Atos medical in april , any info welcome!

[angib53]

Recieved a letter yesterday , april 17th for a medical , would love some advice on what to expect xx

[crissy]

Iv just had my second they will adk you how your condition affects you and do a few body checks bending etc mine lasted about half an hour good luck i took a freind with me who helps me out x

[kathlaidlaw]

i have got mine on wednesday at 1 o'clock

why i don.t now they don't give me any money .

so why i don't no

well they may put me in the suport group

younever no you luke hahahahaha

[esagestapo]

All the questions they ask are designed to trip you up, for eg, do you do your own shopping? how do you get to the shops? can you prepare food? do you bathe and dress yourself? Do you walk to the shops? how far are the shops from you? implies you are physically capable of coping with day to day tasks.

Do you watch TV? do you read any books? implies you can sit comfortably and focus without any problem.

Can you see where this is going? Answering yes to these questions will score 0.

[jen3air]

i had mine in December got results in January got no points even though iam on disability?

it was done in 20 min by nurse who was very unkind and outspoken who would not let me speak I was crying at one point in sheer frustration , so I appealed and in pack was what the nurse had said : that I managed to sit in car and get lift to medical ? now unless I flew I live 12 miles away I don't know how I would get there I managed to walk 50 metres into her room from waiting room again how was I supposed to get there but there's no way it was 50 metres she told them I touched my hair i.e. pushed it back twice so there's no muscle wastage and then went on to describe a whole range of exercises she made me do which I hadn't done I refused as I knew I couldn't do it ,, the first appeal stood by her , so I know go to independent appeal tribunal the stress is making me ill iam sore all over and seizing up there are another bundle of forms to fill in but don't matter what you seem to put on them you get no points as standard , I did read on another forum they get paid more for 0 points to client but your whole life is judged by a stranger in 20 minuets and they are believed , take a friend as witness I did xx

[angib53]

Hi jen , its awful how they treat people , I feel for you . We have enough stress to go through on a daily basis . Do they have your doctors and consultants diagnoses in front of them ? And do they stop your money straight away ? My god if your on disability you shoudnt have to go through this , none of should ! Im getting mad at what these people put us through , they dont know us from adam , and score no points as they get paid more , its disgusting . Sorry im ranting x iam unable to work now , have worked all my life , the fm and other problems have got me now , of course we all would prefer to have our old life back , these people sat behind a desk coining it in at our expense should understand more , I would love them to feel this for a week , they would soon change there mind. Gd luck jen , let me know how it goes and tc , warm hugs xx angie xx

[jen3air in reply to angib53]

hi angie now its a tribunal court and it is supposed to be independent!! there's a chair person a doctor a member of social and two independent listeners all in a line panel and you sit looking at them trying to answer your case its a lost cause , only thing is no one actually believes in fibromyalgia they think its something that's made up, most days iam swollen and my whole body hurts to move, but having had three back operations including spinal fusion, its hard to go and do anything at all cause I risk being exhausted for 2 days after and in more pain how do you get them to understand its a very real although unseen illness I keep saying I have loads of qualifications a degree etc.. do you really think if I could work I wouldn't my benefit was stopped same day until they got appeal letter from me then you get a reduced rate , at least until the big tribunal xxx

[lavenderheart]

Well it certainly doesn't help our cause when people in the news get caught abseiling dancng etc whilst on DLA with fibromyalgia does it !! I wish I could get through my day and go shopping do laundry etc nevermind go abseiling !! Makes me so cross that genuine people like myself and others suffer whilst those obviously swinging the lead get all the help gggrrrR

[Kirby in reply to lavenderheart]

Sorry, but that stuff about people fraudulently claiming disability benefits is all a load of twaddle grossly exaggerated by the Daily Hate Mail et al. The public have been softened up so that this heinous government can follow their agenda of shrinking the welfare state and punishing the most vulnerable. Please don't believe all that rubbish that's printed about disabled people absailing etc. The real facts are that millions of disability benefits go UNCLAIMED every year. The real facts are that disability benefit fraud is 0.5 %. Many of us spend hours each day trying to get the facts across to the majority and it's an uphill struggle when our own turn against us. We should be uniting against the real fraudsters - the bankers, the MPs, the people who are making disabled people pay for a crisis they did not create. It is obscene and outrageous.

[esagestapo]

That's the way illness is, one day you are on top of the world, for the next 2 weeks or more you are practically flat on your back. Even cancer patients have good days, but after chemo they can hardly move until they recover a bit then they carry on as normal again.

You could attach professor Stephen Hawkings to a rope and dangle him off the side of a roof, that does not mean he is fit to work as a laborer climbing ladders and laying roof tiles.

[Kirby]

This appeared on a the Carerwatch site (a reputable site) to help anyone hit by welfare cuts:

"Will you be hit by welfare cuts? Want to tell your story?

by carerwatch

My name's Frances Ryan and I'm journalist covering cuts to disability support. I've recently worked with DPAC for stories/interviews about DLA and ESA, and the bedroom tax.

To fit in with new research on the cumulative impact of April's cuts, I'm currently looking for disabled people who are set to lose multiple benefits - and would be happy to share their story (anonymously if needed) for a possible article.

Will you be hit by the six major cuts?

They could be:

Contributory Employment Support Allowance

If you're currently on low rate Disability Living Allowance - or perhaps are on a higher rate but have reason to believe you will not be elibible under PIP

Bedroom tax

Council tax benefit reduction/loss

Any other benefit cut/loss coming in this April.

If you are going to be affected by simultaneous cuts and are happy to speak to me please email [e-mail] (rather than leaving a message here as I wouldn't want to miss your message).

Thank you very much."