Worry about my daughter Atos medical.

[Trixie]

My daughter is due to have a medical with these charlatans this month and I am worrying myself sick about it and not only that but I am absolutely livid on how they treat the sick (or according to them customers).

My daughter suffers from Agoraphobia, Social Paranoia, depression, OCD anxiety, etc etc. She was taken ill whilst in school she is 26 now and has only left the house about 20 times since she was 18.

She self harms when stressed out and gets terrible diarrhoea and the police came to our house when she was in school as she had told someone on one of the BBC disability boards that she wanted to commit suicide. They contacted the police and they came around to our house. It was the first I knew about how she was feeling.

I am so worried that this will stress her out so much that she will start cutting her arms again or something.

Seemingly the people who conduct the interview are not interested in past patient history (it is on their website or what the doctors have said) and have a terrible habit of reversing the patients answers such as


"Do you go out"?
"Only once a year". ........so they write down Yes!

Perhaps that is why the Government has paid them £500million for a 7 year contract.

I just hope I don't go off on one I have already given the man on the phone a piece of my mind.

[miss_moose]

I have suffered with the same fears and phobias as your daughter, at my worst i hadn’t left the house in years, hardly left my bed and they still stopped my money and said i had a sign on the dole!
However, i'm now on long term incapacity benefit , that was after a long battle with the powers that be, and have picked up a few tips along the way.

When you fill in the forms, you tell them what it is like on your daughters worst days.
Dont tell them she goes out once a year, just tell them she never goes out due to her panic attacks and agoraphobia, and then explain how this makes her feel, explain all the physical symptoms the panic attacks give her, ie the sickness, stomach pain, diareah ect



Also, write a letter to accompany the forms, my partner wrote 2 pages worth of information, going into great detail about how my mental illnesses are on on going every day battle, how often I have panic attacks (in my case, daily), how ill I feel even without the panic, every single symptom I have.



Is you daughters receiving any medication, or psychological help from a therapist or her doctor?



If so, ask her therapist to write a letter too.



When she has the medical examination, get her GP to request a home visit, as this will all help her case. And if she doesn’t see her doctor regular, ask her/him to come and see her to get them upto date with her condition.


*EDIT Just found out what ATOS is, my medical was with the old system, so i haven't yet had the "pleasure" of an ATOS review, i'm dreadingit now from what i've read but i hope what i posted helps in some way.

[Vixxy]

Ive had a few interviews with them and never had a problem with them deciding I was actually well. Wierdly my anxiety wasnt that bad at the time, so i think I was lucky.
I had my forms to fill in again over xmas when I was going through a terrible patch. I sent them off and not heard a peep since, so I can only assume whatever I wrote was enough for them to leave me alone.
My advice for you and your daughter would be to talk more than needed. If they ask a question with a yes or no answer, dont give them just a yes or no explain your answer.
If you see a therapist take a letter from them.
Even if they decide that shes well enough to work you can appeal it. its not a lost cause.
Good luck!

[xBettyBoopx]

Hi Trixie

I'm so sorry you and your daughter are having such a problem with these people, they are ignorant to say the least. But if you persist, maybe she won't have to go for the interview.

I rang them and told them that I was a housebound agoraphobic, to which they replied "how far can you go", basically I asked them what it was about "housebound" didn't they understand!! Long story short, I had to get a letter from my doctor to tell them that I couldn't attend. First they said that they hadn't got the letter, then it was faxed over and sent in the mail. All very very stressful but eventually I received a letter from them telling me that I didn't have to go for an interview as they would use my doctors notes!!

By the way I am on incap benefit.

I know it's hard but you have to try and stand your ground about this, they can be real nasty but guess what? So can I!! LOL

Give them a ring tomorrow, be firm!!

Let us know how you get on, I hope things turn out okay for you and your daughter.

Take care,
Els
xxx

[Trixie]

Atos is a multinational IT company who it seems writes programmes for different companies etc.

Seemingly they have written this fitness for work programme for the DWP (SS), they employ doctors or nurses to operate the programme which is a questionnaire. To know how to do this they have to go on a 3 day course (so it seems). because the questions are black or white questions they can manipulate them to fail so many people. They are not interested in medical history at all.

http://www.uk.atosorigin.com/en-uk/

[mumble]

I am agoraphobic currently, and they asked me to send a dr letter as proof of this, they said I didn't need to attend an interview, and will send someone out for the medical assessment. They sent a lady about 2 weeks later and she went through questions. They deemed me ill enough to be unable to work etc, however then wrote back saying I was unable to get it - I appealed and was told last week the original amounts were worked out incorrectly and they are giving it to me now.

As people have said, sometimes you need to work hard with these people. They can be very difficult. When the woman came, I literally had a panic attack when she arrived as I was so anxious about it.

[ladybird64]

Atos is a multinational IT company who it seems writes programmes for different companies etc.

