HEALTH ASSESSMENT QUESTIO

Can anyone answer these questions please.
I have been in the support group of ESA since April 2014 but was recently sent a new health assessment questionairre. Is this normal? How often will I get them and will I have to have another medical?

JF wrote: Can anyone answer these questions please.
I have been in the support group of ESA since April 2014 but was recently sent a new health assessment questionairre. Is this normal? How often will I get them and will I have to have another medical?

Hi JF,

I have just read your previous similar query : Here and whilst also paying heed to Gordon's advice, yes it would be normal to receive a new ESA50 as part of periodic ESA re-assessments of your ESA awards..

Re-assessments for current ESA recipients had been getting deferred to a later date since January 2014 due to the backlog.

However, ESA re-assessments resumed at the beginning of December 2015, and since that time we have seen an increase in the number of members reporting that they had received an ESA50 to initiate the re-assessment of their current ESA Awards !

Theoretically ESA is awarded indefinitely, (open ended)

However, in reality, each ESA awarded comes with a recommended period (The Prognosis) before it is reassessed.

See : How often will I be reviewed

From our : ESA FAQ’s

The ESA decision notice letter that you receive after a decision, does not include the prognosis.

Normally, the longest period between re-assessments is 3 years !

Just to make you aware that : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) (aka HAAS) (Maximus) who took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15 now carry out ESA Assessments/Re-Assessments.

There have not been any changes to ESA Legislation since January 2013, however you should always use our most current Guides.

There have been some changes to The ESA50 itself.

Now that you have The ESA50, you may want to consider :

Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

Whilst referring to the guides on this page, 2nd & 3rd links down :

ESA Claims Guides

See also :

How long do I have to complete the ESA50?

ESA50 too big for the envelope

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or Maximus. (aka CHDA, aka HAAS.)

You should treat this re-assessment as if it was your first assessment and not assume that The Assessor will have access to any of your previous evidence. They may not even know that you are currently in The SG.

It is therefore important that you reiterate how and why you still qualify for The SG, in that the limitations that you suffer as a result of your medical conditions have not changed nor diminished to such an extent that you no longer qualify for The SG.

Nor have you learned to deal with or adapt to your limitations since your last assessment.

If you are aware how and why you were placed into The SG last time, you could cite that also.

If you want to obtain fresh evidence such as a letter of support from your G.P., obtain it yourself and post it with the ESA50.

Do not rely on Maximus/DWP contacting your G.P. , even if you request that they do so.

They seldom do and are not legally obliged to do so.

You might want to Bookmark/Favourite this page in your Internet Browser. That way you can return to this topic easily to pose any further queries that you may have by replying to the topic.

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