F2F assessment — Scope | Disability forum
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F2F assessment

Broken
Broken Community member Posts: 43 Courageous
I went to a f2f assessment last week regarding ESA. Whilst the nurse who carried out this assessment was very kind (I am hopeful that she will not have her opinions of how my medical health affects me on a daily basis overturned by her boss), she said she was not allowed to give her surname. Is this correct? I ask because there is no way that I can check her nurse credentials and ascertain that she is in fact a nurse. Not that this will make any difference at all, it is simply one of the many questions that are swirling within my remaining brain cells. 

Comments

  • Broken
    Broken Community member Posts: 43 Courageous
    @tomm and @Username_removed (Sorry, not sure if I have done this right). Thank you for your replies and info/advice. Now I am unsure if she will be also putting lies in her assessment report :-(. She said she would disregard all of my additional medical conditions and just focus on ones that came under the umbrella of musculoskeletor (as there were too many to be considered). She did not look at the additional evidence (letters of support etc) that I had brought with me as, in her words "I do not have time to go through all this". My friend who accompanied me asked if they would be taken into consideration, her reply was, yes. Had he not asked this, she would not have picked them up from where they were placed on her desk. I can only hope that she has reliably and honestly assessed me and await the outcome - however long this may take. Meanwhile, I have a PIP assessment form to deal with ...... deep joy :-) 
  • Broken
    Broken Community member Posts: 43 Courageous
    @Username_removed I did wonder about that but was too unwell at the time to get my brain in working order. The whole assess took just 35 mins and she told me she would not carry out a physical examination as this would cause me more pain and she is not allowed to cause further pain, she would get into trouble and so would her boss. I took this to mean that she could tell just by looking at me that I was in pain. At the end (I said I have to fill in a PIP form) she advised me that there is an assess centre in my home town and I should ask for it to be held there and to put "NO" on all of the descriptors that apply to me as I cannot do it as often, in a reasonable amount of time etc etc. On the whole, she came across as "being on my side" for want of a better way to describe it so I guess I shall just have to wait and see.....
    I was asked to fill in an expenses form for the taxi I had to get in order to get to the centre and told this would be reimbursed within ten days to my bank. It will be a pleasant surprise if this happens as I was under the impression that a taxi journey would only be paid for if my dr had provided a letter stating I could not use public transport. No time for me to get such a letter as I only had one weeks notice of attendance. 
  • Broken
    Broken Community member Posts: 43 Courageous
    @Username_removed forgot to add .... it is the combination of my many disabilities/illnesses that contribute to my problems with day to day activities not just those that come under the umbrella of musculorskeletor (keep spelling that wrong grrr!) 
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    BrokenBroken,

    I think the best thing to do here is to wait for the result. However, if you don't get the right level of ESA, then it would be worth complaining as well as challenging the decision via an MR request. It's not acceptable for someone to say you have too many conditions to take into account. ESA is based on a functional assessment & the assessor should be able to carry this out (with the relevant safeguards, which she mentioned) whilst bearing in mind all relevant conditions. Not looking at your additional evidence is also unacceptable.

    She may have had the best intentions but she clearly didn't have time to do her job well - and this is worth complaining about. 

    About the taxi - if they refuse to reimburse then I would complain specifically about this & say that they should give you the expenses as compensation for the late notice of your assessment, which meant that it simply wasn't possible for you to get a GP letter.  Their policy about taxi fares is a policy only (not law) and they should exercise discretion if you can't get proof from your GP in time (though it probably wouldn't do any harm to get it now, if you can).

    tommtomm, everyone who is put in the support group now is supposed to also be told whether they will be assessed again. In your case, unfortunately, they've decided that this will happen. You can't appeal against this decision (though of course you can challenge any decision that moves you to LCW or out of ESA at a later date). You could complain. You'd need to show how the OA in your knee limits your functional activities in the ESA points system & should have been taken into account in considering whether you were likely to stop having LCW/LCWRA in the future.

    I'd also consider going to see your MP. The change in policy was supposed to result in people who have a lifelong condition or who are likely to get worse not having to have a repeat assessment. But in your case, because the assessor has ignored one of your conditions, that policy hasn't been effective at all.

