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Old 01-07-2015, 18:36
LakieLady
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I'd write to them anyway, enclosing a medical certificate if you can get one, explaining that had good cause for not attending, ie a migraine, which was triggered by the heat and by your anxiety.

Also make sure that you tell them that you rang to try and rebook, but that the adviser wouldn't make you another appointment, so they know you didn't just fail to attend. In theory, they could suspend your ESA until you attend the appointment, but as you have "good cause" they really shouldn't.

ESA really ought to be relaxed about people missing appointments because of illness. After all, it's a benefit for people who are in poor health, so it's pretty damn likely to happen.
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Old 02-07-2015, 10:42
oathy
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http://www.youreable.com/forums/show...7874#post87874

they dropped the October start date
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Old 02-07-2015, 12:48
Andagha
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Where it says ME(Maidstone) it does only mean the Maidstone area of ME doesn't it if anyone knows.. Please say it does, ME covers a huge area not just Maidstone.
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Old 02-07-2015, 13:44
Miss C. DeVille
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Where it says ME(Maidstone) it does only mean the Maidstone area of ME doesn't it if anyone knows.. Please say it does, ME covers a huge area not just Maidstone.
I would think it applies to anyone with a postcode starting with ME not just Maidstone itself.
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Old 02-07-2015, 15:00
Andagha
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I would think it applies to anyone with a postcode starting with ME not just Maidstone itself.
Oh darn I thought I was going to get let off for a bit longer... Better start preparing for a letter etc to come through the post.
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Old 08-07-2015, 16:22
shaddler
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Two years ago I was moved into the support group, and the award was for two years. I've not heard anything from the DWP and the original period is now over. Does it just continue or should I expect another assessment?
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Old 09-07-2015, 19:17
TelevisionUser
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Two years ago I was moved into the support group, and the award was for two years. I've not heard anything from the DWP and the original period is now over. Does it just continue or should I expect another assessment?
The answer to that last question is probably but it is not possible to reliably predict when the DWP might arrange a new reassessment. From what I read, there's quite a bit of an assessment backlog which is not going to be cleared any time soon so it might even be a couple of years before you hear from them again.
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Old 10-07-2015, 06:47
LakieLady
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Two years ago I was moved into the support group, and the award was for two years. I've not heard anything from the DWP and the original period is now over. Does it just continue or should I expect another assessment?
They send out a new ESA50 questionnaire, and when you've sent it back they eventually get round to arranging another assessment.

I've never known it happen that they overlook sending out the questionnaire, if you've recently moved I'd check that they've got your new address.
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Old 15-07-2015, 14:28
Luckyyem
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I have just received a letter for an ATOS assessment on 31st July in regards to my PiP claim.

I am in a right state! I did request a home visit because of my anxiety but I have to go to the assessment, my husband will take me and so should be able to calm me down.

I just don't know what to say or what to expect. I am in the ESA support group, I was placed without an assessment.

I have chronic neuropathic pain in my abdomen which is not controlled very well, they are unable to get my drugs balanced. I have spent several weeks in hospital due to the pain and undergoing tests, in the last year it has been over 9wks. Iknow my GP and consultant have written to PiP, I also have severe depression with suicidal thoughts, I know my counsellor has also written in support of PiP, anxiety and insomnia.

My pain is there constantly but is unpredictable and I quite often end up taking Oramorph on top of my prescribed medication (which includes slow release morphine). My biggest fear is that I won't be believed just how much pain I'm in and how my life has been affected.

As I said I'm in a state of panic, I've had several panic attacks at the thought of going for the assessment, luckily my husband has helped to calm me. I just don't know what to do.

Any advice or tips would be very gratefully received.
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Old 15-07-2015, 15:31
Miss C. DeVille
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I have just received a letter for an ATOS assessment on 31st July in regards to my PiP claim.

I am in a right state! I did request a home visit because of my anxiety but I have to go to the assessment, my husband will take me and so should be able to calm me down.

I just don't know what to say or what to expect. I am in the ESA support group, I was placed without an assessment.

