aaarrgghhhhh esa.

[mollyandmaisie]

is there anyone having problems getting esa after having tkr??? im sooooo angry, cried all morning because its been 4 months since i applied, and now i have to go for a medical assessment miles away a week after my second tkr. which i told them 4 months ago i wouldnt be able to do, due to post op pain..... they were horrible on the phone and said i now have to apply for a home assessment which could take another few months, and then 6 weeks to decide after that. it will be 8 months in totaL BEFORE i get any money..... im on the assessment rate, but its hardly anything to live on... so upset.

[popsmith1874]

The way this Tory government treats disabled people is a disgrace, and to think she is the patron off this site makes my blood boil 😬

[Hidden]

Hi mollyandmaisie, Sorry to hear this they just do not care about people at all. I have all this to come, dreading it

[Kneesandtoes]

The system seems set to make us worse rather than better. It is just plain stupid. With a tkr there must be minimum time recommended for staying off work. A note from your doctor would be cheaper to the tax payer than an assessment by an outsourced company.

[Holdingbacktheyears in reply to Kneesandtoes]

What I cannot understand is that if the NHS is so overstretched why are we wasting doctors and medical staffs time on assessments when they could be better used in actually TREATING PATIENTS.

These assessments are a waste of taxpayers money, there are costs for medical assessment, administrtion, travel etc. and carried out by people whose main concern is to prove that you are fit to work. I found that if you can do an action that is good enough for them, no consideration is given to that if you repetitively do that same action with an illness like OA it will result in you being in agony.

There is also the mental stress these assessments cause.

In my case I ended up deciding that I had no alternative but to finish working without any benefits. I am not a shirker I had worked all my life until I was 59 only having a 7 yr gap to have my children, thank heavens I have a husband who supported me

I am absolutely disgusted by the lack of common sense shown in these assessments, in your circumstances it is a no brainer that you are unable to work.

[mollyandmaisie]

my doctor is furious that they feel they have to carry out their own medical assessments when they already have all my medical letters from him and the hospital. they arent even qualified people at the assessments, theyve totally ignored what my gp has told them in the first place. about having 2 tkr within 3 months of each other and will not be fit post op for a medical assessment miles away.. looks like another few months waiting on an assessment rate of pay while they make a decision ...could screammmmmmm

[Sewnsew]

My husband has had two episodes of claiming ESA 12 months apart, both when he had TKR. He did it all on the phone and by the time they wanted to assess him he was back at work.

Have you looked on these websites for info

disabilityrightsuk.org

benefitsandwork.co.uk