feel this patient is under so much pressure beccuse of the ESA medical and outcome and they could well self harm as a result, I am letting you know this so that you are aware of the circumstances and I want to let you to note my call in case anything happens"

Would the DWP just totally ignore that doctors call?

Just wondering.

John

Savvy_Sue

johnsmi wrote: »

Could be embarassing for the claimant particularly if some far out relatives work as an advisor or its a small close knit community.

There's something called client confidentiality.

The receptionist at your GP surgery probably lives locally. Do you anticipate your medical history being spread around the area?

Even if you did come across someone you knew, what happens in the interview shouldn't be shared outside the organisation, and only then on a 'need to know' basis, eg with a supervisor.

Richie-from-the-Boro

johnsmi wrote: »

Thanks Rdger for reply,

Another thing I'm a little curious about with all the talk about the bad decisions of ATOS why have so few GP's not got directly in touch with the DWP when they probably feel strongly that a person is not fit for work ( though I do realise that it is not the GP's job to reach the decision about a persons fitness for work) and maybe even feel that a persons life could be at risk because of the stress and other things that are involved.

If a GP was so concerned about a patient and was to ring the DWP and say "I feel this patient is under so much pressure because of the ESA medical and outcome and they could well self harm as a result, I am letting you know this so that you are aware of the circumstances and I want to let you to note my call in case anything happens"

Would the DWP just totally ignore that doctors call?

Just wondering.

John

HiYa John,

Its a well documented truth going back some years that the government openly and forcefully declared that a GP is not qualified to decide what you are capable of and that the GP was to be taken completely out of the decision making process. This process was well documented and commented on over a period of a year all over the press and millions of posts on the internet, even to include many many 'back threads' right on here MSE.

The old process and criteria was 'what you are NOT fit for profiling', the new process is 'what you CAN manage profiling' within clearly defined legal descriptors. The GP can gave input, it may or may no be read by the ATOS practitioner, evidence has it that almost without exception the GP's opinion is NOT counted and indeed is seen as 'hostile' to the ATOS decision making process and is largely ignored.

The fact that its ignored and given no weight in the decision making process as stated, is because while a GP will be happy to document why he considers that an individual is NOT fit to .............. the system has changed years ago, they are not interested in what a patient CAN'T do and a GP can never know what amongst the thousands of occupations and sub-occupations a patient CAN do.

Similarly a visit to a GP years ago would result in a sick note [a CAN'T do note] on the 6th of April 2010 the sick note changed and became a [CAN do] fit note, because the government decided that - their evidence showed that work is generally good for your health and that often going back to work can actually aid a person’s recovery. On the other hand, staying off work can lead to long-term absence and job loss with the risk of isolation, loss of confidence, mental health issues, de-skilling and social exclusion.

I hope this helps your understanding John.