IB since 1998, now 0 points for ESA

Thank you very much for the detailed information on this site. I have read through the relevant documents and have some questions I would appreciate help with.

I have been on IB since 1998. I completed my ESA50 in July 2013 but did not get the medical until 19 months later in March 2015. I have now been informed that I have zero points so don't qualify for ESA.

I've had multiple sclerosis for 18 years and was expecting to go into the support group. I believe I qualify due to the mobility of 50m and weekly bladder voiding descriptors, plus I should have got other points from other descriptors.

My medical assessment was horrible. The doctor began asking each question pleasantly but when I didn't give him the right answer he would raise his voice, become brusque and impatient and gesture with his hands to illustrate the options I had to answer with, even if they did not apply.

For example
Q - do you shower or bathe?
A - Neither, I am not always able to wash every day due to the fatigue and other symptoms I have. It's common for me to go 5 days without washing.
Q - Do you shower or bathe? (voice raised)
A - well as I said I often don't do either
Q - Do you shower or bathe? (manner now brusque and irritated with me with hand firmly gesturing left or right to signal to me there were only two options to answer with).
So the report states "she says that she is able to have a shower, bath and get dressed without help".

There are many examples of this type of question and answers being taken out of context in the report with information that I provided about my condition being excluded. It states I drive a manual car when I said that I usually can't drive due to poor concentration and if I do it is no longer than about 3 miles. The trip to the medical was 15 miles for which I needed someone to drive me as I was unable to do it.

On the support group descriptors, it states that I could not say how far I could walk (I don't recall being asked although I did say I had difficulty mobilising around the house) and that I walked normally into the room with a stick and stood for one minute without difficulty and therefore I could mobilise for more than 200 metres.

I had taken a list of my up to date symptoms (ESA50 was 19 months old) into the assessment but when I asked if I could go through them he rolled his eyes, gestured to my ESA50 and said he didn't need them. The symptoms I had listed in the ESA50 - numbness, pins/needles, pain, burning/freezing sensations, extreme fatigues, poor perception, muscle spasms, difficulty balancing, dizziness and prone to falling - were all excluded from the mobility descriptor and I was awarded zero points.

On the bladder descriptor I stated that I had not drunk any fluid that day to avoid loss of control of my bladder because I have a neurogenic bladder and get no warning when I am about to go. It was lunchtime and I was dehydrated but the reports fails to mention this and just says "she does not wear pads and manages the condition without any treatment" The report also fails to mention that the neurologist stopped treatment because long term it would make the condition worse. Therefore I was awarded zero points.

There were many examples of this type of selective answering for the report. I have read through the WCA handbook and I can see some of the guidance hasn't been followed like looking at "key issues on a typical day", "the repeating and reliability of tasks" and looking at ability "in a holistic way".

So my questions are:
1. In the request for a mandatory review, can I use the 7 point appeal summary to challenge the descriptors I failed on or is that just for the appeal stage only?

2. Can I quote excerpts from the WCA handbook where I feel that the doctor did not follow guidance?

3. Can I make reference to the fact that symptoms were not included in the relevant descriptors which I believe affected the scores, even though some symptoms were listed in the opening summary of the report ?

4. Can I make a complaint (ATOS) about the medical assessment as I felt it fell way short of what I would expect from a doctor?

Thanks.

Out of interest did you or the assessor record the medical?
(if not ensure you ask for it to be recorded next time, and maybe also covertly record just in case - the dwp are trying a scare campaign to say they may not allow a case if caught covertly recording after the fact but I would not expect that to stand up in a court of law (imo im not a laywer though)).

Some assessors are ok, some are great, most are evil ignorant and devious (imo).

Thanks to all the help on this site I was able to put together a very good (well I thought it was) document for my MR request. I challenged that I should be put into the SG as I felt I qualified in 2 of the descriptors and also qualified for points in 2 other descriptors.

I've just received a letter from the DM and they are not revising the decision. I just really don't get it. They still give me zero points - it just doesn't make sense.

In the letter it says "All these activities (the ones I raised - mobilising, bladder, sitting/standing, completing tasks) were considered by the Healthcare Professional and have been fully addressed by the original Decision Maker.....

...Any other issues that you may have raised in your request for a Mandatory Reconsideration would have no effect on the decision under reconsideration and therefore have not been addressed. "

I don't know if this is standard response or specific to me but I read this as Reconsideration only took into account the HP's report and didn't look at the issues that I raised - that the HP excluded much vital information.

My only option now is to go to appeal. I am just exhausted and disillusioned with the whole system.

The DWP have not provided me with a copy of my face to face assessment despite my written request. I am also wondering if they have something else that they are looking at because their decision makes no sense. I have not seen the GP or neurologist for at least 3 years because there is nothing they an do.

Would the DWP have got a report from them? Do they do that as standard practice?

Do I need to get a report from the neurologist?

Thanks

ken wrote: Out of interest did you or the assessor record the medical?
(if not ensure you ask for it to be recorded next time, and maybe also covertly record just in case - the dwp are trying a scare campaign to say they may not allow a case if caught covertly recording after the fact but I would not expect that to stand up in a court of law (imo im not a laywer though)).

Some assessors are ok, some are great, most are evil ignorant and devious (imo).

No I didn't think it would be necessary to record it (naively!). The person who drove me to the appointment offered to sit in with me for the assessment and I said no at the time thinking it was unnecessary. I regret that now.

I agree the assessor was devious. The whole report was written to suit his agenda. There was no point of me attending and speaking. He was always going to write a report that said I was fit for work.