Hi could anyone help me please? Have just spent a month in the local pyschiatric hospital because really depressed, and am attending day treatment. Could someone try to answer the following questions. Does your DLA get affected in regards to you failing the ESA medical, and I was in exempt PCA group, and now obviously not, as no one is. How can I find out when I will be assessed? How long after today should the first lot of people receive their letters? It is so scary, and I worry it could put me back in hospital.
Jasmine

jasmine wrote:
not sure about that but it could be affected by the fact you have just been in hospital did you tell them you have been in hospital ?

jasmine wrote:There are a few crossovers between DLA and ESA, the obvious one being walking, in these cases the DWP have used an ESA result to re-assess DLA.

As to when you will be transferred to ESA, the likely date will be your IB re-assessment date, beyond that, there is no way of knowing until they contact you.

DLA is not usually payable if you spend more than four weeks in hospital, you should consider informing the DWP of your stay, so they can make a decision.

Gordon

Have spent only four weeks in hospital, was discharged last week, was in exempt group of pca, so have no review date. So what happens to people like me? Does anyone know? What do you mean by the cross overs of DLA to ESA. People like benefits afdice man in local area said DLA should not get affected. Or am I being fobbed off.

jasmine

There are several areas where the tests for ESA and DLA are similar, the most obvious of these is the test for walking.

If there is a discrepancy between your answers to the distance you could walk in your DLA and ESA forms, or more importantly, ATOS decide there is, then the DWP Decision Maker may decide that you need to be re-assessed for DLA or even lose the benefit.

Unfortunately, we have had a number of claimants who had exactly this happen to them.

As to when you might be transferred, there is much conflicting information. We have heard that many, but not all PCA exempt claimants will be transferred in the first year, but there is no way any individual will know until they are notified.

Gordon