I have an appointment assessment

(my sisters account) hi, need information urgently,, My sister has been rushed into hospital, and has a face to face assessment this Thursday 9th. she is terrified her benefits will be stopped from not attending, i know i will have to phone atos to let them know but is there a certain way to go about it to make sure they and the DWP do not stop her payments.

Some background info, esa50 form was sent back to atos last June, 1st face to face appointment canceled last month (march) due to ill health, so this is the 2nd appointment on the 9th and we were told no more where allowed after.
she is meant to be migrating from IS/SDA/ (SDP)/ Now for some time has been DP.. Never worked born badly disabled.

Also i am worried for her in case she is discharged say Wednesday and still expected to attended what was termed by atos as a last chance assessment when i telephoned to cancel her 1st appointment,, it looks highly unlikely she will be discharged BUT just in case !

cats6 wrote: (my sisters account) hi, need information urgently,, My sister has been rushed into hospital, and has a face to face assessment this Thursday 9th. she is terrified her benefits will be stopped from not attending, i know i will have to phone atos to let them know but is there a certain way to go about it to make sure they and the DWP do not stop her payments.

Some background info, esa50 form was sent back to atos last June, 1st face to face appointment canceled last month (march) due to ill health, so this is the 2nd appointment on the 9th and we were told no more where allowed after.
she is meant to be migrating from IS/SDA/ (SDP)/ Now for some time has been DP.. Never worked born badly disabled.

Also i am worried for her in case she is discharged say Wednesday and still expected to attended what was termed by atos as a last chance assessment when i telephoned to cancel her 1st appointment,, it looks highly unlikely she will be discharged BUT just in case !

Hi c6,

I have given your query it's own topic to avoid confusion.

Sorry to hear that your sister is in hospital !

You need to contact : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments.(CHDA) (Maximus) who took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15.

Inform them that your sister is in Hospital, and that due to this, it is highly possible that she may not be able to attend her 2nd appointment.

I would also contact the DWP :

THE ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA. (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)

The DWP may ask security questions regarding your sister, and may even refuse to speak to you if she is not present.

Even if they won't speak to you, you could inform them of your sister's situation.

Make a note of the date, time of call, and the name of the person that you are speaking to.

If possible, request that The ESA WCA Team from the Benefits Office that deals with her ESA ring you back.

If they won't speak to you at all, would it be possible for you to ring them with your sister present ?

Could she ring and give her permission for you to speak on her behalf ?

Your sisters benefit should only be stopped if she fails to attend without "Good Cause".

Proof that she was ill at the time, or being in Hospital should be classed as "Good Cause".

However, if you can stop CHDA returning her file to The DWP for non attendance, it will save her the bother of having to show "Good Cause" to The DWP.

Please keep us updated.

bro58

Hi thank your for your response and i will be telephoning tomorrow i am going to phone from the hospital and was hoping a nurse would confirm her situation..

Just to clear up the assessment face to face letter for the 2nd appoitment given i can see now is from CHDA, where as the 1st appoitment was atos.

cats6 wrote: Hi thank your for your response and i will be telephoning tomorrow i am going to phone from the hospital and was hoping a nurse would confirm her situation..

Just to clear up the assessment face to face letter for the 2nd appoitment given i can see now is from CHDA, where as the 1st appoitment was atos.

Hi c6,

I hope you get this sorted out !

If CHDA do say that they are willing to rearrange, try and get written confirmation by e-mail.

I quick question, if you don't mind !

We have a number of members who have received appointment letters from CHDA for an ESA F2F where there is no mention that the "medical" is for ESA.

Is this the case with your sister's CHDA letter ?

If so, was the previous ATOS letter the same, no mention of ESA ?

I'll understand if you don't answer, as you have "bigger fish to fry" but would appreciate it if you could over the coming days.

bro58

bro58

ESA F2F ? please explain

Yes No mention on either letters that they are for a ESA assessment.

"Says As you know, we need to see you for an assessment in relation to your benefit claim. Your appointment at time & date has been rescheduled to (new time & date)

then goes on to say the standard, only contact their helpdesk in connection with your appointment,,,, to discuss your benefit claim or for more information about why you need an assessment contact the DWP office that deals with your claim."

Which DWP office they refer to i have no idea, every time i called on behalf of my sister i was told they were based in numerous call centers over the Uk

cats6 wrote: ESA F2F ? please explain

Yes No mention on either letters that they are for a ESA assessment.

"Says As you know, we need to see you for an assessment in relation to your benefit claim. Your appointment at time & date has been rescheduled to (new time & date)

then goes on to say the standard, only contact their helpdesk in connection with your appointment,,,, to discuss your benefit claim or for more information about why you need an assessment contact the DWP office that deals with your claim."

Which DWP office they refer to i have no idea, every time i called on behalf of my sister i was told they were based in numerous call centers over the Uk

Hi c6,

Thanks for taking the time to respond !

ESA F2F = ESA Face to Face Assessment. (ESA "Medical") it's benefit forum "speak" !

Yes, they have Regional DWP Call Centres now !!

The only way that you will likely get to speak to someone in your local ESA Benefits Office/Centre is as the result of a request to the Call Centre for an escalation which would result in a call back.

Keep us updated regarding your sister !!

bro58