Failed ATOS Farce - Help!!

[stevieb]

Now it's really not that often that I ask for help so here goes.

Basics

Smashed my back in 2008, ended up in hospital blah blah blah
signed on got ESA both income based and contribution based ... apparently .. but sorting it all out, phone calls, visits to the JC, doctors, hospitals etc ended up leaving me out of pocket and I was getting rather annoyed with all the backwards and forwards crap.

Anyways ended up at a lovely ATOS medical and funny enough I failed even though at the time of the medical I couldn't actually stand up.
By this time, I had really had enough and hobbled back to work.

I have been going backwards and forwards to the hospital and the end of last year, scans and xrays showed up more things, so different surgeries started from the beginning of July.

So back to the ESA it was for me, so far they have been playing nice, although I have been declined DLA. but now I have to go to an ATOS medical again .. My gut feeling is that they are going to turn me down again, but how can I make them actually talk to the consultants, as my local GP is fecking cluecless and literally has no records on their system's about what the consultants/surgeons have been discussing, doing to me.

I currently receive ESA @ £65 a week .. plus HB and CTB but have the ESA reduced due to having a lodger

so help / advice please

[charitynjw]

Re: right ..................

Hi stevieb,

Incoming PM

[pompeyfaith]

Re: right ..................

fookin atos again.

Looks like charity has this covered for you stevieb, but if I can be off assistance post again as I owe you one.

[charitynjw]

Re: right ..................

Please let Pompey & I know if you received the PMs, stevieb

[stevieb]

Re: right ..................

aye got the pms cheers have already replied to one, going to read the other tomorrow.

[garlok]

Re: right ..................

Need to look something up stevieb and have to go out. I'll get back to you later about your GPs role in all this as I have to go out for a bit.

Garlok

[confused76]

Re: right ..................

Stevie, have you got any letters from your consultant detailing your condition? x

[stevieb]

Re: right ..................

nope they keep kindly sending me appointments for surgery/consultation etc.

When I went in on Thursday I thought it was just for a dye test in my spine, turns out it was for facet joint injections, as the facet joints in my back are all arthritic, and that was told to me by the chap doing the injections..

[jen_br]

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Hi Stevie I failed an ATOS, went to appeal.... You keep getting money as the appeal is going on -- 5 min into my appeal I won. They said they were sorry and ATOS was useless. 80% of those who appeal win.

[garlok]

Re: right ..................

Hi stevie,

Back now sorry. However background is that some years ago I pursued a complaint against the infamous Stafford General Hospital. It was not upheld due to the professional liars within the NHS (actually maintained for the purpose of destroying patient credibility). It took 1250 dead bodies in that appalling hosptial's morgue for my position to be vindicated and I am in posession of a formal apology from the Secretary of State for Health for what happened to me carried personally by my MP.

What I do have in writing from the Health Service Ombudsman has proven to be a very double edged sword for them. It states that a patient's General Practitioner is the ONLY person that has total responsibility for that patient's health. This is by way of NHS regulation and Statute. Hence the corollary of that statement is that the GP also has the ONLY valid opinion as to the state of health of the patient. It is the GPs responsibility (Stafford tried to shift the blame on to mine as well) to maintain your records fully up to date and to have ALL consultant opinion and diagnosis on record.

Failure to do so is an infringement of the code of conduct required to hold a licence to practise medicine here in the UK. Failure therefore is professional misconduct for which the General Medical Council must strike them off the register. I would always recommend to anyone involved with ATOS at all to demand to see the licence to practise medicine that their operator purports to hold. Failure to provide is also misconduct and always but always register a complaint with the GMC. The same applies to a nurse and their registration with the Royal College of Nursing. You as a citizen of the EU have NO obligation to discuss any medical matter or endure any examination with anyone not so registered. The government is going to have to legislate if they want anything different and if enough people gridlock the system with complaints. Something they are unlikely to get through Parliament.

Just a few thoughts from experience for you.

regards
Garlok

[Undercover Elsa]

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It might be worth doing a FULL subject access request for your medical records from your GP. Mine had 2 levels...computer printouts for £10 or the full records including the letters sent to GP by the consultant / pathology reports/ X Ray reports etc. They quoted me £50 for this.
(My Atos complaint based on their incorrect assessment of permanent loss of earnings ability for a work injury was successful )
Good luck with this,

Shepherdess xx

[confused76]

Re: right ..................

Hi Stevie I failed an ATOS, went to appeal.... You keep getting money as the appeal is going on -- 5 min into my appeal I won. They said they were sorry and ATOS was useless. 80% of those who appeal win.

similar here Jen...i'd actually passed my medical but the medical report was full of lies so i wrote a letter of complaint and asked for it to be looked at again. i received a detailed letter of apology which confirmed the medical was not carried out correctly i'd quite like to get a frame for this letter!

Stevie, as Jen says, if you have to appeal most people who appeal win. If it comes to having to go to an appeal it is worth getting someone to help you out, such as Welfare Rights / CAB etc. Saying all this though, you may well pass your medical so cross that bridge if you need to x

[BBoo]

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When I filled in the DPA appeal form, I stated exceedingly clearly that they must not talk to the GP as he knew f*** all about me as he only ever read letters that arrived 6-8 months after any appointment, and it was essential they write to or telephone my consultants. I also asked my consultants for evidence which I could send in with the application (I know you're not supposed to do this). They were happy to do so.

It's fine to say it's the GP's reponsibility, but it's a bit tough on the poor old GP if he doesn't even know you've had an appointment, let alone received the outcome of any appointment. My GP had received nothing from the hospital for nearly a year even though I'd had over 30 appointments with various consultants.

[stevieb]

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Well I failed the medical *surprise* with ZERO points!! WTF!
ok let's appeal pointers if you lot do not mind

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: right ..................

Well I failed the medical *surprise* with ZERO points!! WTF!
ok let's appeal pointers if you lot do not mind

its a chuffin joke mate, you've just had what - how many ops and have enough proof that you're kinda ermm, fucked right now! Yea they have to filter out the wasters but come off it, this really does put us to shame.

I wonder how many people walked off a plane, into a JC+ and is in housing with benefits in the last week? Hmmmmm