ARE MEDICAL ASSESSMENTS ANY USE?

I've come to the conclusion that your medical assessment counts neither for nor against your benefit application, and the Decision Makers just use the bits that suit them.

I've just received copies of my DLA form and Medical and Drs reports from DWP for an Appeal I am making as I was recently awarded LRC, but nothing at all for mobility. I feel that I should have the mobility component as well.

The GP report they used for my DLA application in Dec 2009 was written in March previously for an earlier DLA application which was refused.

The Altos Medical Report was done by a doctor assessing me for an ESA application and was done in August 2009.

On closer inspection of the doctors' reports, the one from my GP's surgery was done by a locum who had never ever seen me! My GP had been suspended and the surgery was being run by locums on a daily basis. How a complete stranger had concocted a report on someone they'd never met, and from medical records a suspended GP hadn't written is beyond me. In fact this locum had even given me a couple of medical conditions I'd never been diagnosed with.

The Altos doctor was as bad - he'd entered in the SAME BOX "They sleep well" and 3 lines later says "They have poor sleep, and is subsequently very fatigued all day". He also made several statements about how I could manage to get on and off the couch, and up from a low chair without help. Of course he did.....he made a great noise about how he wasn't allowed to help me! So I had to struggle to get up from the chair and on and off the examination couch - because he wouldn't help. Not a word was written about how it distressed me with the pain and breathlessnes and the black spots in front of my eyes....!

At no point did we discuss how far I could walk, although he did, to his credit, write that I walked very very slowly, and clearly needed to rest after walking from the waiting room to his office. He also said I was unable to stand more than 3 minutes before I suffered some pain.

His comments on the form about my return to work was that "I advise that a return to work is very unlikely" and that "The condition will only degenerate in the future". (So why did the Decision Maker try to put me back to work when I was claiming ESA??)

It seemed to me that the Decision Maker for my DLA application just used the bits that were relevant grounds for refusing my Mobility component and ignored the bits that said I'm really unable to walk much.

They hadn't even bothered getting up to date and relevant medical information about me. It just makes me wonder how many other people are being refused benefits because DMs aren't even bothering to make sure the evidence they're using is actually true! Jenny

I don't understand this. Are you saying that you think that the DMs should be making fair decisions and that Atos should be carrying out medicals fairly? What a strange idea! We all know that these medicals are about "testing what you can do, not what you can't". (Translation: failing as many people as possible.)

(Good luck with your appeal. Every appeal counts.)

Since receiving the medical reports and having had the time to go through them, and go through them again, I've gone from feeling distressed depressed and miserable that they don't believe me, to fighting mad about the whole darned thing. I'm just not going to lie down and accept it without at least trying for the last word! I've thought about it long and hard and haven't come up with a reason not to go ahead with the appeal. I wont go under if they take off the £18.65 LRC they've awarded me, and have a lot to gain if the Tribunal awards me both the DLA components at the rates I really should be getting. I've got a good standard of English grammar and spelling, I'm a qualified Medical Secretary and have also been secretary to a senior planning officer and dealt with the paperwork and statements for many Planning Appeals with Government inspectors and have been taught well how to put a leakproof report together! He always told me that if you only put the truth and facts in a report, no matter how trivial and inconsequential they might be, then nothing and nobody can break your case. And how true that is...how very true.

Jenny

Well done Jenny, I like your style. My approach is to test the legality of their procedure in attempt to discredit the supposed evidence prior to an expected appeal. At the moment I am using the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act to gather the facts. One example is regarding their definition of a medical examination .. Atos seems to have changed the meaning of this into disability analysis.. Where have we actually given consent for this doctor patient confidentiality in this particular supposed medical to be breached, or indeed for the medical to take place without informed consent and without being pressurised into it.. Most of this is contrary to GMC guidelines which the visiting doctors have to adhere to..Why are we not allowed to see the report before it is submitted and have the chance to have it corrected or at least have our objection recorded as stated in the Data Protection Act.. What is the logic used by the computer system LIMA that helps decide the outcome.. why are we denied this evidence which is hidden behind commercial confidentiality.. is this a breach of natural justice? So many questions but no replies as yet.. Use your medical knowledge Jenny .. chip away at it and good luck ..... keep us updated .. regards AdamAnt

I was unaware that I could request a copy of my DLA application form. Can I also ask for a copy of my Latest IB50 form? I hadn't come accross this site when I filled in these and I rather stupidly failed to take copies (to tell the truth I was a bit put off doing so by the amount of ink & paper that would be used by these horrendously long forms). I am not appealing so am not subject to time limit but I would like to have these forms to hand for the next time. Also, do I make the request to the DWP? Thank you

You can get information held about yourself including a copy of your form from the DWP. You could just write and ask for it normally but don't hold your breath. You can also go to the DWP website and under "Data Protection" follow the links, you can download a simple form and send it off. This is a "subject access request" no reasons need to be given for it and they have to provide it within 40 days or something.. Unlike a Freedom of Information request you can not do it wholly online as you have to sign it.. hope it helps a bit Anne, if not go onto the information Commisioners website, that can help and is quite interesting ..AdamAnt