Initial Atos/DWP contact after completing an ESA50

Hi it took 27 weeks 4 days for atos to contact me. Iv my medical Monday 13th January.

Cal wrote: Hi it took 27 weeks 4 days for atos to contact me. Iv my medical Monday 13th January.

Hi C,

These ATOS waiting times are getting ridiculous !!!

You might want to have a read through :

ESA Medical – What to expect

See also : www.atoshealthcare.com/claimants

I always advise that you should treat the assessment as starting from when you leave home until you return.

How you managed your return trip will be taken into account.

You may also be observed on your approach to the building, whilst in it, and on exiting it.

Assumptions may be made by the ATOS HCP, from any such observations.

Good luck, and please let us know how you get on.

bro58

Hi and Happy New Year!

Over the last few months I’ve been astounded by the length or time claimants are waiting hear from Atos and/or the DWP following submission of their ESA 50. This is bad enough when the outcome is a straightforward migration into the appropriate ESA group. However, I was shocked to read this from Cal:

“Hi it took 27 weeks 4 days for atos to contact me. Iv my medical Monday 13th January.”

Surely a wait in excess of six months can’t be explained by the backlog alone.... A couple of queries:

1. Are there particular medical conditions that are likely to cause a delay so that the process is likely to take even longer that that resulting from the now accepted backlog of cases?
2. Decisions are supposedly based on the claimant's limitations at the time an ESA 50 is submitted. What about claimants with progressive conditions. Could an extraordinarily long wait between posting a form and being called for assessment be used to invalidate a questionable result?

In closing, the very best of luck to Cal for her assessment today!

MW

Cases should be dealt with in order however I could speculate that a more complex case may be left at the bottom of the pile. Claimants who have representaion particularly from an MP may be 'bumped up' in the cue. At an appeal a decision has to be made according to the claimants condition at the time of assessment. Someone who is refused ESA and then experiences a deterioration in their condition can always reapply.

Thanks!

So a claimant with a complicated or rare condition will probably wait longer for an Atos assessment if one is required?

Wouldn’t mandatory reconsideration be the first option before reapplication if a claimant were refused ESA or placed in the WRAG when they warrant SG?

MW

MariW wrote: Thanks!

So a claimant with a complicated or rare condition will probably wait longer for an Atos assessment if one is required?

Wouldn’t mandatory reconsideration be the first option before reapplication if a claimant were refused ESA or placed in the WRAG when they warrant SG?

MW

Hi MW,

I can't say for sure whether delays are down to an individuals medical conditions, or simply down to the huge backlogs.

Any decision made after 28/10/13, ( which would obviously be the case with your decision) would first have to go through an MR :

Mandatory Reconsiderations Explained

bro58