ESA Length of award

A friend had his medical for transfer from IB to ESA in Nov12, at the medical he had asked for it to be recorded, but the machine did not record, so the HCP told him to ask for a copy of the medical report.
In Dec 12 he was sent a 24 page report, in it it says that he was not expected to be able to work for 2 years, but that a review should be done in a shorter period. It also said he meets support group criteria.
oday he received confirmation of being in the support group but despite ringing JCP he cannot find out what the length of the award is. I told him to ask for ESA72 as this showed the date of my next assessment.
However the confusing part on the ESA85 is where it says not work for 2 years but review in a shorter period. Has anyone received something like this.
Thanks CM

citymike wrote: A friend had his medical for transfer from IB to ESA in Nov12, at the medical he had asked for it to be recorded, but the machine did not record, so the HCP told him to ask for a copy of the medical report.
In Dec 12 he was sent a 24 page report, in it it says that he was not expected to be able to work for 2 years, but that a review should be done in a shorter period. It also said he meets support group criteria.
oday he received confirmation of being in the support group but despite ringing JCP he cannot find out what the length of the award is. I told him to ask for ESA72 as this showed the date of my next assessment.
However the confusing part on the ESA85 is where it says not work for 2 years but review in a shorter period. Has anyone received something like this.
Thanks CM

Hi CM,

We are not aware of why and when an ESA72 is generated, so it is not a definate that there would be one.

I agree that the comments regarding the " 2 years but review in a shorter period" in the ESA85 are confusing.

When you contact the DWP by phone, you will only have contact with a call centre, generally the expected length of an award is "On Screen", if you cannot obtain this information, from your initial point of telephone contact, you can request an escalation to speak to someone who can provide the information.

Be warned though, you may have to be persistant, but stay calm.

You could also put something in writing, specifically requesting written notification of the prognosis (The expected length) of the SG award.

See : Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

bro58

Thanks bro58
When my friend spoke to JCP on the phone the person said they were transferring him to the benefits decision dept. All they told him was that he could be assessed in 6,12 18 months or it could be the full 2 years. When he asked for a ESA 72 she did not know what it was.
Following both of my assessments on requesting more information on the decisicion as well as the medical report they have sent a ESA72. This just shows a tick box against the group you have been placed in, but also says the date of your next assessment.
However in my case it was a bit more straightforward as both times my prognosis said 12 months therefore the next reassessment date was 12 months after the date of the original notification.
CM

citymike wrote: Thanks bro58
When my friend spoke to JCP on the phone the person said they were transferring him to the benefits decision dept. All they told him was that he could be assessed in 6,12 18 months or it could be the full 2 years. When he asked for a ESA 72 she did not know what it was.
Following both of my assessments on requesting more information on the decisicion as well as the medical report they have sent a ESA72. This just shows a tick box against the group you have been placed in, but also says the date of your next assessment.
However in my case it was a bit more straightforward as both times my prognosis said 12 months therefore the next reassessment date was 12 months after the date of the original notification.
CM

Hi CM,

I find it hard to believe that there is no definate recommended period before reassessment.

This would be set by The DM, as the prognosis provided by ATOS is a recommendation.

There must be a definate date on your friends file, otherwise how would a reassessment be triggered before the 2 years mentioned ?

Are they trying to imply, that someone from the DWP will review your friends file at 6, 12 and 18 months, and decide at that time ?

That scenario doesn't seem feasible to me.

bro58

I told my friend the best thing to do is wait for the ESA72 to come and see if that gives a date, if not to ring JCP and ask for a call back from a customer service manager.
CM

Just to bring you uptodate, my friend has today received the ESA72(very quick), it states that his next reassessment will be in May 2013, although it does say 'We may contact you on or after this date'.
This would appear to be giving him just 6 months award, even though the HCP suggested he would not be able to be return to work for 2 years.
CM