ATOS Medical Assessment

[securespark]

Hi folks.

I am currently employed but off sick. My company and statutory sick pay has expired, so I am claiming ESA. They have sent me a letter asking to attend a medical assessment.

I have read lots of unfavourable comments about ATOS. Is there anything I need to be aware of?

 

[joe-90]

Don't know if it's true but I've heard they use lie detector software so best bet is to give the truth of how you are on your very worst day - then at least it will come up true.

 

[^woody^]

Yes.

You wont be assessed medically like in the normal sense of the word, but you will be scored based on answers. Sort of, from 1-10 where answers less than 5 = no money, more than 5 = some money

So you need to express that your pain is not a 2 but an 8, and that your concentration lapses after 5 minutes not 5 hours, and you need to go to the toilet 5 times an hour not 5 times a day. That sort of thing.

All these can be answered truthfully by your own point of view, but you must emphasise your replies

If you don't emphasise your problems, then you will not get a bean.

I can tell you that you could go in there in a stretcher and in a coma, and if asked "Do you feel OK?", if you raised your finger to indicate "yes" then you will get jack all

 

[Whitespirit66]

They have really tightened up the system. ESA is the new Incapacity Benefit and it appears you have to either paraplegic or just about to croak to qualify. They will try and trick you and ATOS are on a quota system to fail a certain percentage. Inevitably they fail many and the appeals sytem is getting clogged up.

Have heard that even if you win the appeal, soon after they will get you in for another medical and the whole process starts again. You really need to know the system before you start medicals, etc.

A neighbour is/was claimimg. He had a tough time with them, but found the C A B a great help.

Good luck, it ain't easy.

 

[joinerjohn]

The most medically qualified person at your assessment will be the one with the first aid at work certificate. Unless your quadriplegic (or on the Liverpool Care Pathway), you'll utterly fail the assessment. They will take no notice of your own doctors notes, but will ask you if you can dress unaided in the morning, or make a cup of tea whilst Mrs SS goes to the shops.
They'll watch you from the moment you enter their building, watching the way you walk. They'll note how you get up on to their examination bed/table. Ask how you got there, Bus? Taxi? Car?
Almost every answer you give to their inane questions will merit zero points. If someone took a cadaver in for assessment, no doubt that would fail.

 

[conny]

If you were on the Liverpool Care Pathway you'd get naff all 'cos you're gonna croak anyway. If they give you money you might last a bit longer and they can't do that!

 

[big-all]

have a look at this as an example
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consu...n/@money/documents/digitalasset/dg_195544.pdf

 

[candy1567]

when my husband went for an ATOS assessment, he was told that his hospital Consult and his GP stating that he was unfit for work was not accepted anymore and that they dont look at any medical history, they do the assessment based on what they see and are told on the day.

My hubby has been diagnosed by hospital with a few conditions and is on the list for an operation. He scored nil points which made us laugh especially on the questions in the bladder section and having fits, his operation is to have a catheter bag fitted as he has a tumor in his bladder, and he is epileptic!!!!!

we have appealed the decision and he got his ESA, but have been told that as hes been put in the work group, he has to attend regular meeting and go on courses, if he could do this then he would be at work!!!!!

He had the ATOS assessment in july, got told he failed in September and we appealed, he got awarded his ESA at end of November and we have now been told that the award was only for 12 months so will have to have another assessment next July

Juliex

 

[conny]

Bloody jobsworths the lot of them!

 

[chapeau]

They'll watch you from the moment you enter their building, watching the way you walk. They'll note how you get up on to their examination bed/table. Ask how you got there, Bus? Taxi? Car?

That makes a lot of sense, in fact those are the sort of observations that doctors are trained to do too.

....but will ask you if you can dress unaided in the morning, or make a cup of tea whilst Mrs SS goes to the shops.

Again, sensible questions which are designed to give a standardised result. In fact doctors are also trained to ask similar standardised questions that are simple to understand and answer when deciding on severity of a condition.

It may surprise you to realise that doctors are 'box tickers' too. And for good reason....

How would you assess fitness to work ?

 

[AronSearle]

I think the problem is that they couldn't trust the doctors as too many of them signed off people that shouldn't be signed of.

Whether this was because the doctors couldn't be bothered / too soft / on the take, I wouldn't like to say.

Part of the problem with ATOS is that they are paid by results, I wonder if a lot of their dubious results would disappear if they were fined every time someone successfully appealed.

 

[big-all]

the trouble is its such a flawed blunt instrument
if the questions where
can you make love
can you climb mount everest
can you play football
can you walk a marathon

now off course these activities would only happen occasionally but the way the form is set up you can do all these activities every day 365 a year as its yes no answers' no 1 to 10 like any body with half a brain would permit
its only purpose is to force people into the system
i think the appeals rate is 60% shown as wrongly assessed
we need to remember not all people know they can appeal of are well enough to fight the decision so the upheld may be far more if everyone appealed even then they just bounce them back with another assessment some months later

 

[joinerjohn]

As Aaron has pointed out, the flaw with these assessments, is paying ATOS by results. Obviously ATOS are going to fail much more, than if they were paid a single flat fee per assessment. Also, the ignoring of medical history is just stupid. How can a proper assessment fail to take account of the history of the conditions the person is suffering from?

PS My partner recently had her appeal (against the ATOS assessment) upheld by a tribunal, who stated " In our opinion, XXXX, was hopelessly assessed in the first instance."

 

[AronSearle]

I think the appeals rate is 60% shown as wrongly assessed

The things a whole pile of steaming dog doo.

The problem is that we have about 5-6 million disabled people, and about 2-3 million on incapacity benefit.

Even if only 10% of them are taking advantage of the system, that's a lot of people and a lot of money.

 

[mark vincent]

The whole process is designed to get people off incapacity benefit, they don't really give a f**k how ill people are, they have targets to meet to get their money so they have a vested interest in failing as many people as they can, how can this behavior be described as an impartial clinical assessment of someones condition,