    Will
    The Benefits Training Co:

  • Broken
    Broken Community member Posts: 43 Courageous
    Thank you for clearing this up for me, much appreciated. I had a letter yesterday to say that they will be reimbursing me the taxi fare. It only covers the journey fare there not the return journey (I was told that the costs would simply be doubled to cover the return). Perhaps they have decided that they needed a receipt for the return journey or have simply made a mistake. It will take ten days from the date of their letter to reach my bank account. To be honest, I do not have the energy to pursue this part and am both surprised and grateful to have had confirmation of the taxi fare (albeit one way) paid. :-) I did not ask for a receipt for the return journey as was not told it would be required. After such an exhausting (physically and mentally) experience, once home, I was unable to do anything except collapse in a heap for the rest of that day and evening. Will keep updating with progress once I know what is happening, thanks again for all the support and info. 
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    Broken,

    Thanks for letting us know. It does seem likely that perhaps they needed proof of the cost of the return journey - if you feel able to address this later in the week, then I'd just remember the advice above. Whatever they say about the fares, it's all their policy, not law. However, I'll be honest and say that without a receipt or a quote, it might be a bit fiddly, and you might have to for example ring the taxi firm and get them to confirm the costs for the journey back. I'd check with Maximus first as to what they would need before you do anything else, but I can completely understand if you don't have the energy to do this.

    Meanwhile - good luck with the PIP form, and let us know when you get an ESA decision!

    Will

    The Benefits Training Co:

  • Broken
    Broken Community member Posts: 43 Courageous
    I now have a date for my PIP f2f (6th March)

    The advise booklet that came with the PIP assessment appointment letter seems to be very "nicely" worded and informative.
    It includes "A companion can add in anything that helps you explain the difficulties you face more clearly, or help you answer any questions that you're asked".
    Along with "The HP will always ID themselves clearly with photographic proof of ID"
      
    Most importantly it goes on to state " Please tell the HP if you'd like to see what they're writing in their report. Sometimes it may be easier if they describe what's being written". 
    It also states "You can only request a copy once DWP writes to you with their decision". So ....not the same as ESA???

    I am going to ask if my companion can take photo's with their mobile phone of what is on the assessors screen as there is no way I shall be able to see to read it clearly. @Username_removed any views on this? :-) 

    This information booklet has IAS/Atos VO2 2017 A5 printed on the back so presumably has been in circulation/used since the time they changed their name to IAS.
    Read more at https://community.scope.org.uk/discussion/40538/waiting-for-decision-after-f2f-assessment-for-esa#l5YDqpxLrEsgoGIY.99
  • Government_needs_reform
    Government_needs_reform Community member Posts: 859 Pioneering
    @Broken I'd be very surprised if they would let you take photos of their computer screen or even let alone let you look at what they've even wrote about you.

    Ne interesting what their answer will be surrounding those above?

    Best of luck and hope it goes well for you.


    ⬇️
    I created one of the campaign election videos for Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn,
    This is a new version of Emeli Sande, Hope "You Are Not Alone
    I highlighted everything that's wrong with this country from benefits, NHS, UC etc, but now we have to put up with the hate now that is the Tories. 

    You can see the video here.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P5o8hRHh9IY


  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    What they’re referring to is the section of the report where they’re supposed to take your main statement/typical day rather than the section dealing with the specific activities. They won’t show you the latter at all. As they can read back the former you’d have to have a good reason to justify acquiring images rather than just listening and challenging any obvious errors. 

    I encourage my clients to say as little as possible on the typical day section on the basis that a) there’s no such thing b) guidance says the HCP must not snapshot and yet that’s exactly what that section does and c) energy is better spent focusing on being very precise re: activities. 

    Better tip - at the end ask how many activities they have recommended you score on. Not how many points. They won’t tell you that. If you’re well prepared and know how many you ought to score on then you can compare and if you’re number is higher than theirs ask them to identify which ones so you can just check there are no obvious errors.


    That is really great advice, not something I had thought about.
    Thanks mike

    CR
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste

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