Moderator said on 06/11/2009 at 12:50 am
Lor301 said on 14 September:
Hey Guys,
I was just wondering if any of you have had experiance of the new Employment and Support allowance. (Introduced to replace incapacity benefit).
When I first heard about the benefit I could see some advantages. I thought there would be positives to be gained from attending 5 sessions with an incapacity adviser who I hoped could help me return to work quite quickly. Now I realise that it is important we all have dreams!
The truth about Employment and Support allowance is that the benefit has been put in place to allow the open and unconsidered victimisation of people with genuine disabilities.
Firstly they send you a form asking you about your disability. The form states if the benefits feel you have provided sufficient information on the form you will not be expected to go for a medical. (Best part is the form is sent out in a standard font. I told them I was blind when first claiming the benefit).
Anyway the benefits decided I hadn't provided sufficient information, so I needed to go for a medical. I explained that due to being blind I couldn't get to the medical centre for an assessment. The benefits advised that they couldn't accept this unless my doctor sent a letter. After my doctor sending a letter confirming I was blind, they agreed I could have a taxi to take me to the medical centre. I was advised the taxi had been booked and would pick me up at a set time. Interestingly the taxi didn't turn up. On finally getting to the medical I found the assessment centre was on the 1st floor, only accessable by lifts that don't tell you what floor you're on. On entering my consultation I showed the doctor my registration form stating I was registered blind. He then shoved an envelope streight in-front of my face and said "can you see that". Interestingly the person with me had to advise me the envelope was there.
Anyway the doctor produced a realy helpful report that was sent to my incapacity advisor. Examples:
Question
How do you feel you could be helped back into work?
Doctor summary
The client advises they would be helped by going for walks in the park.
Anyway the benefits finally agreed I was blind and could receive Employment and Support. They have now decided to review this. Yes you got it they have sent me another form in small print to complete. I still can't read it! I've been blind for over 25 years. It is clear the government believe in myricles.
Sorry for the rant guys! I feel under attack from the system. and would love to hear yours and RNIB views on this. I'm now going for a walk in the park and hope to find a job there!
Cheers
danielle.m said on 06/11/2009 at 12:50 am
hey everyone!!
how freaky is this,i belived i was the only one experinceing problems with the employment and support allowance.....
apparently not,ive not been on it long about 16weeks and aready ive had problems.
1.they sent me for a medical earlyer than should have been
2.medical examiner got everything about me wrong
3.they stopped my money on the grounds ive been working as a clerical worker 23 hours per week,when the truth is im a genral shop assistant and havent worked for 11months
4.they still dont belive the above
5.they restated my money as i appealed agaisnt there descisson
6.they still said no
7.its now going to a tribunal,for them to decide
8.my D.L.A.got stopped as the e.s.a people gave them information invalid information from the medicaal report
9.now have 2 tribunals to go to
11months ago
i ended up with to much fluid on my brain and spine,which was brought on my terriable headaches,pains and blurred vision in my left eye..
i have had a operation to reduce the fluid.and after having this i notcied a change in my vision.then it was confirmed by my eye consultant i had lost 50% of my vision.
in march of this year i had an mri scan to check the amount of fluid on my brain,thats when i was told i had a huge (bigger than a tennis ball) blood clot on my brain. im now on warfarin for the rest of my life as im now proun to getting clots....
ive lost all self confidence and belief.
my moto now days is i just dont care anymore!!!
and thats what these stupid people at the employment and SUPPORT (yeh right) allowance has led me to belive,i feel us truely unhealthly people have been let down by these people and other benefit thiefs are gettin away with it all..........ITS QUITE FRANKLY SICK
that were treated this way and the red carpet comes out for those who dont need the help or support were meant to be getting.
i am going to fight all the way for this even if it depress's me and angers me!!
ohh by the way im only 21 and have already experinced more than life could possiabley want to throw at me
rant over
danielle
Joolz said on 28/10/2009 at 12:47 am
Hello Spaced,
I'm stunned, your description of your ordeal, shadows mine scenario perfect !
I also hope that knowing you're not alone in this shinnanigans lifts your confidence a little.,
my situation with ESA is as I say word/scenario perfect to yours, and it started eighteen months ago, when I first fell quite ill, unfortunately my illness is auto immune and i cannot tolerate stress without causing serious damage to my heart.
Because of a long diagnosis period I bounced from pillar to post financially trying to scramble through the rapid loss of quite a comfortable wage, and fabulous job,... to a contested/provable ???? allowance of fifty pounds per week, that's less than I had previously paid in taxes wkly.
I literally lost everything. !
I'm not going to bore you with any more medical or poverty stricken despair, but at one point during this process like you, I thought I would literally die if one more brown letter dropped through my door telling me to go somewhere remote at 9am the following week to deal with something I'd dealt with three months previous... my blood pressure was through the roof and I was now begining to loose my sight..my hair and my body was in seizure.
I too lost all my confidence, and probably many brain cells, I have weeks of backlog mail still,, that I was unable to face let alone understand come to that matter, and I still have to vet every telephone number before I answer it, just incase Its the smilie voiced staff from the DWP back to mess with my head again.
BUT :-D,.....
I was strong before all this, and I Know now, that I'm not loosing my mind!.... this really is happening, so I either sink or swim.
