ESA Tribunal on Friday

thank you to you both... I was in a really big mess at the time of the medical. My 13 weeks were up at the end of December 2011. I did not have my medical until February 2012. I was awarded 6 points. What I was also confused about was the medical assessor stated that I could fit for work within 3 months with the correct medication and counselling. I am still waiting for counselling and I am still a 'lab rat'. I did not understand this as they were technically saying I was not fit for work but it also said they did not think it would cause harm if I were deemed fit for work???

Hi again

I wrote a post last night and the forum got locked as I posted it. I was trying to explain that the medical report states as follows:

The history and examination indicates that the client may return to work in the shorter term. The clients level of disability would be expected to improve with time and appropriate treatment. she should improve with appropriate medication and perhaps counselling.

I advise that a return to work could be considered within 3 months.

My medical was in February 2012 my 13 weeks was up at the end of December 2011. Does this not mean that I should not have been found fit for work at the time of the medical??? I am really confused

She listed my abnormalities as follows:
some difficulty coping at interview
spoke rapidly
mood was labile
Unable to complete five rounds of serial sevens

How an earth am I expected to work with all this, an employer would run a mile

any advice please

J

When I completed the form ESA50 it was immediately after I left my job. As I was under a medical certificate. I had another job to start in the October of last year. However, at the time of filling in the form ESA50 I just thought I had another episode of depression and it would pass as it always had previously. However, I deteriorated and has resulted in me having resistant depression and anxiety. As a result of this I was unable to start the new job in October This was one of the problems at the medical as I did not make such a big fuss about the depression, that is because it was not a major problem at the time.

I've also been quite shocked at the superficiality of consultant psychiatrists notes and reports to my son's GP. All they really prove is that my son has a specific mental illness (schizophrenia). They don't even show that he has been prescribed endless different drugs for it because the current doctor is too lazy to read his notes and full medical history and has told us he can't/won't write a report about anything prior to him taking over (about 6 months ago). My son has been ill for 10 years! I don't really understand why medical reports are awarded such a high significance because often your doctors don't actually know how your illness impacts on your daily life. And that's what the ESA descriptors are about.
All you can do at this stage is try to stay calm, prepare your notes of what you want to say and explain how your illness affects you. I presume you've already read the Guides on this site - I find them really useful.
Best of luck.