Exempt from ESA assessment. Severe mental illness?

nicetomeetyou

I know being exempt from the ESA assessment is not about what condition you have but how that condition affects you. I have heard people with the same condition as me (on the schizophrenia spectrum) being denied benefits mainly because they have no support from mental health services and only have their GP for proof. I have heard It's the people with CMHT support that get awarded benefits more easily. Do you think that is the case?

I'm asking because I get a lot of support. I have a chronic condition, live in supported housing with 24/7 staff. I have LD and have trouble processing information which results in anxiety and verbal lashing out which I have a lot of support around. I'm also on depot antipsychotic medication which I'm forced to take plus I can't manage money and have a social services appointee (plus incontinence issues, which I don't want to highlight but appointee probably writes he buys the pads to be delivered to my house)

I have always been put in the support without medical since 2012. I've been waiting since 2nd June for them to decide if I need to attend a medical or get put into a group again. Do you think they will decide if I'm going to be exempt with all the support I get? It's a very anxious time.

pmlindyloo

nicetomeetyou wrote: »

I know being exempt from the ESA assessment is not about what condition you have but how that condition affects you. I have heard people with the same condition as me (on the schizophrenia spectrum) being denied benefits mainly because they have no support from mental health services and only have their GP for proof. I have heard It's the people with CMHT support that get awarded benefits more easily. Do you think that is the case?

I'm asking because I get a lot of support. I have a chronic condition, live in supported housing with 24/7 staff. I have LD and have trouble processing information which results in anxiety and verbal lashing out which I have a lot of support around. I'm also on depot antipsychotic medication which I'm forced to take plus I can't manage money and have a social services appointee (plus incontinence issues, which I don't want to highlight but appointee probably writes he buys the pads to be delivered to my house)

I have always been put in the support without medical since 2012. I've been waiting since 2nd June for them to decide if I need to attend a medical or get put into a group again. Do you think they will decide if I'm going to be exempt with all the support I get? It's a very anxious time.

I'm sorry to say that there is no way of knowing whether you will have a paper based assessment rather than a face to face.

It might be worth your social worker/support worker giving them a call to see at what stage your reassessment is at. At least that would give you some idea.

Good luck!

nicetomeetyou

They have been ringing the medical assessors and each time they say they have a backlog and haven't got to mine yet, they have had it since June. They say they need a doctor to decide if need medical or not. Does this look more promising? If I needed a medical would they of made arrangements before now?

poppy12345

nicetomeetyou wrote: »

They have been ringing the medical assessors and each time they say they have a backlog and haven't got to mine yet, they have had it since June. They say they need a doctor to decide if need medical or not. Does this look more promising? If I needed a medical would they of made arrangements before now?

No one can tell you whether or not you'll need an assessment, i'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see what happens. Lots are waiting longer than that, even those that are already in the Support Group like yourself. Hopefully it won't be much longer and you'll know if an assessment is needed or not.

nicetomeetyou

Do you think people with lots of support from social workers/support workers and a long history of LD and psychotic behaviour mainly harming myself from delusions requiring section have more chance than somebody with no help which seems to me everybody I have seen on the web saying they have not scored enough points because no help from services. You never see people with support being refusing. Do you thikn that is the case?

sammyjammy

You are looking for answers to questions that we cannot give you. You will just have to wait.

epitome

If Medical Services have not made a report on you yet.... You could get some medical evidence to say that your condition is not expected to improve or change in the long term. Send this evidence to Medical Services, and send copies to DWP ESA.

This may help the Medical Services make a report that you are unlikely to improve in the long term...which in turn will help the Decision Maker to make an exemption decision.