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Brown emvelope has arrived!

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12 years 9 months ago #59934 by Katathome01
Brown emvelope has arrived! was created by Katathome01
Hi there,
I've been a member for almost 2 years, but this is the first time I've posted on here.

My husband received the dreaded brown envelope yesterday, and we're waiting for the phone call, and ESA50 form, to come but, in the meantime, I've been looking through all your advice about the forms, and it continuously says to submit any medical evidence.

The trouble is, although my husband has got both mental health and physical problems, he avoids his doctor like the plague (his is in a different surgery to mine), and hasn't got anything recent to submit - he hasn't seen his doctor officially for some years now, as the doctor behaved in an appalling manner when my mother-in-law died in his surgery, and then treated me appallingly when I first fell ill, until I had to change surgeries.

My husband is also my full-time carer, as I'm bed-bound with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Lymphodaema, IBS, and cluster migraines, to name just my major health issues :unsure:

As my husband has been claiming for us both, I'm really unsure how we should fill in the forms due to arrive? Should it be focussed on my husband's problems alone, on mine, or our joint health issues?

There is also the problem that I haven't seen a consultant since I was diagnosed with the fibro, and it's been my GP who has dealt with me since and, as I've only managed to be well enough to leave the house 3 times in the last 6 months - each of these to visit my doctor - I'm not sure where we stand, or what we should be submitting as medical evidence?

All I have is the original evidence that got me my DLA some years back (I was awarded indefinite HRM & HRC) and my health is even worse now than it was then. I also have a letter from social services stating that I'm registered disabled.

Have you any advice at all for me, please?

Katathome

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12 years 9 months ago #59942 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Re:Brown emvelope has arrived!
Kat

The IB your husband receives is in his name as will the ESA that he is being transferred to, so your disabilities are not relevant to his filling in the ESA50.

I am afraid his not having seen his doctor for a couple of years will potentially be an issue, is there any way he would be prepared to see him now to try an re-exstablish a diagnosis.

You also need to be aware that his caring for you may be an issue as there will be assumptions by both ATOS and the DWP Decision Maker as to the physical and mental activities involved in this.

It is possible to address these matters, but you may need assistance to do this, I would recommend you get face to face to face advise from your local CAB or Welfare Rights office as a matter of urgency.

Have a look at our ESA guides in the Members area to better understand the ESA transfer process and the tests included in the ESA50 and ESA medical.

If you have more questions, please come back to the forum.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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12 years 9 months ago #59944 by Crazydiamond
Replied by Crazydiamond on topic Re:Brown emvelope has arrived!
The issue of medical evidence was discussed in this thread HERE.

One of the inherent problems with obtaining medical evidence in support of the ESA work capability assessment, is that the supporting evidence would have to be relevant to the descriptors under which a claimant may consider attract points. The actual diagnosis is irrelevant as it is only concerned with impact of a claimant's condition on their ability to work.

If you approach a doctor, consultant or any other healthcare professional they would be obliged to comment on how a claimant would qualify for any given descriptor, as in most cases it would be extremely unlikely that they would know how a medical condition would impact upon a person's everyday life. If the HCP does not know, he/she is going to have to ask a patient/claimant about the relevant ESA descriptors for which they may qualify.

Problems may arise if the HCP says "Mr/Mrs X tells me....." because the DWP and/or an appeal tribunal will conclude that a claimant had put words into the doctor/consultant's mouth. This would effectively negate the medical report as the DWP and/or an appeal tribunal would take the view that it was not independent, but merely what was said to the healthcare professional by the claimant.

In any event as I have already said, the burden of proof lies with the DWP and not the claimant to show that they would be disentitled to ESA. Furthermore, what a claimant records on form ESA50 is evidence, and the onus is on the DWP to refute the evidence therein without simply rubber-stamping the approved disability analysts report (ESA85). The ADA is no more independent than a claimant's own healthcare professionals.

As you have quite correctly observed, many claimants will not be in (regular) touch with HCPs, as many people will be told that they have to live with their health conditions despite having had treatment for their medical condition.

The ESA50 when it arrives will require details of your husband's health condition and how it impacts on his everyday life, and he should fill in the ESA50 using the guides in the section entitled ESA resources.

