Re. D.L.A, E.S.A processes and appeals.

Hi All,
my wife has to have an operation in the near future we will not know the extent of which until she sees a consultant on the 9 November ( however, we have been informed it's possibly minor )6-8 week wait for surgery and she will only require 2-3 week off work.
We have decided therefore it is not practical for me to undergo further spinal surgery until she will be fit enough to take care of me ( plus she has a job to return to ) hence I have temporarily removed myself from the surgery waiting list.(note her employer has allowed two weeks holiday to be carried forward to next year in order to look after me post op.)
Having been down the spinal surgery route before I am aware my condition will continue to deteriorate ( and its bad enough already ) fortunately there is only a 3-4 mth. wait for spinal surgery in this area .
This long winded explanation raises the following concerns:-
1)I have a home visit E.S.A medical assessment shortly (Friday 8-10-2010) if for some strange reason this goes against me, I am concerned if I will be in a situation medically to appeal or attend a medical due to undergoing surgery or recently undergone surgery so what do I do in this instance?
2)I have recently been awarded D.L.A high rate mobility and as my condition deteriorates I may require a certain degree of care will A.T.O.S hold the decision to delay surgery against me?
Apologies for the long winded posting be assured I an no martyr so my name will be back on the waiting list as soon as we have conformation regarding my wife's situation in November.

Bad Back Bill wrote:

Hi All,
my wife has to have an operation in the near future we will not know the extent of which until she sees a consultant on the 9 November ( however, we have been informed it's possibly minor )6-8 week wait for surgery and she will only require 2-3 week off work.
We have decided therefore it is not practical for me to undergo further spinal surgery until she will be fit enough to take care of me ( plus she has a job to return to ) hence I have temporarily removed myself from the surgery waiting list.(note her employer has allowed two weeks holiday to be carried forward to next year in order to look after me post op.)
Having been down the spinal surgery route before I am aware my condition will continue to deteriorate ( and its bad enough already ) fortunately there is only a 3-4 mth. wait for spinal surgery in this area .
This long winded explanation raises the following concerns:-
1)I have a home visit E.S.A medical assessment shortly (Friday 8-10-2010) if for some strange reason this goes against me, I am concerned if I will be in a situation medically to appeal or attend a medical due to undergoing surgery or recently undergone surgery so what do I do in this instance?
2)I have recently been awarded D.L.A high rate mobility and as my condition deteriorates I may require a certain degree of care will A.T.O.S hold the decision to delay surgery against me?
Apologies for the long winded posting be assured I an no martyr so my name will be back on the waiting list as soon as we have conformation regarding my wife's situation in November.

Hi,

Although we cannot give individual help on a forum such as this, we can try to explaint how the system should work.

In answer to your two questions,

1. If your home medical iss only on 08/10/10 then it could take a week or two to find out the result. If it is a negative it is doubtful you would be sent for another medical prior to any appeal tribunal (and its doubful then). You have 1 month from the date of the decsion letter to get thre appeal form (GL24) sent in.

You can print off a GL24 here:

www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/gl24dwp.pdf

If you print it off now, you can start to complete it on the off chance, so it is not all a rush.

It will very likely be a period of months before an actual appeal date will be sent.

2. No, there is actually a Commissioners Ruling (which typically I cannot find online at the moment - I have a peper copy here). However if you ask the DWP to look at your care needs, they can also look at your Mobility award. So, it is really advisable to get face to face welfare rights advice to both assess the relative safety of your current award and to assess your needs DLA wise.

Obviously once you have had surgery if you needs become less (or more) you must inform the DWP.

Pete

Thanks Pete,
information very useful.