FIRST ESA ASSESSMENT

This question has probably been asked in the past on this Forum so apologies if I’m asking you to cover old ground as it were.
Following submission of her ESA50 in October 2012, which was completed using the excellent guides and advice on this superb site, my good lady was transferred from IB to ESA Support Group in December 2012.
As you can imagine she was delighted, but some 8 months later another brown envelope with the new ESA50 arrived.
This was duely completed and returned in September 2013.
Apart from the notification of the increase in Benefit Rates, my wife hadn’t received any further correspondence from the DWP until last Saturday when she received a letter giving her two weeks notice to attend an ‘appointment for an assessment with a healthcare professional’.
Although in the past she has attended medicals and appeals under the old IB system, this will be the first time she will have had to undergo one of these ‘assessments’.
She used to get very stressed under the IB system and is already stressing after just two days regarding this, so any advice, tips, suggestions or information regarding the assessment you can give to help placate her would be very much obliged.
I would also ask if this assessment is just a face to face ‘conversation’ based on the submitted ESA50 Form or will she be physically examined or will it be a combination of the two.
Anyone’s actual experiences of the assessment would also be very much appreciated.
We know the proposed venue for the assessment as it has been used by the DWP and their predecessors for several years, but the letter my wife has received states that it will be undertaken on the 4th Floor of the building. Although there is a lift, this will apparently not be available in case of evacuation due to fire and that there would be 82 steps to the ground floor to negotiate.
I could always ‘fireman’s lift’ her down the steps if necessary as she’s only little. However, I could not do the reverse and would ask what would happen if the lift was not working when we actually arrived to attend the assessment?
Would it be conducted on the ground floor or in the foyer? Would it be cancelled? Is there any precedence in a situation like this?
I ask this as my wife is keen to get this assessment out of the way since as I’ve said she’s stressed enough already and as I understand that these assessments can only be postponed once, she doesn’t want to prolong the issue.
It is my intention to telephone the DWP with my concerns and then to confirm them in writing. Would this be the correct procedure to take?
As a bit of an aside and more for information than anything else, I would also add that attached to the letter requesting my wife’s attendance at the assessment was a ‘suggested travel plan’ of how to get to the assessment venue from our house.
This was prepared by Medical Services on behalf of the DWP and it suggests walking (their times/my distances) from our house to the nearest bus stop -12 minutes/1Km, travelling by bus (they give the actual bus number) for 25 minutes/7Km then walking from the bus stop to the venue - 3 minutes/250 metres.
This for an assessment on someone who, and I quote from her ESA85A:

Justification of Advice: The available evidence from the ESA50, Med 3, 113 and previous advice has been used to give advice in this case.
The Med 3, 113 and ESA50 suggests the client cannot mobilise 50 metres repeatedly, within a reasonable timescale and unaided by another person, because of significant exhaustion due to cervical and lumbar spondylosis.

Is this a deliberate test of mobility or simply adding insult to injury?
It’s no wonder they have a backlog if they have time to waste on something like this!!

I thank you in anticipation.

N&W

Gordon

Just an update:
I rang Atos and explained the issues with the lift noted above.
The guy I spoke to, who was not exactly ‘Mr personality’ shall we say, said he would email the relevant Department with my concerns.
I had my doubts he would, so I also confirmed my telephone conversation in writing.
Atos have now cancelled the original appointment; but have now sent another one whereby instead of the previous ten mile round trip they now expect my wife to undertake a FIFTY mile round trip.
Also it would appear that there aren’t any disabled (or any other) parking at this venue nor any apparent ‘drop off’ facility and they recommend parking in the multi storey car park opposite which is at least 250 metres away.
This for someone with my wife’s disabilities is ridiculous!
Do these people do this deliberately or do they just not give Atos!!

N&W

I think this is probably down to incompetance rather than conspiracy! There is a limit of 90 minutes each way, I believe, that a claimant can be expected to travel for an assessment - it sounds as if this would take rather longer than that?

norfolk and whey wrote: Gordon

Just an update:
I rang Atos and explained the issues with the lift noted above.
The guy I spoke to, who was not exactly ‘Mr personality’ shall we say, said he would email the relevant Department with my concerns.
I had my doubts he would, so I also confirmed my telephone conversation in writing.
Atos have now cancelled the original appointment; but have now sent another one whereby instead of the previous ten mile round trip they now expect my wife to undertake a FIFTY mile round trip.
Also it would appear that there aren’t any disabled (or any other) parking at this venue nor any apparent ‘drop off’ facility and they recommend parking in the multi storey car park opposite which is at least 250 metres away.
This for someone with my wife’s disabilities is ridiculous!
Do these people do this deliberately or do they just not give Atos!!

N&W

You need to realise that the whole thing is one big test mate to catch your wife out and stop her ability to claim what she's is entitled to.

There are reports of cameras being used on the car park, around the building and in the waiting room etc. They will be filming and assessing your wife's mobility before she even walks into the building and before the assessment begins.

When you walk into reception and claim back any expenses, the receptionist will even assess her slyly and report back to the HP.

Waiting rooms have purposely high shelves with attractive magazines on etc to see if she can use her limbs, she will be assessed on how long she can sit down and how she gets up. Everything. You need to double aware when you go in there and read up and I mean SWAT up on the whole process. You'll be amazed. The whole thing is manufactured to fail you.