[Flossie64]

Hi,Found out the other day i have failed my medical, didnt get a point, the questions were irrelevant to me as i suffer from severe depression. I have told them i am appealing and am in the process of filling the form in and also a letter explaining why i disagree with their decision.. . The thing is do i put my sicknote in with the appeal or do i send it somewhere else..

Any advice appreciated,before i tear my hair out

[purplecatz]

Have sent you a PM with a link to a useful forum

[Dangerous.Dave]

That's great! You can get back into the workforce!

[bossoftheworld]

Unfortunately depression seems not to be recognises - although it is a real illness with very serious consequences for the individual and their friends and families.

Surely if the doctor diagnosis it that should be enough. It doesn't seem right to me?

[stupidwheelie]

Originally Posted by Dangerous.Dave

That's great! You can get back into the workforce!

Why are you posting things like this here and sympathising in the other thread about mental illness?

Go to the Citizens Advice Bureau OP.

[davethorp]

Your sick note goes to the benefit delivery centre which processes your claim. Your GL24 appeal form probably goes to the same place but I'd keep them separate if I were you. You will need to keep sending sick notes in whilst waiting for appeal

Sadly the work capability assessment doesn't really take depression into consideration. I have anxiety too and have passed my last few medicals (first one on appeal) and all of my points come from my anxiety rather than depression

I strongly suggest you familiarise yourself with the descriptors for the assessment (google work capability assessment). Knowing what they are looking for will go a long way in subsequent medicals and possibly your appeal too

Edit - the following PDF contains all the descriptors. You need to look through them and see if any apply to you. Will help your appeal if you say where you think you should have scored points on the appeal form

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum.../dg_177366.pdf

[Caxton]

Maybe it was thought that getting you back into the workforce might actually help your depression. Do you find that being in the company of other people helps. I have know people with depression who sit about all day with little to do but think about themselves makes the situation worse. I realise of course that this can depend on the individual and may not help in your case because I do not know the reason why you are severely depressed. This was just a thought and please do not be offended by this.

[stupidwheelie]

I didn't know 17 year olds got incapacity benefit.

[Akane Tendo]

Originally Posted by Caxton

Maybe it was thought that getting you back into the workforce might actually help your depression. Do you find that being in the company of other people helps. I have know people with depression who sit about all day with little to do but think about themselves makes the situation worse. I realise of course that this can depend on the individual and may not help in your case because I do not know the reason why you are severely depressed. This was just a thought and please do not be offended by this.

Perhaps the stresses and goings on in the workplace make the OP's depression worse? Work isn't always a solution.

[shortyknickers]

Benefits and Work has brilliant information and an extremely helpful forum too. Google them and good luck x

[simonp820]

Originally Posted by Dangerous.Dave

That's great! You can get back into the workforce!

This is exactly what the Gov is trying to action. I don't believe the OP can't do ANY work??

[2shy2007]

Originally Posted by stupidwheelie

I didn't know 17 year olds got incapacity benefit.

I dont think they do, but they can get ESA I think.

ETA from the Gov site

If you are aged between 16 and 20 (or under 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20), you must:

have been too ill to work because of an illness or disability for at least 28 weeks (this limitation only applies to contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, but you may still be eligible for income-based Employment and Support Allowance)
have been too ill to work before you turned 20 (or 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20)

[Tom_Tit]

Well done government. Making more people available to work. Welcome to working life OP.

[JasonWatkins]

The approach seems to be to fail everyone who has 4 limbs and can walk and talk and then let the appeals process and tribunal do the real work.

I was failed without a point when I went to mine and i'm currently in the process of appealing. Just a word of advice OP, be prepared to wait. And wait a LONG time. The advisor from the CAB told me that some appeals have taken up to a year to be heard.

[2shy2007]

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

Well done government. Making more people available to work. Welcome to working life OP.

Shame there are hardly any jobs though.

[Tom_Tit]

It is a shame yes. That doesn't mean give keep people on disability and what not just to make it easier for them.

