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Evidence from medical staff other than GP's

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10 years 4 months ago - 10 years 4 months ago #127646 by Chrissy
Hi

I am in the support group until June of this year.
I know that the ESA50 form comes a couple of months before the end date of the award, so I am preparing to gather my medical evidence now.
I hear that the new ESA50 is more focused on evidence.
I am worried that even though I obviously qualify for exceptional circumstances and support group, as I cannot get this specifically worded evidence, from the specific people, I will end up either market fit for work or in WRAG which will just make my mental health worse and me an even greater risk of suicide or self harm.

All my life I have had inwardly turned rages which make me a safety risk, so I want to try to get in the support group again under exceptional circumstances like I did last year. I had a letter from them last year based on a phone call where I mentioned the problems. I cannot use that letter again this time as it will be over 18 months old.

Back in October, I had a mental health assessment, and I raised the subject of evidence with the psych nurse who assessed me.
She said that she would be writing a report based on the assessment and I could use that.
The problem is, the letter only mentions a recent one-off episode where I cut myself and it also says I was not concordant with mediacation.
(I had stopped taking an IBS med due to a bad reaction, and am now on another IBS med)
She doesnt mention that I stopped taking the IBS med due to a bad reaction, it just says I dont comply with meds.
The letter does not mention my lifelong episodes of inwardly turned rage.

So, if I put a copy of this letter in with the ESA50, as it says I don't take my meds and as it doesn't mention my lifelong episodes of inwardly turned rage, I think these things will go against me.
I rang the nurse and told her about my inwardly turmed rage not on the letter, but she said self harm is on the letter, and as she was quite abrupt, I was intimidated as I am intimidated easily and bad on the phone so the matter never got sorted.
She said I could put her name on the ESA50 and they could phone her, but, she will just refer to the report she wrote, with the two points I mentioned above and I feel that these things will stand in the way of me getting in the suport group under exceptional circumstances.
That's if the DWP/maximus manage to catch the nurse on the phone, as she works in the primary care liaison team.
I have not had a mental health worker for over three years, as the nurse didnt feel I needed one.

I would just tell my GP, but someone I know offline, said they went to a tribunal with a GP's written evidence of her mental health problems, a she wasn't under the mental health team, and she said that they wanted written evidence from the actual mental health staff rather than just GP evidence.

Most people with mental health problems, who would have had a psych nurse in the past now just contact their GP or mental health primary care liaison team when they are in a crisis or having difficulty, and the primary care liaison team give them treatment on the spot, without allocating them a nurse, so it is harder to get written evidence.
In the old pre budget-cut days, I would have had a psych nurse, and would have just got evidence from them, but nowadays, very few people are allocated a psych nurse.
Last edit: 10 years 4 months ago by . Reason: Tick.

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10 years 4 months ago #127661 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Evidence from medical staff other than GP's
Chrissy

There seems to be some confusion over the intended changes to the ESA50, it is important to understand that there have been no changes to the ESA legislation and in particular ESA Descriptors for the WRAG and the Support Group, as a consequence, how claimants will be assessed has not changed either!

I have to assume, as you are currently in the Support Group, that you qualified based on the information available to you the last time you were assessed, there is no reason to assume that you will be unable to do so this time, using similar evidence.

Providing evidence to the process has always been an important component that the claimant needs to look at, but it not the only one. Even though we encourage members to seek information that explains their day to day limitations in terms that are similar to the ESA Descriptors, the fact is that much medical evidence does not do this.

What it does do however is confirm that the problems that you might list are reasonable in light of your conditions, as an example; someone with a broken leg can reasonably be assumed to have problems with walking, it would not however suggest problems with the dexterity of their hands.

So the most important thing is to explain your problems on the ESA50, new or old, and where you can, provide evidence to support what you say.

Don't forget you can also access your medical records, which may have other information that would be of use.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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