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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12 years 8 months ago #61937 by Katathome01
Replied by Katathome01 on topic Re:Brown emvelope has arrived!
I thought I should let you know that we've had the ESA50 form for my husband now, and have until the 16th August to fill it in and send it back to them.
My husband took your advice, and has transferred to my own surgery, where he has some confidence in my own doctor, who has seen me through every aspect of my various health problems. My doctor has already examined my husband, has read his medical notes, and will be seeing him again on Monday in order to do what he can to support his medical problems in writing.
We both know that this won't be enough for ATOS, and are expecting the worse when my husband is called in for the so-called medical, but we intend to use your excellent guides to fight any negative decision they make.
What we are having problems with, is filling in the forms in such a way as to show that, although my husband is my full time carer, it is a mutual thing, as I support my husband with his mental health problems, and all the things he can't cope with, such as organising and paying our bills, and coping with tradespeople etc, something my husband can't cope with at all, as it means dealing with strangers :(
Unfortunately, there is no aspect in the form to deal with this, so I guess we're going to have to explain it all separately, and staple any extra information to the questionnaire. Do you think this would serve, as we really do need to let them know that I can't do without my husband's help? :unsure:

Whatever happens, I'll let you know as we go through the various processes - it might help others to avoid whatever we have to face!





Katathome
Board wrote:

Hi there,
I've been a member for almost 2 years, but this is the first time I've posted on here.

My husband received the dreaded brown envelope yesterday, and we're waiting for the phone call, and ESA50 form, to come but, in the meantime, I've been looking through all your advice about the forms, and it continuously says to submit any medical evidence.

The trouble is, although my husband has got both mental health and physical problems, he avoids his doctor like the plague (his is in a different surgery to mine), and hasn't got anything recent to submit - he hasn't seen his doctor officially for some years now, as the doctor behaved in an appalling manner when my mother-in-law died in his surgery, and then treated me appallingly when I first fell ill, until I had to change surgeries.

My husband is also my full-time carer, as I'm bed-bound with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Lymphodaema, IBS, and cluster migraines, to name just my major health issues :unsure:

As my husband has been claiming for us both, I'm really unsure how we should fill in the forms due to arrive? Should it be focussed on my husband's problems alone, on mine, or our joint health issues?

There is also the problem that I haven't seen a consultant since I was diagnosed with the fibro, and it's been my GP who has dealt with me since and, as I've only managed to be well enough to leave the house 3 times in the last 6 months - each of these to visit my doctor - I'm not sure where we stand, or what we should be submitting as medical evidence?

All I have is the original evidence that got me my DLA some years back (I was awarded indefinite HRM & HRC) and my health is even worse now than it was then. I also have a letter from social services stating that I'm registered disabled.

Have you any advice at all for me, please?


Katathome

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12 years 8 months ago #61957 by Derek4
Replied by Derek4 on topic Re:Brown emvelope has arrived!
Hi Katathome

When filling in an ESA50 you are not limited to the questions on the form. You can add as much information as required on additional sheets; just make sure that it's relevant to the descriptors.

Please don't forget that the guides are not just for appealing. There are very detailed guides on how to provide evidence effectively on the ESA50.

Good luck

Derek

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12 years 7 months ago #64875 by Katathome01
Replied by Katathome01 on topic Re:Brown emvelope has arrived!
Hi Derek,

I thought I'd let you know that we've just posted our ESA50 questionnaire back to ATOS at last.

We used the brilliant advice given on here to answer all the questions, in excruciating detail, which took us 4 weeks to complete, as neither of us can write by hand.

I recorded my husband's answers via voice-recognition software, onto a Word document and, as we weren't sure whether this would be acceptable to ATOS, I phoned them to find out. The lady I spoke to was very helpful, and she agreed that, as long as we attached the original questionnaire to our documents, and made sure that every page had my husband's name and NI number on it, then it will be acceptable to them!

We've just sent 23 A4 pages of closely typed-up answers to them, along with a brilliantly detailed medical report from our doctor.

We don't know how long the wait will be but, because the advice written on here was so well thought out, we are at least confident that we've written everything we can to make our circumstances clear.

I'll let you know the result as soon as we know ourselves and, no matter what it is, we are grateful to all the B & W team for all their hard work in assembling the advice we used - the subscription to this site is well worth the help you've given to us! :)

Katathome

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