Esa113

Piglet122

Ok so I sent back esa50 two weeks ago and chased up with chda.
They said the case had been looked at and that the healthcare professional had decided to write to my gp to decide whether I need a face to face assessment or not.
So my question is as my long standing doctor has just retired and I have since seen five different docs at the practice I’m not sure what they are going to put on this form. Am I allowed to make an appointment to go through how my condition affects me etc?
And is the esa113 the only type of form they send or do they write a letter of another sort etc?
I’m panicking .. please help..
When completing my esa50 I did ask for a letter from my gp but she said if the dwp wanted their input they would write to them.
Last time my doctor who has since retired wrote a letter of support which I sent with my esa50.
I’m currently in support group and this is my reassessments
Thanks in advance everyone

poppy12345

Piglet122 wrote: »

Ok so I sent back esa50 two weeks ago and chased up with chda.
They said the case had been looked at and that the healthcare professional had decided to write to my gp to decide whether I need a face to face assessment or not.
So my question is as my long standing doctor has just retired and I have since seen five different docs at the practice I’m not sure what they are going to put on this form. Am I allowed to make an appointment to go through how my condition affects me etc?
And is the esa113 the only type of form they send or do they write a letter of another sort etc?
I’m panicking .. please help..
When completing my esa50 I did ask for a letter from my gp but she said if the dwp wanted their input they would write to them.
Last time my doctor who has since retired wrote a letter of support which I sent with my esa50.
I’m currently in support group and this is my reassessments
Thanks in advance everyone

The ESA113 is a basic tick box form that is sometimes sent to a GP but there's very little information that can be put on them. The GP that fills it out will take a look at your medical records and fill it in from that. Here's an example of what it looks like.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251339/esa113-interactive.pdf


Making an appointment to see your GP regarding this will have little benefit in my opinion and by the time you do that it could have been returned back to CHDA.

Piglet122

It’s a bit of a joke that they need to contact my gp about how MY condition affects ME.
My concern is as they don’t know me how can they tell me how my condition is affecting me?
Does this mean I’m likely to be called for a face to face?

Spoonie_Turtle

You could phone your surgery to ask if they've received the form yet, and if so whether it's been sent back. If it hasn't been, then it may be worth making an appointment.

Do you have a copy of the previous letter your GP sent? That might be useful to show a new GP if your condition(s) haven't changed much.

[I understand the worry; I'm fortunate that I have found a good GP but I rarely see him because there's nothing he can do for me. I actually wrote a summary of the daily effects, particularly relating to benefits descriptors, initially just to discuss but he kept it and said he'd use it to draft any letters if need be.]

poppy12345

Piglet122 wrote: »

It’s a bit of a joke that they need to contact my gp about how MY condition affects ME.
My concern is as they don’t know me how can they tell me how my condition is affecting me?
Does this mean I’m likely to be called for a face to face?

As i advised, it's rare that they do this and the form is very basic. A GP very rarely knows how your conditions affect you. It's your responsibility to make sure the evidence was sent when you returned your form.


As for face to face assessments, most people have them, it's rare to have a paper based assessment. My advice is to expect the assessment and if you do have a paper based one then it's a bonus.

Piglet122

Thanks I might just do that.
It’s feeling so helpless isn’t it just the wait and having someone else tell you how your condition effects you.
My doctor was amazing helped me through and then retired so it’s been difficult building up a rapport with someone.
I notice on the esa113 form it says about travelling to an assessment. If they said they felt you could travel but ticked the other boxes that clearly showed you Met criteria for support group, would they infact bother with a f2f assessment anyway?

Piglet122

Thanks for the reply poppy, but it’s rare they do what? Contact gp?
I sent as much as I could/ had which showed there was no change in my condition from last face to face including consultants and etc.
I’m just not sure what they feel a gp would show them that a consultant in a specialist field couldn’t?!?!

poppy12345

Piglet122 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply poppy, but it’s rare they do what? Contact gp?

Yes. If you look at the link i posted you'll see that the form is just a tick box.



I remember my GP was contacted last year and was sent the exact same form. When i see it after requesting copies of my medical records, i laughed because the information that was put on it was totally ridiculous and a complete waste of time.



It didn't help me in the slightest and i did have to attend a face to face assessment. Thankfully, i was kept in the Support Group.

poppy12345

Piglet122 wrote: »

I notice on the esa113 form it says about travelling to an assessment. If they said they felt you could travel but ticked the other boxes that clearly showed you Met criteria for support group, would they infact bother with a f2f assessment anyway?

No can speculate what might or might not happen at this stage. All we can advise is to expect the assessment because most people have them.

Piglet122

Thank you for the advice.
I’ve looked at the link and I can’t believe we fill out a huge booklet and send pages and pages of documentation and they go off a two page tick sheet from your gp.. unbelievable.
Looking like a face to face assessment it is then

poppy12345

Piglet122 wrote: »

Thank you for the advice.
I’ve looked at the link and I can’t believe we fill out a huge booklet and send pages and pages of documentation and they go off a two page tick sheet from your gp.. unbelievable.
Looking like a face to face assessment it is then

They don't just "go off the form that's sent your GP" they will look at all evidence you sent as well, if they then think they don't have enough evidence to do a paper assessment then a face to face will be needed. Mostly this is what happens, unfortunately.



In 6 years of claiming ESA, 3 assessments and i've had 2 face to face and 1 paper.