[JasonWatkins]

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

Well done government. Making more people available to work. Welcome to working life OP.

Would you have been so flippant if the two people in this article had posted the same question ?

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...-die-1.1085915

[2shy2007]

Originally Posted by JasonWatkins

The approach seems to be to fail everyone who has 4 limbs and can walk and talk and then let the appeals process and tribunal do the real work.

I was failed without a point when I went to mine and i'm currently in the process of appealing. Just a word of advice OP, be prepared to wait. And wait a LONG time. The advisor from the CAB told me that some appeals have taken up to a year to be heard.

My son was put in the work based group so we appealed knowing he simply could not hold down a job, and we appealed, 2 weeks later we had a letter saying that the decision was wrong and he did in fact have more than enough points to be on the support based group.
If things are very black and white then it should not take as long.

[davethorp]

No new claims get incapacity benefit anymore anyway. All new claims are automatically put onto ESA now which as 2shy2007 says the OP may still be entitled to at 17.

Any existing claims still receiving the old incapacity benefit are in the process of being migrated over to ESA

It's clear some people in this thread have never had, or had someone close to them have, depression though with some of the attitudes in the thread the posters concerned could have a very promising career at Atos who perform the medicals for the DWP and who have target numbers of people to fail the medical whether they are capable of work or not

[davethorp]

Originally Posted by JasonWatkins

The approach seems to be to fail everyone who has 4 limbs and can walk and talk and then let the appeals process and tribunal do the real work.

I was failed without a point when I went to mine and i'm currently in the process of appealing. Just a word of advice OP, be prepared to wait. And wait a LONG time. The advisor from the CAB told me that some appeals have taken up to a year to be heard.

It took 9 months for my appeal to be heard in 2010. I was awarded 6 points on my medical and 15 points on appeal. I was called back for a medical 3 months after winning my appeal in January last year and got 24 points that time. Got another medical form in August where they didn't bother calling me in to another medical, probably as my form basically said the same as my January one so a new medical would have been a waste of time. Another medical form dropped through my door last week.

The tribunals service is bogged down to breaking point with appeals as Atos are passing genuinely sick people to meet targets who then appeal and a significant number of them win on appeal

[JasonWatkins]

Originally Posted by davethorp

The tribunals service is bogged down to breaking point with appeals as Atos are passing genuinely sick people to meet targets who then appeal and a significant number of them win on appeal

And nobody really seems to realise this. What makes it worse is that Atos still keep the fee they get if the person successfully appeals, so it gives them even less of an incentive to do it right the first time around.

I got zero points on my initial assessment so i'll be lucky if my appeal is heard before christmas this year.

[simonp820]

Originally Posted by davethorp

It took 9 months for my appeal to be heard in 2010.

With respect, this is exactly what I mean. I don't understand how you can claim incapacity benefit when you can amass 5,662 posts on this forum? That shows you can use a computer and do some sort of work surely? Genuinely interested in your reply.

[Vast_Girth]

Jolly good. You have no physical impairment so there's got to be something you can do. Pulling your own weight in the world can only make you feel better about yourself too.

[Tom_Tit]

Originally Posted by simonp820

With respect, this is exactly what I mean. I don't understand how you can claim incapacity benefit when you can amass 5,662 posts on this forum? That shows you can use a computer and do some sort of work surely? Genuinely interested in your reply.

Exactly. Some sort of typing job if they like doing it that much.

[JasonWatkins]

Originally Posted by simonp820

I don't understand how you can claim incapacity benefit when you can amass 5,662 posts on this forum?

You do realise he's been a member here for 5 years and averages three posts a day ?

THREE

Some people have upwards of 15-20 or even more per day.

But then this is a typical response from people who assume that just because you can post on an internet forum you're fit and capable of work.

Originally Posted by Tom_Tit

Exactly. Some sort of typing job if they like doing it that much.

Haven't thought of a smarmy enough answer to my post yet then ?