ESA to WRAG

Hi Gordon,

Thank you for your help and advice etc....

My appeal was adjourned thirty minutes after it started because I disputed the ESA113.

My doctors surgery had written in the Investigations/management/medication box.The following........ Poorly compliant with advice given by the clinic I explained to the judge that I.m.o that advice given is simply someone offering their opinion and not a legal instruction! I'm not legally obliged to follow anyone's advice especially when it's wrong advice!

The Dr on the panel was not happy that I alerted the judge to this fact and tried to say that a DR always knows what's best for a patient. I then asked the judge why the DWP had not contacted my consultant at the hospital as he was/is dealing with my conditions and that I'd specifically filled in all his contact details on the ESA form.

The Dr on the panel curtly responded with "the DWP are not required to contact your consultant"
So, I asked the judge why the DWP bother asking for this information. The judge agreed with my
opinion and suggested that the hearing was adjourned so that the tribunal could have time to get access to my medical records.

To be honest I found the judge very fair.

Now,today I've received in the post a letter telling me my ESA (365 days) is ending in July. Followed by the usual,you have one month from the date of this letter to appeal this decision.
The letter is already 6 days old. Do these people never give up with continually harassing/bullying the sick and disabled?

Update: I'm going to first start by Thanking Gordon personally.
Gordon I appreciate and I'm sure I speak for lots of people (past and present)on this forum. I personally acknowledge the hard work you do (and the mods Mrs hurtyback et al)despite the fact yourself and the other MODS are having to deal with their own personal ailments..

Agreed! Well done Gordon and co.

Update Recently I've attended my second tribunal. The first tribunal was aborted roughly six months ago as the judge decided with my permission that the panel needed to see my medical records. The judge also stressed that I should seek a letter from the hospital consultant confirming my conditions etc.

The consultant agreed to write me a supporting letter. After waiting months the letter never arrived and me being stubborn I was not going to chase the consultant for failing to provide written evidence.

Fast forward to June 2017 and my appeal date is fast approaching. 24hrs before my tribunal the DWP kindly send me a letter stating my ESA finishes in four weeks time!
Their timing can't have been a coincidence because I received a DWP letter 24hrs before my first tribunal with similar bad news. Or maybe I've become paranoid.

Tribunal day arrives,I take all the requested paper work plus my own notes. I walk into the court room with my wife and politely say hello to the judge and the doctor. I'm told to sit in the middle seat. Wow the chairs used are really heavy,this might not be the case in all court rooms though.
The look on the judge and doctors faces when I started setting out my additional notes was priceless. I didn't get to use my notes as the tribunal didn't last very long I was in and out within 45 minutes.

The judge starts with a brief introduction followed by how the process is going to work. My wife is told she is not to speak unless the judge or doctor ask her too. The difference between the first tribunal and the second tribunal was like day and night. The judge asked me a couple questions then the questioning was passed over to the doctor. The doctor was very polite,asked me several questions then asked me if he could question my wife. I said yes that would be fine the doctor then asked me not to speak whilst the question and answer process took place. After a short time the doctor turned to the judge and said he had enough information the judge then asked me and my wife to leave the room and informed me that we will call you back in ten minutes.

I walked back into the court room I can see several papers on the table were I had previously been sitting I asked the judge if I needed to sit down and was told no you just need to collect your decision papers. I didn't bother reading the papers I simply asked the doctor and judge what decision they had made.

Support group allowed due to Regulation 35 ESA regs 2008 and unless the regulations change,the Tribunal recommend that the appellant is not re-assessed.

As Gordon and the mods regularly post "we have to prove that the descriptors apply on the date of our assessment" if you don't meet the descriptors and are going to a Tribunal do as I've done and prove you meet the Reg35 substantial risk of harm rules.

What I learned from the whole process is......
Be polite at all times even if you disagree with what's been said.
If the tribunal is adjourned this is usually a good sign,as I posted above the difference between tribunal one and two was like comparing day with night.
Stick to the facts
Don't get caught up in all the errors in your assessment report.
The Tribunal is only interested in how your conditions were on the day of the assessment.
If your condition/s have improved or deteriated you need to inform the DWP.
Reporting a change in conditions might trigger another assessment highly unlikely if you're going to a tribunal as the DWP hopes the claimant drops their case.
The more evidence (recent medical notes/history)to back up the facts the better.
Most doctors surgeries now offer "free" online access to your medical reports.
You don't need to pay for access to your medical reports although some medical reports will have restricted access if the DR thinks the information will cause self harm.
If the tribunal asks for permission to access your medical history you will get a copy of all the information the tribunal receives.

Finally,easier said than done don't give up. The whole process is target driven and hopefully at some point in the future the DWP and the private assessment companies will be prosecuted.