Medical Redording Question

Thanks Mrs Hurtyback
I would not want the medical rescheduled, but i would rather have the medical recorded even if that meant a new appointment for a medical being made.
Mike

mike wrote:

Thanks carruthers
I have phoned Atos again and was told that they have received my request for a medical recording and to phone again early next week if i have not heard anything from them.

On the phone he did mention something about the time it takes to get the recording equipment between medical centres.

I hope you are keeping a note of the day and time of these phone calls and the name of the person you spoke to - as well as a good summary of your conversation.

On my second phone call to Atos i was given a different phone number to ring.

I phoned this number and spoke to the person who is in charge of distributing the recording equipment to the medical centres. He has given me a new appointment for a medical so that i can have the medical recorded.

The appointment letter has arrived and i my Atos medical is in early may.

My original Atos medical would have been this week and despite my letters to Atos and DWP requesting for the medical to be recorded, Atos would not have recorded the medical.
Mike

And then they will claim that no-one wants it...

Gordon wrote:

Mike

My impression is that this procedure has not been publicised in either the DWP or ATOS, let alone amongst claimants.

Gordon

I loved the idea that claimants only found out that there had been a change in general policy at the DWP because of a FoI request.
Still, matters are due to change - the DWP is keeping claimants up to date. Another MP pressed Grayling on this matter, and he admitted:

A process guide is currently being agreed by Atos Healthcare and DWP to improve claimant awareness of the steps they should take if they wish to request audio recording of their WCA.

Perhaps the notion is that this "process guide" should be published by (say) October. That way there is no chance that anyone will be able to read it in time for that to affect any appointments in 2012.

(BTW I normally try to provide the source for these quotations, but on this occasion I downloaded the pdf of the written HoC answer to Chris Ruane MP (dated 28/2/2012) without noting its source, and Google isn't helping enough.)

Then, as Mrs Hurtyback says, they will claim that no-one wants it, "despite the best efforts of ATOS and the DWP to make them aware."

After all, following the Newcastle trial, Chris Grayling said that "only a small minority" of claimants wanted this recording. The figures showed that 47% of claimants had requested the recording, which is admittedly a minority, but hardly a small one. Evidence of shameless misrepresentation - "only a minority" would have been "spin" - by the DWP and a warning of things to come.

Look for similar spin after the 2012 "experiment".