ESA Medical Assessment

I've Just Had A Phone Call From [removed] From The DWP.The Moment I Got The Call I Knew It Was Bad News.I Was Told By Someone (On Here,I Think) That They Only Call When You've Failed To Get ESA.I Got ZERO Points!! ZERO!!! Unbelievable,I've Been Diagnosed Disabled For 30yrs,Specifically,Ankylosing Spondylitis For The Last 20.I Have Emphysema,Sleep Apnea,Depression,Enlarged Prostate & Memory Problems.I'm Being Investigated Now For Irritable Bowel Syndrome.I'm Told I Have Three Options;1st,Accept The Decision And Sign On For Jobseekers Allowance.My Last Payment Of Income Support Will Be Sept 12th. He Told Me That If I Do This,I Will Receive Roughly The Same Money Because I Will Keep My Disability Premium Of £90.50pw.2nd;Appeal The Decision & Go Straight To Basic JSA,Losing My Disability Premium.I Will receive It All Back IF I Win My Appeal,But He Informed Me That Appeals Are Taking On Average,^ Months.I Know This Is True As My Son Went Through The Process & It Did Take About 6 Months.3rd;Appeal But Sign On As JSA.This Way I Will Still Keep My Disability Premium,But Of Course I Will Lose It If I Lose My Appeal.I'm Taking Advice But Accepting The Decision Seems The Safest Option

Its Been Sometime Since I Last Posted,And My Life Has Really Been Turned Around.I've Signed On To Protect My Disability Premium.It May Be A Decision I Regret As I Have Appealed Against My ATOS Assessment. I Got A Drs Note Which Cost Me £12 & Sent It Off.

I Received The Letter From The DWP Explaining The Decision & Why I'd Been Given No Points.Honestly,I Couldn't Believe What The Examiner Had Wrote!

Firstly,The Woman Who Assessed Hardly Looked Up Or At Me The Whole Time (77mins),Just Tapped Away Furiously On Her Computer Whilst Firing Off A String Of Questions.And,I Simply Have To Say,Some Of The Points She Makes Are Baffling.

She Said In Her Report That She Established That I Could Move Around My Ground Floor Flat.Well,Yes,But Not Always Without Stumbling And Banging Into Things.It Was Also Noted: ''He Was Observed To Walk 50 Metres From A Nearby Street To The Assessment Centre'' I Heard They Watched You Coming And Going:Clearly They Do. She Also Claimed That My Walking Pace & Gate To Be,''Normal'' Normal??!! I Walk With A Permanent Stoop & Shuffle My feet When Walking,How Is That ''Normal''?? No-One Looking At Me Across The Street Would Think,'' That Guy's Walking Normal,Like Everyone Else''! Absolutely Preposterous.

She Also Noted I Wasn't ''Breathless'' Well,Why Would I Be? Yes I Have Emphysema,But I Only Walked 20yds,If That,To The Room.When She Asked Me About My Shopping I Told Her My Daughter Took Me Every Two Weeks & It Took About An Hour In All.She Wrote That I'd Said I Walk Round The Supermarket Non-Stop For A Whole Hour!! Albeit,She Did Note''Slowly'' & With A Walking Stick. She Then Claimed,''The Evidence Of Walking Ability And The Length Of Time He Can Walk Around The Supermarket Implies That He Can Mobilise For More Than 200 Metres.He Therefore Does Not Meet The Criteria For Any Award Of Any Points For This Descriptor'' How Is It Fair To Assume So Much From So Little Evidence? It Would've Been Better If I'd Lied And Said My Daughter Shopped For Me.At The End Of The Assessment,She Told Me That The Final Decision Would Be Made By The DWP.This Is Disingenuous; It May Be Technically True The Final Decision Is Made By The DWP,But Based 99% On The Assessment Officers Report. And That Report Is Shocking.

She Further Wrote That I Alternatively Stood And Sat Throughout The The 77 Mins Assessment,Rising Many Times Without Assistance Other Than My Walking Stick.Which Proves What? That I Have Problems With Sitting For Long Periods Or Standing For Long Periods.And That I Need My Walking Stick To Stand Up & Walk Around.In Other Words,I'm Disabled!!

I Then Made What I knew At The Time To Be A Fatal Mistake.I took A Long Handled Shoe Horn In With Me As I'm Often,at Assessments,Asked To Remove My shoes And Stand Up Straight Against The Door,Or Some Such,To Test How Bent My Spine Is & How Far I Can Reach Forwards Or Downwards.I Dropped It & If I'd Thought About It I Would Have Asked Her To Pick It Up,But As It Was Right Beside The Table,I Dropped To One Knee & Picked It Up,Pulling Myself Up By Placing Both Hands On The Table.I Also Made A Groaning Noise As I Pulled Myself Up,As I Always Do.However,She Wrote,Having Noted That My Hip & Knee Movements Were,Again,''Normal''(!!),'' He Knelt To The Floor And Got Back Up Again Without Assistance To Pick An Item Up Off The Floor' This Is Tantamount To A Lie. Pulling Yourself Up By The Table Is Assistance.She Also Made It Sound As If I'd Just Bent Down & Picked It Up,Something That Is Impossible For Me To Do.If I Tried To Do That,Because Of My Balance Problems,I Would Fall Over.

