waiting 2 years for f2f assessment

hi
i am in esa sg, way back in april 2013 i was sent an esa50 form for re assessment which i duly filled in and returned within the timeframe, since then i have been waiting for a f2f appointment which has finally arrived in the post this week, scheduled for 2 weeks time.... nearly 2 years of waiting!

my Q is this? as it has been nearly 2 years since i filled in the esa50 and although my illness and meds have not changed since then, the way my condition affects my daily life has changed as my illness is progressive

how do i go about updating the dwp on how my illness is affecting me now/today rather than was 2 years ago? should i update the dwp? by letter? phone call? or should i ask for a new esa50 and would they give me extra time to fill it in? or should i wait for my scheduled f2f assessment due in 2 weeks time and verbally update the assessor then?

thanks for your advise

sb wrote: hi
i am in esa sg, way back in april 2013 i was sent an esa50 form for re assessment which i duly filled in and returned within the timeframe, since then i have been waiting for a f2f appointment which has finally arrived in the post this week, scheduled for 2 weeks time.... nearly 2 years of waiting!

my Q is this? as it has been nearly 2 years since i filled in the esa50 and although my illness and meds have not changed since then, the way my condition affects my daily life has changed as my illness is progressive

how do i go about updating the dwp on how my illness is affecting me now/today rather than was 2 years ago? should i update the dwp? by letter? phone call? or should i ask for a new esa50 and would they give me extra time to fill it in? or should i wait for my scheduled f2f assessment due in 2 weeks time and verbally update the assessor then?

thanks for your advise

Hi sb,

Welcome to Benefits and Work

We have heard from several members recently where they have returned ESA50's sometime ago, only to receive an appointment for a Face to Face (F2F) a year or more later without being given the opportunity to submit a more current ESA50.

This is most probably down to the huge ESA backlog, and them trying to clear it.

Although it is not absolutely necessary for Medical Services to have a current ESA50 when carrying out a reassessment, it is an intergral part of the evidence used in the decision making process, and it should be referred to by Medical Services before deciding whether or not a F2F is necessary and approriate.

As you may know Maximus took over The ESA WCA Medical Services from ATOS on Monday gone.

You could contact Maximus (CHDA) : Here.

To put the above points across to them.

If any of the reasons for being in The SG are "Mobility" problems, or problems "Going Out" or anything that restricts you travelling to and from an Assessment Centre, you could also draw their attention to that.

They are supposed to take your limitations into account when deciding whether or not you have to attend a F2F at one of their venues, and make "Reasonable Adjustments" as required under The Equality Act 2010 Sections 20-21.

You might want to bring this to their attention also.

If you feel that you should receive a Home Assessment, you should put this to them. You will probably have to obtain a letter supporting this from your G.P.

You could also suggest that before having a F2F, and you are allowed to rearrange once, that you are given the opportunity to fill in The PDF ESA50, and send them a copy so that your evidence is current.

You would need their address to post this to them.

In this case, you could use : The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

Whilst referring to the guides on this page :

ESA Claims Guides

See also :

ESA50 too big for the envelope

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or Maximus

If you do want to rearrange the F2F you do not have to give any reason for this, even though you may want the rearrangment to give you more time.

I would advise that you carry out all correspondence with Maximus by e-mail to create a paper trail.

If you have 2 weeks until the F2F, you could leave it until next week to contact them, this would give you time to make a start on The ESA50, and maybe contact your G.P.

Please keep us updated by replying to this topic.

Here is an FAQ that you may find helpful if it ensues that you do have to take part in a F2F in the coming weeks :

ESA Medical – What to expect

If you haven't already done so you may also wish to request that the forthcoming F2F or any rearranged one is audio recorded for your future reference.

You could do this by e-mail, there is a template letter regarding this in our ESA Guides from the link provided above.

bro58

many thanks for v prompt, helpful reply

yes 21 months is very long delay

will email maximus asking if they will give me the opportunity to submit a more current esa50 before my f2f in 2 weeks time

will let you know the outcome

many thanks

update as promised

i called chda (in march) and asked that 'as my esa50 was nearly 2 years out of date should i update them on how my illness affects me more currently? and would they send me a new esa50 form to fill in before my f2f?

they replied that there was no need to fill in another form and to update the assessor at my f2f, unless i wanted to report a change in my condition? In which case they would send me a form

I didn’t really want to trigger yet another (never ending) assessment by reporting a change of condition and as my illness hadn’t changed, i decided to update the assessor verbally at my f2f (new meds/current side effects/current difficulties etc etc)

after several cancellations? (apparently because my illness meant that i would need to be assessed by a doctor and they had some difficulties finding a doctor?) i finally attended my f2f a week ago

at the assessment the assessor seemed to be gearing questions to the answers i gave on my (out of date) esa50 and imo appeared to dismiss many of my more up-to-date answers as inconsistent/conflicting? (inconsistent with what?...the old esa50 perhaps?)

it was rather gruelling

I’m still awaiting the decision

sapphirebalm wrote: update as promised

i called chda (in march) and asked that 'as my esa50 was nearly 2 years out of date should i update them on how my illness affects me more currently? and would they send me a new esa50 form to fill in before my f2f?

they replied that there was no need to fill in another form and to update the assessor at my f2f, unless i wanted to report a change in my condition? In which case they would send me a form

I didn’t really want to trigger yet another (never ending) assessment by reporting a change of condition and as my illness hadn’t changed, i decided to update the assessor verbally at my f2f (new meds/current side effects/current difficulties etc etc)

after several cancellations? (apparently because my illness meant that i would need to be assessed by a doctor and they had some difficulties finding a doctor?) i finally attended my f2f a week ago

at the assessment the assessor seemed to be gearing questions to the answers i gave on my (out of date) esa50 and imo appeared to dismiss many of my more up-to-date answers as inconsistent/conflicting? (inconsistent with what?...the old esa50 perhaps?)

it was rather gruelling

I’m still awaiting the decision

Hi sb,

It may have been to your advantage to fill in a fresh ESA50 and send it to Maximus and/or take it to the face to face.

If your limitations have changed since your last ESA50, then you do have a change of circumstances and this would have been reflected in the fresh ESA50.

It should not have resulted if another face to face, as long as the ESA50 was filled in and sent before or produced at the face to face that had been arranged.

You should be assessed on how you are at the time of the assessment and not how you have been in the past or how you may be in the future.

Have a read through these three recent news articles : Here, Here and Here.

Please keep us updated.

bro58