Dwp independant health assessments

RUSS56

Has anyone else experienced the hell of the way what used to be called ATOS assess your condition whilst on sickness benefits etc ?

Its horrible GP,s and even surgeons state in doctors letters about condition medically for work then along come the newly named from ATOS now called Independant Assessment Services and blow all their medical views out the door ?

poppy12345

RUSS56 wrote: »

Has anyone else experienced the hell of the way what used to be called ATOS assess your condition whilst on sickness benefits etc ?

Its horrible GP,s and even surgeons state in doctors letters about condition medically for work then along come the newly named from ATOS now called Independant Assessment Services and blow all their medical views out the door ?

They're the same people but with a different name, nothing else has changed. ESA is still about the work you can do and not the work you can't do and this is what they assess you on.

TELLIT01

As poppy12345 says, the assessment is about what a person can do, not what they can't. A commonly used example is somebody who did heavy manual work but suffered a major back injury. Their GP may well 'sign them off' with back problems, but that wouldn't necessarily be sufficient in itself to provide an entitlement to ESA. There are many jobs which would be practical for a person with back problems to do. The real problem is that the person who had worked all their life doing heavy manual labour may well not have the skills required for the jobs for which they are still physically capable.
That however is another question altogether.

ilikewatch

RUSS56 wrote: »

Its horrible GP,s and even surgeons state in doctors letters about condition medically for work then along come the newly named from ATOS now called Independant Assessment Services and blow all their medical views out the door ?

Many doctors don't have the time or motivation to argue with customers about their conditions, and will write whatever the customer wants to avoid wasting time challenging the customer. This is why it's vitally important that there is an independent assessment.

I just wish there was a similarly independent process for the issuing of med certs to employees.

epitome

To be more accurate, the ESA assessment relies solely on the ESA descriptors and if not enough points can be scored on the descriptors then there is another assessment done on the risk the claimant or others are under if the claimant were not to be awarded ESA.

Some claimants get mad because they "sent in doctor's letters and how could the DWP come to this decision?!?!?" The letter from the doctor might say something like "Mr X can barely walk" amongst other totally irrelevant stuff. This means absolutely nothing to an ESA decision maker... it does not say:

How far he can walk before he has to stop due to pain or exhaustion.

and it does not say if he can mobilise himself better using an aide such as a walking stick or a manual wheelchair and how far using such aides can he mobilise before having to stop due to pain or exhaustion.

In short, GPs and consultants letters for ESA purposes had better stick to what ESA descriptors their patient falls under anything else is just "window dressing" and sicknotes are entirely irrelevant.