Seemingly they have written this fitness for work programme for the DWP (SS), they employ doctors or nurses to operate the programme which is a questionnaire. To know how to do this they have to go on a 3 day course (so it seems). because the questions are black or white questions they can manipulate them to fail so many people. They are not interested in medical history at all.

http://www.uk.atosorigin.com/en-uk/

I totally agree with you Trixie, I have had experience with this bunch and they are absolutely appalling.

Your point about medical history is true, my daughter who is registered disabled, receives top rate DLA for care and mobility (a lifetime award I might add) was told that she was able to attend and do "work related activities.

She is unable to go anywhere independentley as she has learning difficulties and is acknowledged as being at risk. On her medical form the doctor said that she had "no physical problems at all" due to the fact that she saw her walk "15 meters slowly".

I won my appeal against their decision and my daughter was placed in the correct group but it took 6 months of sheer slog. letters from everyone including her tutor at college, GP, consultant, specialist nurse just to name a few.

My battle with them took 6 months of my time and nearly pushed me to the edge of a breakdown...unfortunately due to the takeover of Incapacity Benefit by ESA, everyone in receipt of Incap will have to have some kind of medical even if it's at home.

I wish you and your girl all the luck in the world and if you need any support please feel free to PM me.

[Trixie]

NO WONDER THEY HAVE SCORED EXCELLENT IT IS DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THEY HAVE FAILED.


http://www.atoshealthcare.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=251

Over the last couple of days I have read such a lot about this bunch of con artist. How can anyone say that they care about the welfare of the sick when they act like they do. OK we all know someone who really isn't sick but this company treats everyone as parasites. I have even read of people with major health problems being told they are fit for work.

I think it is about time everyone complained about this test as being unfair. I have read in the last couple of days that the director of Mind has joined an official group to look into the way ATOS is behaving.

[Trixie]

I totally agree with you Trixie, I have had experience with this bunch and they are absolutely appalling.

Your point about medical history is true, my daughter who is registered disabled, receives top rate DLA for care and mobility (a lifetime award I might add) was told that she was able to attend and do "work related activities.

She is unable to go anywhere independentley as she has learning difficulties and is acknowledged as being at risk. On her medical form the doctor said that she had "no physical problems at all" due to the fact that she saw her walk "15 meters slowly".

I won my appeal against their decision and my daughter was placed in the correct group but it took 6 months of sheer slog. letters from everyone including her tutor at college, GP, consultant, specialist nurse just to name a few.

My battle with them took 6 months of my time and nearly pushed me to the edge of a breakdown...unfortunately due to the takeover of Incapacity Benefit by ESA, everyone in receipt of Incap will have to have some kind of medical even if it's at home.

I wish you and your girl all the luck in the world and if you need any support please feel free to PM me.


This is a link to a Forum that is well worth looking at scroll down until you come to a list of illnesses

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/benefits-tax-credits-minimum/267038-dwp-atos-nightmare.html#post3024680


Thanks for the offer I will probably do that.:D

[Trixie]

My daughter had a letter from Atos yesterday to say they didn't want to see her. I was so angry I was going to phone them up and tell them off for causing such stress to her.

:mad:

[Gregor]

When i was called to go to my appointment i had a lot of difficulty getting there as i couldnt get downstairs at the time. I did, however, manage to get there in the end. The appointment was a waste of time - a guy reading questions from his computer. At the very end i realised he hadnt even asked the most basic and yet important question of all - why is it i cannot work? i had to mention this question to him and give him the answer.

I then had to go for a second appointment. Before i did so i asked them about the qualifications held by the so called doctors, etc. They said all their staff were 'trained'. I asked if i was not well was there anyone there to help me out. They said there were some First Aid trained staff!

So, where are all the medically qualified staff???

[Trixie]

I think the whole set up is disgusting. They do employ Drs, nurse and physio to do so called medicals but these medicals are just questions on a computer just as if you were buying an insurance.


This is the score sheet

http://dwpexamination.wordpress.com/dwp-score-sheets-or-points-make-benefits/



Absolutely bl**dy disgusting.:mad:

[nervy-paul]

The whole thing is a scary and depressing state of affairs. The whole system needs to be revamped, and they should consult with the people affected by their 'assessments' on how best to treat the genuinely sick without making their illness worse - as the assessments and the very thought of them do. Not that they will, that would be too sensible a thing to do. These people really make my blood boil!:mad:
I had my latest 'assessment' a few months ago by the way, and am still feeling the damaging effects all these months later.

[Trixie]

Trouble is they don't care.:weep:

[ladybird64]

You're right Trixie they don't care but we have to make sure that they know it's real people they are dealing with, not just points on a list.

I know it's depressing, upsetting and makes you feel like they are all powerful but it ain't so hun.

There are enough of us here who have experience with them and I'm sure there are also a few who are going to make as much noise about this appalling set up as possible.

I read that your daughter's medical was cancelled but that's not the point, the point is the worry and stress you both went through.

I hope you feel strong enough to put your complaint in writing and give them hell. :hugs:

[Chem]

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/794/contents/made

Link to the score sheet for the new assessment - click on the headings to expand them. You need to score 15 to be incapable of work.