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ESA Mental Health Advice Please
- Richard
- Topic Author
11 years 7 months ago #92305 by Richard
ESA Mental Health Advice Please was created by Richard
Hi
I wanted a bit of advice if possible please.
My partner of 18 years has suffered with Depression and Anxiety for as long as I have known her, in fact we met in a Rehab facility where I was for Alcohol problems.
For most of that time she has been on IB, as she has problems with Depression, Anxiety which usually manifests itself as Bad Lack of Concentration, Confusion, Social Phobia, Can't Answer the Phone, is Very Disorganised Etc., and to be honest I usually have to do everything for her other than Cooking, and a few other things in the house, although She does sometimes, through her Concentration problems have accidents like forgetting to turn the grill/oven off (Setting off Alarms) or letting the bath overflow, also, she cannot follow TV programs and says she just looks at the pictures, the list seems endless.
She doesn't like going out unless she has someone with her and hates shopping and having to meet people Etc, the few jobs she's had in the past have ended with her being sacked as she just cannot cut it in the real world, we do have 2 Children, one of whom is Autistic, and 3 other members of her immediate family have suffered with similar problems to hers.
She has just been sent the letter saying "We want to assess you for ESA", and it has caused her to start getting Panicky, as she thinks she will get sent out to work, To be honest it's all she and I can do to keep the kids fed and going to school, let alone work or go to work focused interviews.
The main problem is that even though she has these problems she hasn't seen anyone on a regular basis for it for a long time, and only saw a doctor/ GP a few years ago when her IB form needed renewing, and the doctor signed her off, She doesn't take any medication as all the Anti Depressants in the past have just caused more problems.
To be honest, I'm just worried that if she fails the ESA test because she doesn't have any professional support at the moment the pressure that would be put on her will push her over the edge again, ( She has been Hospitalised in a Mental Unit before now ), and we all end up back at square one again; she doesn't even want to have to speak to them on the phone when they call, all our friends ring 3 times first to let her know it's OK to answer.
Sorry for the tale of the old iron pot, but any advice would be of great help, as I'm not well myself and we could really do without the stress that this will put on us.
Very lastly, I have seen 2 different ESA50 forms, one which had much fewer questions about mental health, from the Directgov website, which is the current one ? please.
Many Thanks
I wanted a bit of advice if possible please.
My partner of 18 years has suffered with Depression and Anxiety for as long as I have known her, in fact we met in a Rehab facility where I was for Alcohol problems.
For most of that time she has been on IB, as she has problems with Depression, Anxiety which usually manifests itself as Bad Lack of Concentration, Confusion, Social Phobia, Can't Answer the Phone, is Very Disorganised Etc., and to be honest I usually have to do everything for her other than Cooking, and a few other things in the house, although She does sometimes, through her Concentration problems have accidents like forgetting to turn the grill/oven off (Setting off Alarms) or letting the bath overflow, also, she cannot follow TV programs and says she just looks at the pictures, the list seems endless.
She doesn't like going out unless she has someone with her and hates shopping and having to meet people Etc, the few jobs she's had in the past have ended with her being sacked as she just cannot cut it in the real world, we do have 2 Children, one of whom is Autistic, and 3 other members of her immediate family have suffered with similar problems to hers.
She has just been sent the letter saying "We want to assess you for ESA", and it has caused her to start getting Panicky, as she thinks she will get sent out to work, To be honest it's all she and I can do to keep the kids fed and going to school, let alone work or go to work focused interviews.
The main problem is that even though she has these problems she hasn't seen anyone on a regular basis for it for a long time, and only saw a doctor/ GP a few years ago when her IB form needed renewing, and the doctor signed her off, She doesn't take any medication as all the Anti Depressants in the past have just caused more problems.
To be honest, I'm just worried that if she fails the ESA test because she doesn't have any professional support at the moment the pressure that would be put on her will push her over the edge again, ( She has been Hospitalised in a Mental Unit before now ), and we all end up back at square one again; she doesn't even want to have to speak to them on the phone when they call, all our friends ring 3 times first to let her know it's OK to answer.
Sorry for the tale of the old iron pot, but any advice would be of great help, as I'm not well myself and we could really do without the stress that this will put on us.
Very lastly, I have seen 2 different ESA50 forms, one which had much fewer questions about mental health, from the Directgov website, which is the current one ? please.
Many Thanks
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- Gordon
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11 years 7 months ago #92307 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Re:ESA Mental Health Advice Please
Richard
Unfortunately it is what it is.
The first thing to do is to make sure you understand what she will be assessed against, so have a look at our ESA Claim guides, these explain what the ESA descriptors are and how to explain her condition(s) in context to these, see
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa
The following FAQ explains about the assessments and links to the documents used by ATOS.
ESA Medical – What to expect
You might want to consider requesting her medical records from her GP, whilst old, they may still help establish the underlying problems, leaving you to show that there has been no change in the interim, see
Requesting your medical records
Charging for medical records
It's not to late for her to see her GP for assistance, producing a meaningful report before her ESA50 needs to be returned may not be possible, but it may be available before a DWP Decision Maker actually makes a Decision on her transfer to ESA.
If you have further questions, please reply to this thread.
Gordon
Unfortunately it is what it is.
The first thing to do is to make sure you understand what she will be assessed against, so have a look at our ESA Claim guides, these explain what the ESA descriptors are and how to explain her condition(s) in context to these, see
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa
The following FAQ explains about the assessments and links to the documents used by ATOS.
ESA Medical – What to expect
You might want to consider requesting her medical records from her GP, whilst old, they may still help establish the underlying problems, leaving you to show that there has been no change in the interim, see
Requesting your medical records
Charging for medical records
It's not to late for her to see her GP for assistance, producing a meaningful report before her ESA50 needs to be returned may not be possible, but it may be available before a DWP Decision Maker actually makes a Decision on her transfer to ESA.
If you have further questions, please reply to this thread.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Richard
- Topic Author
11 years 7 months ago #92310 by Richard
Replied by Richard on topic Re:ESA Mental Health Advice Please
Dear Gordon
Many thanks for those links they are really helpful, I didn't honestly think of requesting her Medical Records, and the ESA guide to mental health looks like it will be really helpful.
I'm sure once we get into this I'll have loads of questions, but for now.
Many Thanks Again
Richard
Many thanks for those links they are really helpful, I didn't honestly think of requesting her Medical Records, and the ESA guide to mental health looks like it will be really helpful.
I'm sure once we get into this I'll have loads of questions, but for now.
Many Thanks Again
Richard
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