SRN nurses are puppets

Ive been interviewed by s State Registered Nurse, I believe this is the lowest qualification needed to be be called a nurse.
She was acting as if she was a GP or a specialist, many times she quoted the term "clinical findings" I wonder why as she did not have any of the qualifications required. Her clinical findings were trumped up nonsenses that usurped a string of consultants and 4 GPs a that were armed with latest technology as per MRI scans and the like.
Its laughable that the DWP trained this poor girl purely to show that "I could DO something"
for sure..... even a dead person can DO something , he could be used to prop open a door for instance.... if you take out all the limits of decency and reasonableness that is, and twist the meaning of "being able to do something.

Just because I can put my hand above my shoulder height for one second....does not mean I can do it all day, but to them it DOES. Just because I can do a task for one minute does not mean I can do it continuously either, so the examination by that SRN was wholly wrong. The same as the whole system is. They have turned disabled people into a nation of scroungers who by NO FAULT of their own have become unable to work.

Nosnibro,

I understand your anger at the way your assessor misrepresented your situation. I am also angry and disappointed that doctors and 'Professions Allied to Medicine' should lower themselves to act in this manner.

However, as a (now retired) SRN I am rather offended by your apparent assumption that all SRNs 'are puppets' and also your comment that this is the lowest qualification one can hold and be called a nurse. Despite having numerous other qualifications (including a BSc) I was still proud to call myself an 'SRN'.

Hi n,

Whilst not disagreeing with Some of your comments on this issue regarding assessing HCP's and although it is most pertinent and current to you, it has been raised and discussed on many, many occasions previously.

No matter which branch of the medical profession the HCP comes from originally, they are recognised by The Secretary of State as "Approved Disability Analysts" .(ADA)

An ADA's function is not to diagnose, treat or care for the claimant, it is simply to assess their "Functional Capabilities" with respect to The ESA Activities/Descriptors laid down in ESA Legislation using the LiMA software programme.

The assessments is based on the Biopsychosocial Model

This is why it is not really a "medical" in the true sense of the word, more a Q and A session where the questions are dictated by the LiMA software.

The following extracts are the types of responses that you would get if you posed your arguments to The DWP or Maximus :

"1.6 The role of the Atos Healthcare HCP

All Health Care Professionals who give advice relating to Employment and Support Allowance must be approved by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Approval involves specific training, successful completion of various stages of the approval process, and ongoing demonstration that the work being carried out meets a satisfactory standard.

The ESA approved HCP is required to provide advice to the DWP Decision Maker in accordance with the current guidance issued by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Approved HCPs may be either employed or contracted to work on a sessional basis."

From page 25 of The WCA Handbook.

&

"2.7.2 The Role of the Atos Healthcare Professional

The Atos HCPs will provide advice to the using all their skills as a Disability Analyst. They will review all the evidence on file and provide advice on likely functional implications of any medical evidence provided.

The HCP must take into account that the primary role of the GP or hospital doctor is to diagnose and treat any medical conditions that the patient/claimant presents to them. Any information or medical report that the doctor provides to the Department for Work and Pensions in relation to disability benefits is a purely secondary activity to his/her therapeutic role.

A clinician does not routinely consider the functional restrictions or disabling effects of the medical conditions that they treat.

The HCPs must take into consideration that the clinician may have no specific training in assessing disabilities in their medical education, and may have considerable difficulty in giving an accurate assessment or forming an opinion in relation to the functional restrictions experienced by their patient. In addition clinicians usually have, at best, very limited knowledge of entitlement criteria to ESA through the WCA process.

Atos Healthcare professionals are specifically trained in the assessment of disability. By evaluating the clinical history, the physical examination and informal observations in the light of the claimant's daily activities, the medical disability analyst is able to provide an accurate and consistent assessment of the functional restrictions. This assessment is based on the HCP’s medical training and expertise, and a body of established medical knowledge and opinion. The HCP is able to advise the DM on restrictions arising from the disabling condition(s)."

From page 49 of The WCA Handbook, the link for which can be found 2nd link down under the heading : "DWP ESA Resources" on This Page.

N.B. Substitute Maximus (CHDA) in all references to ATOS in the extracts above, as they now carry out Medical Services for The ESA WCA.

bro58

Nosnibro.

I think you may have been thinking of State Enrolled Nurse. SEN.

Like Mrs Hurtyback, I too am an SRN. That is the basic qualification to enable you to practice.

Most then, through training or post-graduate education, extend their knowledge base, specialize or just get more senior.

Susan