And I Don't Think I Quite Understand This Passage,''In View Of No Identified Time He Can Sit,It Could Be For More Than 60 Minutes,But He Has Still Failed To Meet The Criteria For The Award Of Any Points For This Descriptor As He Can Sit Or Stand Or Combine The Two For More Than 60 Minutes'' She Seems To Be Saying That She Can't Establish How Long I Can Sit For,So She'll Assume Its For More Than 60 Minutes!! What Rot, And Then To Assume I Can Do A Mixture Of Both For More Than 60 Minutes,Without Acknowledging The Reason Why I Need To keep Switching Between Standing & Sitting,And Holding Against Me,Is Nonsense!

I'm Also Puzzled About Some Of The Comments She Wrote That Were Held To Prove Something Against Me.For Instance,She Said That She,''Established That Mr O'Connor Can Wash,Dress & Make Sandwiches And Cold Drinks For Himself. He Is Able To Carry Light Shopping And Put Shopping Away. At The Assessment He Appeared To Have No Difficulty Getting Out & handling Papers With Both Hands,Carried A Medium Sized Bag In Left Hand And Used A Non-Adapted Grip Walking Aid In His Right Hand'' I Really Don't Know Where To Begin! In A Previous Section She Noted That I Can Wash,Shower & Wash My Hair With Aides. Exactly! With Aides. Why Should The Fact That I Need To Do,What Every One Else Does Easily,With Aides ,Be Held Against Me? As For Saying I Could Take Papers Out Of A Medium Sized Bag Easily,So What.There Are Different Degrees Of Disability,Why Hold The Fact I Can Take Papers Out Of A Bag Against Me? She Also Noted I Had No Problem Negotiating The Furniture In The Room,But Thats Nonsense.There Was Only A Table And Two Chairs In The Room,& When I Entered I Sat Right Down & Did Not Have To Negotiate Anything.

She Also Claimed I Had No Problem Reaching Above My Head With Both Hands,Because,'' At The Assessment He Was Observed To Reach Up To Head With Right Hand To Scratch Head'' Honestly! How Mean & Petty. I Didn't Reach Up And Scratch The Top Of My Head ,Which Is Implied,But Scratched The Front Of My Head.As My Neck Is Bent Forward,How Does That Prove I Can Reach Above My Head With Both Hands?? Really,They Are Looking For ANY Reason To Deny You Your Rights.Its Shocking,It Really Is.

Noting That I Am Having Tests In Regards To My ''Reported'' Blackouts,Due To Sleep Apnoea,She Considers That This Condition Is ''Medically Unlikely To Cause Blackouts And That There Is No Evidence That Mr O'Connor Experiences Involuntary Episodes Of Lost Consciousness And Therefore Does Not Meet The Criteria For The Award Of Points For This Descriptor.'' No Evidence? I'm Seeing A Psychologist For That Very Reason,And This Was Stated But Obviously Not Noted,At The Assessment.Just Like She Didn't Note How Long It Takes Me To Get Out Of Bed In The Morning,Or That I Need A Sock Aid To Put My Socks On.

I'll Have To Go Now,This Has Taken An Hour & A Half And My Shoulder Is Killing Me! I Will Come Back On Monday,Because I Have More To Say.I Will Say This Though,They Are Starting Assessment For DLA To PIP Transfer On Monday 28th October,And I've Got To Admit I'm Terrified.If This Assessment Gave Me Zero Points I Fear This Will Be Held Again st Me At My DLA Assessment.I Dont Know How Long It'll Take To Get To Me,My Initial Award Was Awarded For Indefinite Time,So I dont Know Whether That Will Make Any Difference.Whether They'll Do Those With A Time Review Period First Or Not

I see that the transfer from DLA to PIP has been delayed across most of the country,except the midlands. Great! This Makes It More Likely That I Will Be Re-assessed than not. Although i was given permanent DLA with no review notice,i rather think that now that the midlands and one other area are being done,to the exclusion of the rest of the country,i will definitely be re-assessed for my DLA. I am fearful. Since i got zero points in my assessment, and i hear much worse cases than mine being refused DLA/PIP, i don't see how i can possibly survive that process. i really am puzzled. why are the government picking on disabled people like this? why aren't the opposition making a bigger issue out of it in Parliament? I'm 57yrs Old and i'm shocked beyond belief by what this country has become like. which other country is doing this? does no one in parliament care (Apart from Dennis skinner,that is)? Why Aren't The press making more noise about this? It's terribly worrying.