I have to deal with one thing at a time now and slowly, which is a bit of a comedown from managing a busy busy life.., alas I have no choice in the matter, and now I am sort of coming to terms with that I'm not getting quite so exasperated by the stupid letters and demanding appointments etc... what else have I got to do anyway ? apart from deal with them., certainly not much else I can do now they've succeeded in destroying me completely !, i've made it a little job for myself infact with me as boss,.. working 3 hrs a week max filling in repeat forms, and making a few ten min calls to a few people who obviously need a bit of help doing thier job...:-?
I do have to add though...,,, if I wasn't being thoughroughly restrained by heavy medication I wouldn't be sounding quite so Tra La La or positive for sure ! and I would strongly advise anybody in a similar health situation to seek as much advice from thier GP as possible in dealing with stress.because it's quite simply a killer.
p.s. I've found a pittbull terrorist of a companion to accompany me to my interviews and meds assesments etc,.... well I thought game on !
Oh and,
p.p.s...... The RNIB Liverpool saved me from absolute despair with one short interview and telephone call, I can never thank them enough for the help, and support they have given me to date and hopefully continue to do so. Also this website for providing the information, nobody else even considered might be of any use to me ?
Keep me posted :-D
Spaced said on 27/10/2009 at 11:23 am
Hi Jools,
I wish I could say it is nice to hear your views, however it just leaves me feeling disoppointed that someone else is having the same experiance as me. I also wish that I could write this email and tell you things have improoved for me - but the content would have to include a number of smileing faces. My experiance of this entire process has just got worse. I have attended their medicals, work focused health related assessments, five pathways to work interviews at the job centre and have now been abandoned to find work myself whilst the system continues to kick me whilst I am down.
3 weeks ago I received a letter from my local health care provider (ATOL) who conduct medicals on behalf of the Dept for Work and pensions (DWP). The letter said ATOL would be contacting me to arrange an appointment for a Work Focused Health Relaited Assessment. (Interesting as I attended one back in April this year. As you can see from my previous email the report produced as a result was stunning). Anyway I contacted my local DWP office who advised to ignore the letter. So I did. Two Saturdays ago I received a letter telling me to contact ATOL to organise an appointment. I telephoned ATOL and explained the DWP had advised to ignore the letter as I had already attended a WFHRA. After spending 20 minutes being told by the person who answered I was confused and I needed to attend a WFHRA I finally lost patiance and asked to speak with someone more senior. The senior person advised that they believed it was a duplicate file and to ignore the letter she would raise it with the DWP who would get back to me. No surprises but no-one got back to me. I telephoned the DWP who told me to ignore the letter also. On Saturday just gone I received an appointment to attend a WFHRA. I telephoned the health care provider. I was on the phone for 40 minutes and no-one answered my call. I ended up ringing back and going through to another option before someone answered. Anyway they also told me to ignore the letter and not turn up to the appointment. Interestingly DWP have worned failer to attend the appointment will result in reduced benefit.
I have reached the point were I can't take any-more. The process has distroyed my confidence, left me feeling like I will never work again and dreading receiving post. I want to work and would even do it voluntery if they asked. Jools love your point about being able to do a doing better job than some of those employed to help us. Good luck to you. Let me know how you go on.
Best Wishes
Lor
Joolz said on 26/10/2009 at 1:37 pm
Hi,
I am currently caught up in this farcicle system, I was recently diagnosed with Graves Disease/Thyroid Eye Disease, and have been unable to work as a designer due to sight loss since early 2009.
I was extremely ill during diagnosis, which took nearly six months, and completely at the hands of the welfare system, ESA, which I can honestly say nearly killed me.
I questioned my sanity on numerous occassions, when being threatened with the cessation of my already contested allowance, if I did not attend the interview/medical examanations.
I have no problem with them assessing my condition to satisfy thier needs, but to expect someone in severe pain on exposure to light/and environmental factors, to haul themselves across the city to, like you say a first floor office, with no disability aids as quite frankly obscene.
I have severe Diplopia, and a paralysed eye, which means I cannot see in front of or to the sides of me, and require a companion at all times, much to thier astonishment the companion doesn't come ready made with the illness, so I am completely reliant on friends and family to accompany me on every outdoor occasion including these ridiculous interviews,
The most recent being a Pathways to Work Interview, ? which is compulsory whilst the ESA contests my claim ?
I can completely sympathise with anybody who has been unfortunate to find themselves in this horrendous position with the ESA benefit and it's ridiculous expectations from some of the most vulnerable people in society.
I didn't choose to be ill, I didn't choose to loose my sight, my whole life as a designer depended on it, I have paid my taxes and through pride have never asked for help from anybody, and if I do regain my sight sufficiently enough to pick up where I was abruptly let off, I will work to my dying day to NEVER have to rely on the welfare state to help me out again. The stress they have put me through since March this year has probably decreased my chances of a speedy recovery by 100%.., So i am expecting to be bandied backwards and forwards by them for quite some time yet.
The most ridiculous thing I have ever had to endure, and WHY are home visits not available to the Blind/Visually Impaired ? this is UTTER NONSENSE, if they want me back to work, I can think of a few jobs that quite obviously are not being done properly here that I would be quite happy to take on, and give me back my dignity and independance thankyou.
good luck in the park by the way ! :-D