Work Capability Assessment for Universal Credit, Friday 06/10/2017

Barrylad1957

So, on the day that I received The Dreaded Brown Envelope containing unexpectedly good news, my relief was counterbalanced by the fact that I had my WCA the same afternoon; I knew that this was the 'hard' one, because so many people (including my 'work coach' at the jobcentre) had told me so. 
Let down once again at the last minute by so-called 'advocates', my friend Jimmy offered to accompany me, and we arrived 20 minutes before my appointment time. He dropped me off at the front door to the jobcentre, where I waited while he parked his car and returned. The security showed us into the assessment centre waiting area. The room had no cctv cameras - none that I could see, anyway - most of the people waiting were a lot younger than me, and the ones who weren't actively menacing the poor receptionist appeared to be fast asleep. There were people there who had appointments at 1pm and 1.30pm. who were still waiting, so that was a bit of a clear sign of how long we were to wait. A young bloke, in a wheelchair, obviously very distressed, in great discomfort and with his carer, had been there for over an hour, waiting, so I was a bit surprised when they called me next; I asked the assessor if he should not be seen before me, and he agreed without hesitating, and took them into his room. They came out, looking relieved, less than ten minutes later, and thanked me and left. To a cacophony of complaints from the waiting room, I was called in next.
The nurse/assessor was a young man, who introduced himself by name, and told me of his work experience in the nhs before asking if I was satisfied with his capability to conduct the 'consultation' (that word again!). I said yes I was, and he began.
Do you have any pets? Do you socialise? Do you watch tv? Have you got a mobile 'phone? Does the walking stick help you to walk further? Do you drive? (etc., etc) After I had honestly answered all his questions, he said that he was concerned about the TIA I had been hospitalised with in March this year and asked me to describe it, the aftermath of it and whether I had any lasting damage from it; I told him that I didn't feel that I had any, and he typed as I spoke. He asked me to describe the 'absences', and visual disturbances I've been suffering, then asked my mate if he had ever witnessed it, and when he said he had, he asked him if it seemed to him that "Baz is off somewhere else?", and my mate told him that that was the way it was exactly. He then asked me how long since I had last worked, how my dismissal had come about, and if I missed my old job, and when I answered truthfully that I did, he grimaced, and shook his head. He asked me how many changes I had had to make to my life in the past 18 months, checked my meds, my prescription list, and my report from my GP (which she had told me she had not returned to atos...), and that he was concluding the assessment without physical examination, as he felt that there was no need to assess me further. I asked if the assessment was being concluded because I had done or said something wrong, and he repeated that, no, there was simply no need to assess me further. He then escorted us to the exit, and as we left, he said, "Try and take it easy, Barry. You'll hear from the DWP in the next few weeks", shook hands with both of us, and we left.
Pretty odd, all told, and, as was the case with my PIP assessment, not at all like I had expected.
My next appointment at the jobcentre is in 11 days time, so I'm expecting to be told my fate then. Its always hard to tell at this point; was I lucky enough to get a humane HCP who was actually genuinely interested in how my conditions were affecting my day to day existence, or, had I fallen into the hands of a machiavellian sociopath who wanted me to be off guard before the coup de grace is delivered? I have heard stories of reasonable seeming, friendly assessors who appear to be on side later submitting damning reports after you have left, but Ive heard a lot of stories from people I have spoken to (and I dont mean on here) regarding both the PIP and WCA assessments that have turned out to be untrue; things like,
"They make you do 25 press-ups, and if you can't do them, you get sanctioned, and if you can, they find you fit for work" - Puh-lease!
Time will tell. I await the next instalment of "The Dreaded Brown Envelope Part 2" with bated breath.
Thank you, again, to all of you on here who gave me sound, intelligent advice and guidance in the weeks leading up to this. I feel blessed to have had you all in my corner, and I hope that this rambling account of my experience will at least be of use to someone else.
Baz xx

Pippa_Alumni

Morning @Barrylad1957, thank you for sharing this!

I'm so glad that your assessment experience so far has been more positive than you were expecting. Thank you for keeping us updated too: I'm sure your reports will be very helpful/reassuring to those awaiting their own assessments too. Hope today is being as kind as possible to you!