I have chronic neuropathic pain in my abdomen which is not controlled very well, they are unable to get my drugs balanced. I have spent several weeks in hospital due to the pain and undergoing tests, in the last year it has been over 9wks. Iknow my GP and consultant have written to PiP, I also have severe depression with suicidal thoughts, I know my counsellor has also written in support of PiP, anxiety and insomnia.

My pain is there constantly but is unpredictable and I quite often end up taking Oramorph on top of my prescribed medication (which includes slow release morphine). My biggest fear is that I won't be believed just how much pain I'm in and how my life has been affected.

As I said I'm in a state of panic, I've had several panic attacks at the thought of going for the assessment, luckily my husband has helped to calm me. I just don't know what to do.

Any advice or tips would be very gratefully received.
Sorry to hear this. Is there no way you can contact them again and explain how bad you're feeling and say you need a home visit?
I can only think of contacting Citizens Advice, if they refuse, to see where you stand.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
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Old 15-07-2015, 18:27
Luckyyem
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Sorry to hear this. Is there no way you can contact them again and explain how bad you're feeling and say you need a home visit?
I can only think of contacting Citizens Advice, if they refuse, to see where you stand.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Thank you, it does say they try and accommodate your request for a home visit but it may not be possible. I have a support worker who I'm going to speak to. Even if they come out I just haven't got a clue what to say, I find it so difficult to articulate myself properly.
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Old 15-07-2015, 18:29
LakieLady
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If you pm me your email address, I'll email you a leaflet we prepared for clients giving advice about assessments. However my unofficial advice is as follows:

1. If you suffer from severe pain, they need to see the evidence with their own eyes. Don't take any pain relief, or take the absolute bare minimum you have to.

2. Ditto for anxiety.

3. Don't make an effort to look presentable if you have told them you need prompting and motivating to wash, bathe, dress appropriately etc.

4. Make sure you know what you said you can't do. Lots of people fail because they contradict what they said on the form when they have the assessment. It's human nature to overstate one's abilities, but this is not a job interview!

5. Read the descriptors online and make sure you understand them.

6. Definitely get your husband to come in with you, and get him to take notes, and prompt you when you need it.

7. Beware of "innocent" questions. None of them are innocent. Asking if you had to park far away will be used to say that you can walk x far, asking how you got there will be used to show you can use public transport, asking about a typical day will lead to them saying you can cook because you mentioned that you got your own breakfast.

8. For any of the "cognitive" descriptors, note how they test your ability to understand written material, money, and how you communicate. Very often, the test they apply doesn't actually test the thing mentioned in the descriptor, eg change from £1 for something that is 75p is used to show that someone is capable of budgeting. That can be very useful if you have to appeal.

9. If you get very upset, feel like crying, shouting, swearing or running out of the room, don't hold back. A lot of the descriptors are around "overwhelming psychological distress" and again, the assessor needs to see it.

10. If the assessor tells you what field of healthcare they are qualified in make a note or remember it. I've won appeals pretty much on the basis that the assessor was a physiotherapist and therefore inexperienced in how mental health problems affect people and similar.

One last thing - the assessment starts before you get in the building. I've seen decision reports that say that say "X was observed walking normally across the car park" or "Y was able to sit calmly in the waiting room".

That's my top tips. Good luck, and if you don't get what you think you should, appeal!

Sorry, meant to say: ring them (or ask your husband to ring them) and ask why you haven't been offered a home visit. They may say they'll only do one if you provide a letter from a doctor to say you can't travel, and then you can decide whether to try and get a home visit.
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Old 15-07-2015, 20:05
Luckyyem
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Thank you, I have messages you. I really appreciate the very thorough reply.
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Old 16-07-2015, 20:48
TelevisionUser
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Sorry to hear this. Is there no way you can contact them again and explain how bad you're feeling and say you need a home visit?
I can only think of contacting Citizens Advice, if they refuse, to see where you stand.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
I'd suggest that too and get the GP's and support worker's backing on this and see if they'll send in supporting statements to the effect that the person's effectively too unwell at the present time to attend an assessment centre. Having a home visit also means that someone's more likely to get seen by a proper medical doctor and the assessment may be fairer.

