ESA not accepting Doctor's letter

Nannawatts wrote: As expected I have to take my ESA work group decision to tribunal, I have the welfare rights people coming over to help me and they are confident I will get into the support group.

I went down to the job centre for my first meeting and as I expected they had to call paramedics for me, my husband was the one who brought me to the job centre as I cannot walk unassisted or travel alone. The lady I was assigned to said she was surprised I was not in the support group and gave me the welfare rights phone number. The paramedics told them the meeting was finished and wrote down that I was at a forced meeting under duress, my doctor now has the paramedics report and is doing another much more detailed letter for the tribunal. Such a headache!

On the great news side I have been awarded PIP at the daily living component standard rate and mobility component at enhanced rate. I guess down to the fact that they actually came out and did my medical assessment rather than making things up.

I know there are benefit and support services for PIP, but I don't know how to find them I did a search and only find information about filing for and appealing. I am in serious need of a handrail on my stairs does anyone know how I go about getting help with rails and such?

Hi Nw,

Let's deal with the positive aspect of your post first !!

Congratulations on The PIP Awards !!

Even though the qualifying criteria for PIP is somewhat different to that of ESA, (PIP Mobility is a "Walking" test ESA is a "Mobilising" test, as previously discussed earlier on in this topic) the fact that you have received these PIP Awards is a good indication that you suffer from severe disability.

If you received The PIP Standard Rate Mobility for "Moving Around" (Physical limitations) then this entitles you to a Blue Badge : Blue Badge Application.

You can also claim a 50% reduction in The Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax) of a car that you have the use of.

As you have been awarded The Daily Living Component of PIP, you may also be entitled to : ESA Premiums paid as an Income Related (IR) ESA top-up to your current ESA payments.

You would have to fulfill the qualifying criteria stated in the link above, as well as passing the means test for IR ESA.

You would need to contact The ESA office address on your most recent ESA letter and request a financial assessment for payment of IR ESA Premiums, due to your PIP DL Award.


You could send them a copy of the PIP Decision Notice Letter.

They should then send you a form to fill in and return :

Asset rule for ESA(IR)

24 hour work rule for ESA(IR)

I note from your post that you state : "my husband was the one who brought me to the job centre".

If he does live with you, and he is not also in receipt of MR or HR Care DLA or a PIP Daily Living Award, unfortunately that would preclude you from payment of The Severe Disability Premium. (SDP)

This being the case, and you don't live alone, your hubby may be able to claim Carers Allowance (CA) for providing care for you :

CA Eligibility.

If you are to contact Welfare Rights regarding your ESA, you could also query the above with them.

See also : Where to get advice

Regarding getting help with grab support rails etc, if you rent from a Council/LA or from a Housing Association, you should contact them. They are allocated an annual budget to carry out such works.

Or, you should contact your Local Social Services or Local Authority. You may need to be assessed by an Occupational Therapist (OT) before the works are carried out, but your PIP awards should certainly help.

You may also be financially assessed to see whether you have to contribute towards the cost of any adaptations/aids.

If you do undergo an OT Assessment, the resulting report can also be used as evidence for ESA and/or PIP.

Now to the ESA !!

I am really sorry to hear that you ended up having to see a Paramedic due to attending your WFI.

Even though you are in The WRAG, and do have to comply with WFI's & WRA whilst you remain in The WRAG, the DWP must make reasonable adjustments in line with your disabilities.

This may mean that they have to carry out any future WFI's over the phone, or they can even defer them :

The DWP are Public Service Providers, and are duty bound by The Equality Act 2010.

Therefore, if you fulfill : The Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010, they must make "Reasonable Adjustments" for limitations caused by a claimant's disabilities.

See : "Adjustments for disabled persons." Sections 20-21 EA2010

They also have a "Duty of Care" as at : Section 149 EA2010 "Public sector equality duty."

The Paramedics Report and any associated report from your G.P. may help with this, as well as your ESA Appeal.

You may also want to request your PIP Medical Report, and if it is supportive of your ESA Appeal you could also use that as evidence :

You can do this using a SAR Form :

SAR Form Download

From this page :

DWP Data Protection Policy

Or you can make the request in the form of a letter, as long as you make it clear that you are making a formal SAR under The Data Protection Act 1998.

Address the envelope : FAO The Data Controller, at the Benefits Office dealing with your PIP.

Write DPA 1998 SAR in front, top, left corner of envelope.

Once received, they have 40 calendar days to comply.

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

bro58

Thank you for all the excellent advice, the pip award has definitely taken away a lot of the stress and anxiety. The Welfare Rights lady will come over on Thursday and I am now more confident of getting into a support group and if not I will still be able to cover my bills with pip and I can always reapply for ESA after it ends so I have more options now. I have applied for the blue badge and will look into the other mobility needs i will need and get in touch with the council, I like the idea of a occupational nurse coming to see what I need that will help.

Thanks again, this site is such a treasure trove of much needed help for those who have cognitive problems trying to figure out what needs doing when ESA takes what your saying and twists it around so its nothing like it is supposed to be.

I got the 'medical report" that was done for me in September and the nurse that completed it said she was going on the medical report from the last time I was assessed which was 6 years ago! As I was unable to go down to the DLA office they just kept extending it.

Nannawatts wrote: Thank you for all the excellent advice, the pip award has definitely taken away a lot of the stress and anxiety. The Welfare Rights lady will come over on Thursday and I am now more confident of getting into a support group and if not I will still be able to cover my bills with pip and I can always reapply for ESA after it ends so I have more options now. I have applied for the blue badge and will look into the other mobility needs i will need and get in touch with the council, I like the idea of a occupational nurse coming to see what I need that will help.

Thanks again, this site is such a treasure trove of much needed help for those who have cognitive problems trying to figure out what needs doing when ESA takes what your saying and twists it around so its nothing like it is supposed to be.

I got the 'medical report" that was done for me in September and the nurse that completed it said she was going on the medical report from the last time I was assessed which was 6 years ago! As I was unable to go down to the DLA office they just kept extending it.

Hi Nw,

I wish you all the best with your ESA appeal, etc.

It would be an Occupational Therapist (OT) who comes to your home to access your needs.

They are specifically trained to go round the home, and pinpoint any needs that the person may have and then advise on what aids and adaptation may help with these needs.

Their reports are often very good as evidence.

Please keep us updated, and don't hesitate to pose any further queries that you may have by replying to this topic.

Cheers

bro58