ESA Support Group And Received ESA50

Digital_2012

Hi i am in ESA Support Group for 4 Years. Two months ago i changed address and moved out from my partner and now i received ESA50.

I am terrified i have severe depression sleeping disorders social anxiety panic attacks and post traumatic stress due to serious assault on me in the past. Now i also diagnosed with Autism Asperger Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder.

I am taking Propnolol 40mg, Citalopram 20mg, Amitriptyline 10mg, Vitamin D caps and Gaviscon.

I am now really depressed and going through a lot of stress, i only have 28 days to fill the form in and send it back. Last time cab people helped me to fill the form in but now its been long time since i saw them and hard to get hold of the person who helped me fill the form in last time.

I am totally lost and cant thing right what to do, any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

poppy12345

Digital_2012 wrote: »

Hi i am in ESA Support Group for 4 Years. Two months ago i changed address and moved out from my partner and now i received ESA50.

I am terrified i have severe depression sleeping disorders social anxiety panic attacks and post traumatic stress due to serious assault on me in the past. Now i also diagnosed with Autism Asperger Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder.

I am taking Propnolol 40mg, Citalopram 20mg, Amitriptyline 10mg, Vitamin D caps and Gaviscon.

I am now really depressed and going through a lot of stress, i only have 28 days to fill the form in and send it back. Last time cab people helped me to fill the form in but now its been long time since i saw them and hard to get hold of the person who helped me fill the form in last time.

I am totally lost and cant thing right what to do, any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi,
You were most likely due a reassessment, i know it may seem like moving and changing your address has triggered this off but i doubt that. You can ring them and extend the time to send it back by 14 days. In the meantime i'd advice ringing CAB or your local disability advice centre who'll help you fill it in. Gather as much evidence as you can ready to send this with the form, copies only of course. If you have enough evidence you may not even need a face 2 face assessment. I didn't last year with mine, i had a paper based decision and i was kept in the support group. Good luck.

TELLIT01

The important thing is to ensure that you don't just ignore it and hope the problem will go away. Follow the advice given by poppy above.

Tenbury

I was in a similar position.( 4yrs support group,etc).In April I got an Esa50.Both my GP and shrink wrote letters saying a f2f either here,or even worse, somewhere else was out of the question ( I am bipolar and psychotic,and I'm ashamed to say,can become unreasonable in unfamiliar situations(I 'be never had a f2f because of this).I've never had a reply,still get paid,butdread a brown envelope arriving.I don't want to contact them.Any ideas?

paragon909

Tenbury wrote: »

I was in a similar position.( 4yrs support group,etc).In April I got an Esa50.Both my GP and shrink wrote letters saying a f2f either here,or even worse, somewhere else was out of the question ( I am bipolar and psychotic,and I'm ashamed to say,can become unreasonable in unfamiliar situations(I 'be never had a f2f because of this).I've never had a reply,still get paid,butdread a brown envelope arriving.I don't want to contact them.Any ideas?

Well your GP and "psychiatrist" probably wrote letters that are sufficient for them to make a paper based decision hence why you don't need to go.

Also you should never feel ashamed about having a mental illness... Am sure everyone in life has episodes of mental problems. whether it being short period or long term, No one is perfect and we don't know what happens behind closed doors!

If you get paid then why contact DWP. But they should have sent a letter if they were stopping your money for any particular reason like failing or something.

KxMx

It is not possible to be failed without a F2F following an ESA50.

Without a letter saying you have passed without needing a F2F, it's possible Maximus are still processing your case, or its on a DWP desk, and a decision about a F2F hasn't yet been made.

With not wanting to contact them, your only option is to wait.


OP, this is a re-assessment, likely delayed to the backlog still present in many areas (after ATOS quit). Even in the Support Group the maximum award is I believe 3 years.

What you need to do now is fill in the forms and send back with any supporting medical evidence.

I suggest you contact CAB or DAB asap and book an appointment. I realise you want the same person as last time, but this may not be possible and it's better to book an appointment now as these places are often busy.

Tenbury

Thanks for your replies. I realise that things can take quite a while,and they're probably short staffed,but the not knowing is quite unsettling.Four years ago my CMH group had a benefits officer,but he was made redundant a shame as he would visit with my CMHNurse and was friendly.The last time I was hospitalised they weren't able to help me paperwork,but I'm well aware that people like me are difficult to deal with.

Digital_2012

Thanks guys for your replies, i just rang my gp and its long wait 6 weeks appointment, local cab the person i saw last time only available Wednesday so i have to ring back again on Wednesday. I have a lot of documents from autism doctor, i am currently seeing a practice autism psychiatric and luckily i got appointment with her on Tuesday tomorrow.

I do not go out all my medicines delivered to my house, my gp and my autism doctor both advice me not to go crowded places due to nature of my disability. Two months ago when i changed address i also informed dwp that i diagnosed autism which they said thats fine and they updated the system.

I am panicking a lot and i am so anxious even after taking all my medicines.

poppy12345

Digital_2012 wrote: »

Thanks guys for your replies, i just rang my gp and its long wait 6 weeks appointment, local cab the person i saw last time only available Wednesday so i have to ring back again on Wednesday. I have a lot of documents from autism doctor, i am currently seeing a practice autism psychiatric and luckily i got appointment with her on Tuesday tomorrow.

I do not go out all my medicines delivered to my house, my gp and my autism doctor both advice me not to go crowded places due to nature of my disability. Two months ago when i changed address i also informed dwp that i diagnosed autism which they said thats fine and they updated the system.

I am panicking a lot and i am so anxious even after taking all my medicines.

Time really isn't on your hands here and you can't ignore that ESA50 form. It may nt always be possible to see that same person at CAB that you seen last time. Could you not see someone else and take someone with you? When you do have help to fill those forms in you can ask for a home assessment (incase an assessment is needed) but you'll need a letter from your GP stating the reasons why. Don't forget you can also ask for extra time to send the ESA50 form back (14 extra days i believe)

Digital_2012

Hi poppy i have someone go with me i yet to ring on Wednesday to see if same person available if not then i have to arrange someone else i have friend who can go with me. I am hoping that i will get supporting letter from Practice psychiatrist who works with autistic people, last date is to send the form back is 12 September.

Only worries about gp appointment which is i already booked and is in 6 weeks.

poppy12345

Digital_2012 wrote: »

Hi poppy i have someone go with me i yet to ring on Wednesday to see if same person available if not then i have to arrange someone else i have friend who can go with me. I am hoping that i will get supporting letter from Practice psychiatrist who works with autistic people, last date is to send the form back is 12 September.

Only worries about gp appointment which is i already booked and is in 6 weeks.

The date on the letter would be when they have to recieve it by so please make sure you send it in plenty of time. Good luck.