If a visit to the assessment centre is unavoidable then I'd suggest proceeding according to the excellent advice provided by LakieLady above.
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Old 16-07-2015, 23:27
Luckyyem
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I'd suggest that too and get the GP's and support worker's backing on this and see if they'll send in supporting statements to the effect that the person's effectively too unwell at the present time to attend an assessment centre. Having a home visit also means that someone's more likely to get seen by a proper medical doctor and the assessment may be fairer.

If a visit to the assessment centre is unavoidable then I'd suggest proceeding according to the excellent advice provided by LakieLady above.
Thanks for the reply, after a long chat with my husband and counsellor I have decided that it would be better to go to the appointment rather than them come out. We have had meetings recently in our home and they have brought on some of the worst panic attacks I have ever had and I have literally sat and sobbed through the meeting. Its going to be far from easy and to help (on the advice of my counsellor) we are going to drive to where the assessment is taking place before my appointment, a trial run as such.

I didn't sleep at all last night, and having issues again tonight my mind is in overdrive. I have started writing things down in the hope it helps.
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Old 18-07-2015, 01:55
chloeb
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If you pm me your email address, I'll email you a leaflet we prepared for clients giving advice about assessments. However my unofficial advice is as follows:

1. If you suffer from severe pain, they need to see the evidence with their own eyes. Don't take any pain relief, or take the absolute bare minimum you have to.

2. Ditto for anxiety.

3. Don't make an effort to look presentable if you have told them you need prompting and motivating to wash, bathe, dress appropriately etc.

4. Make sure you know what you said you can't do. Lots of people fail because they contradict what they said on the form when they have the assessment. It's human nature to overstate one's abilities, but this is not a job interview!

5. Read the descriptors online and make sure you understand them.

6. Definitely get your husband to come in with you, and get him to take notes, and prompt you when you need it.

7. Beware of "innocent" questions. None of them are innocent. Asking if you had to park far away will be used to say that you can walk x far, asking how you got there will be used to show you can use public transport, asking about a typical day will lead to them saying you can cook because you mentioned that you got your own breakfast.

8. For any of the "cognitive" descriptors, note how they test your ability to understand written material, money, and how you communicate. Very often, the test they apply doesn't actually test the thing mentioned in the descriptor, eg change from £1 for something that is 75p is used to show that someone is capable of budgeting. That can be very useful if you have to appeal.

9. If you get very upset, feel like crying, shouting, swearing or running out of the room, don't hold back. A lot of the descriptors are around "overwhelming psychological distress" and again, the assessor needs to see it.

10. If the assessor tells you what field of healthcare they are qualified in make a note or remember it. I've won appeals pretty much on the basis that the assessor was a physiotherapist and therefore inexperienced in how mental health problems affect people and similar.

One last thing - the assessment starts before you get in the building. I've seen decision reports that say that say "X was observed walking normally across the car park" or "Y was able to sit calmly in the waiting room".

That's my top tips. Good luck, and if you don't get what you think you should, appeal!

Sorry, meant to say: ring them (or ask your husband to ring them) and ask why you haven't been offered a home visit. They may say they'll only do one if you provide a letter from a doctor to say you can't travel, and then you can decide whether to try and get a home visit.

O
I have to disagree with one of your points.
The assessment does not start before you enter the building, it's not allowed to.

We are not allowed to include ànything in the report aside from the point we meet the person claiming. That's when the assessment begins.
How they walked across the car park when arriving or leaving is not alowed in the report and would fail on audit.

If you've seen reports with this in then yes you are correct it should not be there, ever.
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Old 18-07-2015, 09:02
LakieLady
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Are the rules the same for work capability assessments? it may have been a WCA report, rather than a PIP. They ought to audit more thoroughly though, because it slipped through!

