Panic about medical

Gordon wrote:

Hello Juliette

It seems to be the week for badly worded letters from the DWP and other departments

Have you been able to confirm that you have been placed in the WRAG?

If you have, and it is perfectly possible for you to have been found to meet the WRAG criteria without a medical, then you need to contact ATOS, to confirm that your medical appointement has been cancelled.

If not, then I think you should assume the medical is still required, although it be worth you confirming it. It would al;so be worth you re-contacting the DWP to find out what this letter is supposed to mean.

If you are in the WRAG, then there will be support to help you return to work, but this will not, and I am happy to be corrected, include additional support for your mental health problems.

Gordon

The number of people getting letters saying they have been moved without a medical is starting to smell I bet they think we move them over within 2 years many will be stopped when they are moved to the type of esa thats income related very few will be able to argue from that postion they should be in the support group

in fact... its a fact the way the laws wrote support group is never going to be a place many people get

originaldave wrote:

Gordon wrote:

Hello Juliette

It seems to be the week for badly worded letters from the DWP and other departments

Have you been able to confirm that you have been placed in the WRAG?

If you have, and it is perfectly possible for you to have been found to meet the WRAG criteria without a medical, then you need to contact ATOS, to confirm that your medical appointement has been cancelled.

If not, then I think you should assume the medical is still required, although it be worth you confirming it. It would al;so be worth you re-contacting the DWP to find out what this letter is supposed to mean.

If you are in the WRAG, then there will be support to help you return to work, but this will not, and I am happy to be corrected, include additional support for your mental health problems.

Gordon

The number of people getting letters saying they have been moved without a medical is starting to smell I bet they think we move them over within 2 years many will be stopped when they are moved to the type of esa thats income related very few will be able to argue from that postion they should be in the support group

in fact... its a fact the way the laws wrote support group is never going to be a place many people get

You know what Dave, I've been thinking along very similar lines, regarding people being put straight in to WRAG.

You have the 12 month time limit, that will almost certainly be passed into law.
There will still be an awful lot of people who are unaware of this.

There is also the "Bartering" aspect of it, i.e. we'll put you in WRAG, or you can gamble on challenging it.

Also if they offer WRAG to people who should be in Support, there's the obvious reason, it will probably lessen the number of appeals, then there's the money aspect also. Plus long term IB claimants will be tougher nuts to crack.

They can always "park" people in WRAG, with the attitude "We'll get you later", or pester you so much that you will get fed up and cease your claim.

Call me cynical, but it's not beyond reason, that these circumstances will occur.

cheers

bro58

I suppose it was predictable they would do anything they could to avoid migrating people into the support group, as it is proposed that it maintains its contribution based status whereas the WRAG component be restricted to a period of twelve months. (please note the 12 month proposal is not relevant to means-tested/income-based claimants).

Decisions about whether you qualify for WRAG or support group should depend on functional ability and the likelihood of being able to find sustainable work with WRAG support.

Original Dave you are right - it stinks!

What are the mental health champions Atos are meant to be employing actually doing?

I think Anne Begg MP has said she is against the 12 month proposals so should be very sympathetic to this issue.

Catherine wrote:

What are the mental health champions Atos are meant to be employing actually doing?

Nothing! It is simply a means of paying lip service to ESA claimants who experience mental health problems.

If only I could make myself demand to see one!

In the last month I have accompanied 12 claimants to their medicals (varying conditions). There appears to be no continuity and some questions totally irrelevant to conditions.The longest was 55 minutes and the shortest 20 minutes both similar disabilities.
Is the question of parking people in a group? Do we help?
Or are statistics more popular from the Governments PR.