ESA Reassement

On Thursday I had an ESA medical, based on an ESA50 submitted in Feb 2013. I tried to get them to follow the rules regarding this but in the end gave up. On the previous Saturday whilst desperately perusing B&W's ESA mental health guide I came across the definitive risk section and finally a glimmer of hope.

Due to my health I've had an exit plan for a couple of years now so I wrote a 2 page note explaining I thought I qualified for the support group under the definitive risk clause and why, that putting me in any group other than the support group would inevitably lead to me being sanctioned and that this would considerably shorten my life, ending with a statement that I needed help, not pointless interference that did nothing but make me ill. I had this note handed in, in a sealed envelope, for the attention of the HCP when we arrived.

After a long wait, we were finally called in, I could see my note on the desk, no longer in it's envelope, no mention was made of it but the Doctor was extremely sympathetic to my case as described in the ESA50, it was more like the old style IB interviews than an ESA one, after a few questions she disappeared to speak to a colleague and when she came back I was told the assessment was over, I could go home and would hear within a few weeks.

I can only assume I am being recommended for the support group and that the doctor had decided to help me through, somewhat of a shock as based on previous ESA medicals where I've had them lie and contradict themselves etc. I was expecting to get well and truly ****ed and that the definitive risk clause was my only hope.

There is at least one human being working for Maximus.

So, I also have an MR in for my somewhat derisory DLA awad, I know it's a risk but I decided to ring them and ask them to use the ESA medical report as evidence, given the way it went and the questions asked it should have considerable crossover to DLA and I may finally get the MRC and HRM I've been entitled to but denied for the last 3 years, they may be able to ignore my evidence but surely they can't ignore relevant evidence from their own doctors.

I know it's a risk, that if I'm wrong then I could lose not only ESA but also DLA, but if I've lost SG then I'm sunk anyway so I considered it worth taking.

Hi Wonko,

Thanks for letting us know how your assessment went. I can confirm that the assessment being interrupted in this way is often indicative of a positive award although, of course there are no guarantees.

It seems using the ESA medical report for DLA evidence worked, I have been upgraded to MRC LRM. No HRM but not sure if I can fight that (my ESA medical didn't cover any physical problems so there would have been nothing in the report directly addressing them to enable the DM to increase my mobility award).

Still no news on my ESA award but given the fact the medical only covered a couple of things before being stopped and that my DLA has been increased on the back of it I can't see how I can not be in the support group.

Just an update;

Today I got a letter saying I am in the Support Group, my first ever despite being in it for several years

I'm still waiting for notification re. SDP which seems to be taking a while, I was under the impression from other posts on here that it only took a few days from when they received the IS10 form back but it's been nearly 4 weeks now.

A further update;

Today I got the ESA85, and TBH if I hadn't already got SG for 3 years (confirmed by phone last week), the best result possible, then I'd be tempted to challenge it - lots and lots of wrong things in it, given the Doctor was extremely sympathetic I can only assume that the default position of the software used is "everything's fine" and a lot of fields didn't get altered.

The whole thing is hinged on my Asperger, a relatively minor issue compared with my M.E. which is what mainly impacts my abilities (and didn't get a mention other than the bare diagnosis), and my cognitive impairment (which also didn't get a mention other than the diagnosis), in fact the report contradicts itself in saying my short and long term memory are fine but also says general memory and concentration were poor - among other contradictions and apparently passing several cognitive tests that were never attempted.

For the first time ever I was described as "Well", "Average Build" (I'm 17st) and "Tired: Normal" - I fell asleep at least once during the interview.

But...3 years SG.

Still nothing on SDP, I was told they received it on the 24th of last month, RM says a week earlier, and that it normally takes 2 weeks - but still nothing