HCP Fitness to Practice question:

wildlife

Please can I ask you if the standards laid down by Health Professional's registered body are null and void if they're not working in their registered profession? For example my assessor said she was a Paramedic. She has contravened quite a few of a long list of specifications on the HCPC website but do these still apply if she's not working as a Paramedic. I have asked HCPC the same question but wondered if any of you know anything about this. If the standards don't apply then why don't they?

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi wildlife,

I think this question is something where we won't have any more information than is already available to you. We can only point you to what it says in the DWP agreements with the assessment companies (you can find specific contracts on the contract finder), and what the HCPC then says in their own standards of regulation. In answer to your specific question, if the standards don't apply then I would assume that is because the assessor isn't working as a paramedic any longer. You'd then have to consider what the contract requires. As far as I know, many assessors don't continue to work in their previous health professional capacity as well as being assessors (but there may be exceptions to this).

Have you made a freedom of information request to HCPC?

Will

wildlife

Hi Will, Yes I have made a FOI request to HCPC. There's more info. about that on my post "Assessor's Qualifications". I didn't know about contract finder so thanks for that. I have asked HCPC the question as well of whether their FTP standards apply to other jobs they're doing. I'll let you know if I get any more information as it may help others who want to complain.The FOI dept. are due to reply this week but only about whether they have checked her qualifications against info. on LinkedIn which makes no mention of training or work as a Paramedic. Regarding the assessor's behaviour surely there should be some regulations we can quote in complaint letters when we are caused physical harm by their actions? 

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi wildlife

If you are caused harm by the actions of an assessor then I think you would need legal advice on suing the assessment company  - that is really beyond my knowledge I'm afraid, but it could be worth consulting a solicitor. It also depends whether you mean the harm that is caused by the poor assessment (obviously resulting in harm by depriving you of income, causing you stress etc) or other harm.

Will

wildlife

@Will Like a lot of other people the week I got my assessment report copy I suffered by my stress levels going through the roof. This  resulted in 5 Occular migraines (loss of vision) in a week which are stress related and a husband who was so worried he got me to call an ambulance to be checked out for a stroke. It wasn't but as I'm 66 you never know. Am just wanting this recognised as part of my ATOS complaint and it also brings in the question of my assessor's fitness to practice. It's time someone sued ATOS for the damage they're doing but I couldn't cope with it on top of everything else.. 

wildlife

Hi All, Just postng on  here as it ties in with the discussion subject. I have got nowhere so far with HCPC. Their Fitness to Practice department are refusing to accept that my assessor may not be a qualified Paramedic as they insist that she is qualified even though I sent them her full job history taken from LinkedIn which makes no mention of her ever training or working as a Paramedic. The information I have has no period of time for her to have trained and worked as one as dates given for other unrelated employment run concurrently from her schooling to the present day. The only small gap in time was when I know she was working for ATOS but she is obviously unwilling to disclose this openly online. Regarding her fitness to practice if she is a Paramedic, this too has been turned down but I haven't as yet given them any information as I'm reluctant to do that if they're just going to reject it by saying she wasn't working in the profession at the time. They also say that ATOS and DWP have their own complaints system in place which is another reason they would use to reject a claim that a Paramedic on their register has behaved badly. To get around this I decided to think outside the box and have made a FOI request to HCPC on the Whatdotheyknow website for numbers of registrants working as ATOS assessors that have been reported to them, the number they've accepted and how many have been struck off the register. This will tell me whether or not HCPC have ever accepted and investigated complaints about ATOS health professionals. There are debates I've found online as to whether assessors should still be made accountable for their standard of workmanship by their governing bodies if they're not working in their profession. As yet I do not have the answer but hopefully the FOI request will give us a general picture of whether it's worth reporting them to their governing bodies.
     I have also been asking HCPC about my assessor's qualifications and all they're willing to tell me is that she is a legitimate registrant. They are refusing to investigate her even though I gave them the info. I have about her past employment. They say they don't have any info. about her outside her profession.
   I am now going to write to DWP complaints and see if they'll investigate someone who appears to have contravened their specifications for assessors regarding having a 2 year history of work in a health related job before becoming an assessor. Sorry this post is so long but it may help others if I can find out what we can or can't do to bring the HP's who lie and cheat people out of benefits to justice.     

Matilda

Atos paramedics are not qualified to conduct medical examinations which the assessments are supposed to be.   Paramedics are not health professionals.  DWP are re-assessing people on the cheap and it's causing a great deal of grief. The PIP system is a farce.  The incompetence of assessors is mainly why so many appeals are successful.

wildlife

@Matilda, That's very interesting. I always assumed Paramedics were on the list of Health Professionals specified by DWP that can be employed by ATOS. I'll check that out and mention it in my letter to DWP. I now have evidence that my DL score should have been higher, but will stick with what I've got for now. My OT home assessment mentions I need help with preparing food and to get in and out of the bath both of which I scored 2 for needing aids only. I was given a bath board over the bath to sit on and swing my legs across. Trouble is I can't even lift my legs high enough to get them over the side so it's no use whatsoever. I'll ask to try a step instead but will still need support from someone as in a standing position with support from MOH I can just about get them over but have to lift my left leg by hand as it's weaker than my right. Now waiting for the council to send her back again to check all the equipment they gave me and hopefully get the report changed if not for now for my review in 2 years. It really is about time we were believed when we've got medical evidence to support what we're saying. The OT thought it was ridiculous me being reviewed in only 2 years and she saw me at home... 

Matilda

DWP call paramedics Health Professionals.  But I would regard only high-qualified health staff as professionals:  doctors, nurses, physics, pharmacists.  The qualifications that paramedics have are of a much lower standard.