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Reassessments

Danny123

So I was reading that the DWP are ramping up face to face Reassessments again from April 2026 ....

The last time I was Reassessed was Nov 2019 for ESA support group and was due another in November 2021 , but obviously because of COVID it didn't happen

Since then I've vounterally moved over to UC ( mid 2022 ) where I've been receiving new style ESA / lcwra mixed

.... So technically I've never been assessed for UC lcwra , I just automatically qualified for the lcwra health element through my ESA support group status .....

Although I'm sure many people who have been moved over to UC or voulterrilly moved over from legacy benefits are in that position of never actually being assessed or reasessesd for UC lcwra as they've always been assessed for legacy benefits instead ..... So when they get there next Reassessment it will be the first time under UC

I haven't been out of my house in over 6 years , not once , not even in the garden .... So I have no idea where that leaves me in terms of a face to face assessment

So I'm currently over 6 years since a Reassessment and over 4 years overdue .....

I've read about people that haven't been Reassessed for over 8 years and are 6 overdue ! 😩

I know no one can say for sure where I stand in the pecking order , just wondered what people's thoughts are on the situation in general

I also think that the backlog is vast and it won't be as smooth as the government would like you to believe ....

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Comments

Rosie_Scope

Hi @Danny123, my understanding is that while they'd like to do more face-to-face assessments, those who cannot go in face-to-face will still be offered alternatives. I'd hope that they'll be sensitive to people's needs, but we'll have to see how it all goes!

The backlog is still pretty big so I think it will take them a while to get it all sorted.

Danny123

Yeah .... I'm quite confident that what the DWP and government are saying is more about putting a positive spin on things for the public " were getting people back to work etc " .... O think the reality is it will take alot longer than they are quoting

OverlyAnxious

I feel like people are worrying about this too much and too early. We all knew we'd be reassessed again eventually. We never knew how long it would be. I just don't see how anything positive can come from dwelling on it before the appointment letter/journal message arrives.

My last assessment was in 2018 and was for ESA. The only reason for that one was because of an ignorant GP who wouldn't sign off my ESA forms unless I could get to the GP surgery. The reason I couldn't get to the surgery that time is because he'd played exactly the same game 6 months earlier and caused a huge amount of damage to my health during that event. That time I forced myself to see him and had a horrendous time, hit rush hour traffic, arrived to a packed waiting room as it was flu jab day, and then he didn't seem to know what he was doing or even where the forms were. (They were in a drawer next to him!). This event had a massive impact on my ability to go anywhere for months afterwards, and meant there was no chance of me getting in to the surgery again just 6 months later. Eventually, after having to go through a full WCA at the Job Centre, he told us he'd 'forgotten' my previous visit, which is why he wouldn't sign off the next lot of forms. I still haven't forgotten it nearly a decade later! I now have no idea how I'd manage another WCA, tbh I don't even know what I'd write on the forms as my abilities have changed so much, but still not really in a way that fits the WCA boxes perfectly, and I still don't have any proper diagnoses for neurodiversity or anything. So personally I'm just not thinking about reassessment until it happens. But I am sure it will happen eventually…

Danny123

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1092197#Comment_1092197

Have you had any treatment for your illness ? ..... I haven't been outside in just over 6 years last week .... Not even in the garden 😩 .....

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1092198#Comment_1092198

Nope. I can't access the health services due to my health conditions. I did make a conscious effort to access many of them again in 2019, but didn't get anywhere with it. Tried again in 2020/21 after getting PIP to pay for private care but found the same accessibility restrictions with private as there was with the NHS so again didn't get anywhere.

I am now on a prescription medication that I wish I'd never started. I don't think it's making any difference, but I can't risk coming off it and creating additional side effects. Again that was caused by a misunderstanding by the GP, it was never the type of treatment I needed or even asked for, but assumed they must know best at the time…

I am sorry to hear to can't get outside at all. Although I'm agoraphobic I have the other type which is basically a severe phobia of being trapped anywhere at any time. So for me, being stuck indoors is almost as bad as being stuck outside. I need to get outside as often as possible to escape indoors and try to get out almost every day, even if for just 10 minutes. But I live upstairs and don't have any private outdoor space so even that is very difficult. I think I would be able to manage my conditions better at a ground floor property with a bit of private garden, but just can't see any realistic way of finding that now, I don't think it'll be long before I can't manage the stairs at all due to worsening vertigo and lack of energy due to many months of calorie deficit this year.

Danny123

Oh I see .... For me I have been seeing people of and on since 2008 when it was a little easier to get treatment .... I now have been passed to the health and wellbeing team I have home visits every month my actual last lot of therapy ended beginning of 2024 but since then they said until I can get out there's nothing they can do so they gave me a home sort of care worker and I now get seen every two to three weeks .... I also get a doctor and my care coordinator and I have a yearly review but that's been cancelled twice , very hard for some one with OCD to have appointments cancelled as I crave certainty.... To be honest it's not ideal at all but we carry on 😌

autisticluke1998

they are so far behind I can’t see Everyone being sorted straight away I don’t know how long the WCA but it most be near 1 million at least surely

Danny123

They reckon 110 thousand ..... 35 of those are changes reported in worsening health ..... They say those will be cleared by April 2026 then they will start the rest .... Me personally I think there must be more than that , also they are on such a mess and behind .... DWP never get it done like they plan too

autisticluke1998

just have to wait and see

Andi66

I was assessed by phone this September for old esa , I was put on LCWRA from LCW, due my conditions getting worse. I moved to new style esa and uc late October. Its pip I'm concerned about. Due 2032 . As well as these dreaded uc reviews

Andi66

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1092766#Comment_1092766

It was ok, daughter had a meltdown. Yes I saw a clip on you tube about bank check . Didn't watch it all, sets off anxiety. Yes I wish I could win and be free of them. Sunak started all this .

Andi66

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1092794#Comment_1092794

She has bpd , autism, eptsd . I wish they would just leave us alone . It's hard enough coping with disabilities. Why don't they go for able bodied

Andi66

Dread to think what pat (turtle head) mcfadden got in store

yellowpineapple84

@Catherine21 I get really anxious about DWP too. I try really hard to avoid reading some of the news because I think it is really triggering. Sometimes though I can’t help myself and find myself going to read it to see what’s happening. It’s awful not knowing what’s happening and waiting each day in dread for a message or a summons but then reading about DWP updates, it’s rarely positive. And some people are so angry in this country about their own hardships and can feel resentment towards people like me who aren’t working and think we therefore have it easy and that the government should go after us. I hear some words in public and it’s awful. If anyone asks me what I do I feel I have to lie and that I have a full time job as there seems to be a lot of anger in the country about people who aren’t working. There are some kind people as well though but I find it hard to open up to anyone now in case they hate me for not working

Andi66

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1092818#Comment_1092818

Yes I do, my daughter says the same to me. I worked part time until 2023, but the media, government seem to class us all as scroungers. Its so unfair. The biggest scroungers are the government with their freebies, things paid for them ,like heating etc