i have been given a new diagnosis

hello , I returned my esa50 June 2013 still waiting to hear back from atos, I am being transferred from IB to ESA,
anyway I have mental health problems , at the time of completeing my esa50 I was diagnosed with having Ptsd and cyclothymia by my psychiatrist
after many visits usually once a month and recently every two weeks to my psychiatrist ,resulted in last week being given a new a brand new diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder mixed with some PTSD.
which my my pyschitrist is going to back in writing for me

can I have some advise on what to do ,my symptons haven't changed, just the name of what I have
how do I tell atos ? do i have to fill in a new esa50 form describing how schizoaffective disorder affects me ?
many thanks s

Hi Sha,

ESA, like DLA and PIP, is paid because of the effects it has on you rather than the actual diagnosis. If your symptoms have not changed then a changed diagnosis would not, in my opinion, class as a change of circumstances.

oh that's a relief I was getting a bit worried that what I said on the form might be wrong but my symptoms how I feel are the same as always .

sha wrote: hello , I returned my esa50 June 2013 still waiting to hear back from atos, I am being transferred from IB to ESA,
anyway I have mental health problems , at the time of completeing my esa50 I was diagnosed with having Ptsd and cyclothymia by my psychiatrist
after many visits usually once a month and recently every two weeks to my psychiatrist ,resulted in last week being given a new a brand new diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder mixed with some PTSD.
which my my pyschitrist is going to back in writing for me

can I have some advise on what to do ,my symptons haven't changed, just the name of what I have
how do I tell atos ? do i have to fill in a new esa50 form describing how schizoaffective disorder affects me ?
many thanks s

Hi sha,

My, my, you returned your ESA50 in June 2013, and have still heard nothing !!!!

We are aware of huge back logs with The ESA WCA.

Even though you state that your limitations have not changed since sending in your ESA50, if you feel that this "new diagnosis" and a related letter of support will further strengthen your case for placement into the correct ESA "Group", you can send copy of it to the same ATOS address that your ESA50 was sent to, with a covering letter.

You could also post a copy to the address of the Benefits Office/Centre on the most recent letter that you have pertaining to ESA, FAO : The ESA Decision Maker, IB to ESA Transfer Team.

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

If/when you eventually hear regarding your ESA WCA, and if you have to attend a face to face assessment, which is by no means a definite, you can also give a copy to The ATOS HCP before the assessment starts.

If you are unhappy with waiting so long to hear, although you will continue to receive your current rate of IB, etc until a decision is made on your ESA, you could contact ATOS for an update :

www.atoshealthcare.com/claimants

If you are still unhappy, you could complain to your M.P. :

Contacting your MP

bro58