Some of the tests used by assessors don't reflect what they are trying to test, imo. Two recent examples that have come to my attention are someone being asked how much change they would get if they bought something that cost 75p and paid with £1 coin being used to show that the client was capable of making complex budgeting decisions (easily overcome by showing that she was actually £18,000 in debt and a letter from her CPN explaining the spending she has because of her bipolar disorder) and someone's ability to read a recipe aloud being used to claim that they can understand complex written material. Reading and understanding are completely different, I can read Nietzsche, but I certainly don't understand it.

Some of the reports are just wrong, one said that the client had been able to walk from a car park half a mile away, when she'd actually got a taxi to the door of the assessment centre, and another said that a client had full mobility in his knee when he plainly hadn't (I was present at that assessment, it was a friend's).
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Old 18-07-2015, 09:02
shaddler
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7. Beware of "innocent" questions. None of them are innocent.
They asked me how often I use Facebook, I'm not kidding. Beware of saying something like "Oh I check it a couple of times a day but that's about it" because on the report they will translate that into "Is able to operate a computer at least twice a day", even if you're just checking your messages on your phone whilst lying in bed.
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Old 18-07-2015, 13:40
phepia
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I have had twice (for two different benefits and claims) Atos claim I have full movement in both of my shoulders.
Both times at tribunal I have had the doctor show different. Even with letters from my own gp, and a occupational assessment my ex employers did, atos still insisted I was fine.

Also if you have to rest after doing a activity, whether it is reading, moving or washing then in my opinion you can't do it safely. I can do things as a one off, but then need a resting period to get swelling and stiffness reduced due to OA. Therefore each time I was asked if I can do them while being assessed I quoted their "repeated, reliably and safely" rule back at them. I often have to get dressed alone as I do not have help for it (due to partner leaving for work at stupid o'clock) but as I need to rest several times whilst doing it I am classed as unable to do it.
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Old 18-07-2015, 13:46
shaddler
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O
I have to disagree with one of your points.
The assessment does not start before you enter the building, it's not allowed to.

We are not allowed to include ànything in the report aside from the point we meet the person claiming. That's when the assessment begins.
How they walked across the car park when arriving or leaving is not alowed in the report and would fail on audit.

If you've seen reports with this in then yes you are correct it should not be there, ever.
They have a camera that watches people walk to the entrance. There was a description in my report of the manner in which I walked to the entrance. Whatever you say here the reality is they will include that sort of thing in the assessment.
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Old 18-07-2015, 22:55
mintbro
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Hello

As I understand it pip is replacing dla, what exactly is it and how does it differ from esa?
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Old 19-07-2015, 01:26
chloeb
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They have a camera that watches people walk to the entrance. There was a description in my report of the manner in which I walked to the entrance. Whatever you say here the reality is they will include that sort of thing in the assessment.
There are no cameras the assessors have access to at my centre.
and I reiterate anything that happens before the assessment starts is inadmissible in PIP.
Maybe WCA are different although I doubt it.
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Old 19-07-2015, 13:22
Miss C. DeVille
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Hello

As I understand it pip is replacing dla, what exactly is it and how does it differ from esa?
I found the PIP form very similar to the ESA form. PIP seems to concentrate on your personal life and your abilities to look after yourself and get about.
If you get PIP it doesn't affect your ESA payments and it can also passport you to other benefits as well.
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Old 19-07-2015, 13:31
mintbro
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I found the PIP form very similar to the ESA form. PIP seems to concentrate on your personal life and your abilities to look after yourself and get about.
If you get PIP it doesn't affect your ESA payments and it can also passport you to other benefits as well.
Thankyou

So is pip aimed more at those with physical disabilities rather then mental health?
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Old 19-07-2015, 17:35
LakieLady
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There are no cameras the assessors have access to at my centre.
and I reiterate anything that happens before the assessment starts is inadmissible in PIP.
Maybe WCA are different although I doubt it.
Do you happen to know the Regulation or DMG paragraph that says that? It would be very handy to be able to quote it next time it crops up.
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