ESA medical assessment

Hi, I'm new to this site and have some questions.

I have today applied for contribution based ESA. I have a mental health condition called Borderline Personality Disorder which was diagnosed 10 years ago. Since then I have muddled through, changing jobs often, as after 6 months I find them too difficult to cope with.

In December 2011 I found it just too hard to work full time any more, so with the support of my husband I left my job and starting selling handmade wedding invitations on ebay. I was only making around £8k a year doing this, but along with my husband's decent salary we got by.

In January 2013 I decided to try and tackle my weight problem, so I joined Weight Watchers, and over the next year and 7 months, I lost 3 stone to be a healthy weight in August 2014. By this point I had been selling my invitations for nearly 3 years, and was making less and less money and getting more stressed with it, so I decided to try and give it a go being a Weight Watchers leader.

At the same time, I found out about a benefit called PIP I'd never heard of before, which wasn't income tested, so I applied for it. I was awarded the enhanced daily living rate in October 2014. I had to have a home assessment, and got myself so worked up about it that I was in a right state by the time the nurse came to see me. I could barely answer my phone or the front door due to the anxiety, and it took me a good few days to recover afterwards.

I started working for Weight Watchers in November 2014 around 8 hours per week, and when my husband got made redundant in April 2015 I gave up my wedding invitations and took on an extra role with Weight Watchers, working 28 hours per week.

At the end of September 2015, I started to have group psychotherapy twice a week, which I had been on the waiting list for 2 years for. It is quite intensive, lasting 3 and a quarter hours every Tuesday and Thursday, and as the hospital is 45 mins away and I can't cope with driving or public transport, I have volunteer drivers come to pick me up and take me home. After starting this I really struggled to cope with my job, and at the end of October I resigned as I couldn't cope with it at all. Working my month notice period whilst having my therapy was horrendous.

I am now really hoping to be able to get contribution based ESA in the support group, but the thought of having to travel to a job centre to have an assessment is causing me so much distress at the moment that it's affecting my daily life. I can't sleep due to the worry of it.

If I explain this on my form and get a letter from my psychotherapist, is there a possibility I won't have to have the assessment, or at least get a home visit? And can the fact that I get enhanced daily living PIP be used to make a decision too without an assessment? As I'm new to all this, any insight would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Hi Sweetpea

I imagine that, having a long history of mental health issues, your Psychotherapist will give you every support for your need for a home visit. I can't see you NOT having an assessment, however.

I believe (but am not certain) that the PIP award should not be taken into consideration when deciding your entitlement to ESA.(Other applicants might argue with this).

Given the information you have provided, and with the support of your Psychotherapist, hopefully you will receive some level of ESA; whether you will be placed in the Support Group really does depend on your face to face assessment. Make sure you have someone with you throughout the visit, and if it gets too much for you make sure you make this very clear to the interviewer. Don't let them bully you in any way and make sure that what you say is what they write down. Request a copy of their notes, and make sure you point out any discrepancies.

I am sorry you have to go through this. Good luck to you.

Hi Shelam, thank you very much for your reply and kind words. My psychiatrist today has written a letter explaining that it would be very distressing for me to attend an assessment and would be detrimental to my recovery, so hopefully that will help. I also spoke to a claim processor today (due to a cock up dwp made with my claim that almost meant I had to wait 13 weeks and reapply again), and she said to put on the form that I was granted a home visit for PIP as that would help my case.

Hi guys,

I just wanted to let you know that today I received the dreaded brown envelope from DWP, and I have been placed in the support group for 18 months just from my questionnaire I filled in, without the need for a face to face assessment.

The guide for mental illness on here was truly invaluable, I read through the entire guide several times, and then spent days filling out the form, wording every answer very carefully and using plenty of examples.

I also included a letter from my psychiatrist explaining that an assessment would impact my progress in therapy, and I added that my GP also agreed that I should not have to attend an assessment. I explained that the thought of having to go through this process was so stressful that it was keeping me awake and affecting my daily life, and that the nature of my condition means that the anxiety caused by the experience could well lead to me seriously harming myself.

I can't tell you what a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now, and I have the wonderful guide from this site to thank. The best £20 I've ever spent

That's great news Sweetpea! Thanks for letting us know and for your kind words about B+W