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Worried about sending my esa50 form in and a face to face assessment

JamesRoyle

hello, I am new, I am worried sick about sending my esa50 form in and a possible face to face assessment, I am not sleeping its 2.45am early Sunday and haven't slept for 54 hours, I suppose I am looking for reassurance that things won't be as bad as I envisage. thank you everyone. Jimmy.

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thespiceman

Hello @JamesRoyle Pleased to meet you.

Thank you for joining and sharing.

Sorry to hear this , I know it is a difficult time for you but please if I can give you some reassurance and self esteem.

I am one of the team of the Community Champions. We support members with advice, guidance and information.

Please if I can advise always send the form back I know your anxious and stressed.

I have been there and been claiming a long time had lots of positive outcomes.

If you do think you are suffering from anxiety and having sleep problems which is a concern.

Please consider the following mental health charities.

Offer floating support, guidance, advice on benefits would help here.

Plus looking at how they can help you further with anything else. Wellbeing, health, employment and welfare other issues.

https://www.richmondfellowship.org.uk.

https://www.mind.org.uk.

https://www.rethink.org.

Might not be in all areas. You can self refer or speak to your GP.

If you contact the links I have provided they help you attend with you for as they do for any reassurance.

Speak on your behalf.

In the meantime please think of your own health very important .

Diet nutritional foods to make you sleep include warm milky drinks with honey stirred in to it. Horlicks malted milk works well.

Eat whole grains bread, pasta, rice and beans, pulses. Potatoes. Lean ham with lettuce whole meal bread .

Baked Beans on toast. Porridge Oats with Banana sliced in.

This organisation lots on sleep .

https://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk.

Please speak to your GP does help. I do all the time including before assessments and after.

Helps self esteem, you not alone.

Many of our members have successful outcomes lots of positives .

We do hear of them and it is very inspirational up lifting.

One other if you need the benefit to live on to survive this you need to apply send back the form.

We are here to offer compassion, empathy and sensitivity.

We have members of our team you can contact any problems or issues with assessments, we are glad to help you.

Please take care.

@thespiceman

poppy123456

HI and welcome,

I'm one of the community champions here on scope and i'm here to help and advise others.

When filling out the form you should put as much information as possible about how your conditions affect you. Send relevant evidence with the form to support your claim because they rarely contact anyone for this.

You must make sure you return the form no later than the date stated on the form, if you don't then you could be found fit for work for failing to return. The only exception to this is if you're claiming for mental health reasons then the rules are slightly different. Otherwise there's no extension of time for returning this form.

Lots of people are successfully placed into a group without any problems at all. I've been in the support group since 2012/13 and have had 3 assessments during that time and have never had a problem.

You should expect a face to face assessment though because most people have them. Paper based assessments are rare but possible.

Good luck.

chiarieds

Hi @JamesRoyle Welcome to the community & thank you for joining. I'm sorry you're worried about sending in your ESA form. I hope you have been reassured that this is something you need to do, & how best to complete it.

This is a very supportive group, so please talk here any time, & let us all know how you get on.

janer1967

Hi @JamesRoyle Welcome to the community, sorry you are so worried about your ESA form and assessment. I see you have already been given some excellent advice from other community champions. Just remember lots of claims are successful with no issues but we don't hear so much of them as they have no reason to come on the forum for advice. Good luck don't hesitate to ask if you need any further advice

JamesRoyle

thanks janer1967, sent my esa50 form on Monday 10/02/2020, the deadline was Wednesday 12/02/2020, I was up at total for 58 hours straight with such severe panic and dread, why does this affect me and lots of other people, so badly. Thought I would be OK after I sent the form back, but as soon as I posted the form panic set in about the possible face to face assessment. Will let you know how I will get on. Thank you for your reply. Jimmy.

janer1967

Hi again glad you got your form sent off try not to stress too much
May be worth ringing next week to ensure it has been received dont panic tho as they take a while to get scanned onto the system and until then wont be marked as received but itmf you speak to them and explain they can extend the date which will avoid any issue of not being returned on time

poppy123456

Hi,

Yes, i would ring on Monday to check it's been received. Sometimes the work capability assessment form is sent straight to the health assessment providers and not to DWP first.

There's no extension of time given to return this form and it must be received no later than the date stated in the letter. The only exception to this is if you're claiming for mental health reasons and then they are not quite as strict with returning the form.

Ails

Hi @JamesRoyle and welcome to the Community. It is nice to meet you. I'm glad that you have managed to send your ESA form away and wish you well with your claim. I hope you can relax a bit more now and catch up on some well deserved sleep. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on and if there is anything we can help/support you with then please just ask. All the best.

Chloe_Alumni

Welcome to the community @JamesRoyle, sorry to hear this! Have you heard anything from them?

Benistmonk

Hi James, Don’t worry about it, we all have to go through this. The problem with assessments is they are not reliable, the odds are you will have to appeal. Just make sure you have your medical evidence letters ready for tribunal.

poppy123456

Benistmonk said:

Hi James, Don’t worry about it, we all have to go through this. The problem with assessments is they are not reliable, the odds are you will have to appeal. Just make sure you have your medical evidence letters ready for tribunal.

Sorry but i disagree. Lots of people are successfully placed into a group without any problems at all, we just rarely hear the good stories. I've been claiming ESA since 2012/13, had 3 assessments and never had any problems being in the Support Group the whole time.

Scaring people really isn't going to help them. The only thing it will do is make them even more anxious than they already are.

Benistmonk

To assume I am scaring people is a bit dramatic don’t you think.

Just because the system works for you Poppy, it doesn’t mean it works for everyone. You only have to look at my case to see that, living proof that it can and does go wrong. Why do you think we have tribunals?

The only times I have been assessed correctly is when I have been seen by a doctor. But when I was assessed by nurses, and on the last occasion, I was assessed by a physiotherapist, I failed every time.

I will give the same advice to everyone, be prepared for the worst outcome, have your paperwork ready, then you won’t have to run around like a headless chicken if the proverbial hits the fan.

poppy123456

@Benistmonk you said the odds are that they would be going to Tribunal and to me that's scaring others.

I never said it works for everyone, what i said was that lots of people are successfully placed into a group without any problems. Coming on an internet forum and reading all the negative stories doesn't help anyone, especially before a review.

I agree to have your paper work ready for these reviews but it doesn't mean they will be taking it to Tribunal.

I'm sorry the system hasn't worked for you and you've been found fit for work multiple times. Hopefully the next time you're assessed the right decision will be made the first time.

Benistmonk

You put yourself up as an example of how well the system works, no doubt to give the impression that it can’t fail. I simply pointed out that it can and does fail, so be prepared is my advice, that’s all, no scaremongering, but you think it is.

Then I remember that we live in a funny old world, and there’s always someone out there looking to find fault when there isn’t any just for the sake of argument.

chiarieds

The latest available statistics show that 65% of initial & review ESA claims are successful (55% being placed in the support group & 10% in WRAG). Whilst of those who went on to a MR only 15% had the decision overturned, of those that went on to a tribunal 64% had their decision overturned. So, as Poppy says lots of people are successfully placed in a group following their assessment. She then went on to add her personal experience, as @Benistmonk did theirs, as unfortunately some people are found FFW. Poppy was just trying to correct Benistmonk's assumption, whilst hoping that their next assessment fared better. I'm unable to see that she was arguing.

poppy123456

@chiarieds thank you my friend! For those that want to see those actual statistics, they are here in this link.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831104/esa-wca-summary-september-2019.pdf

JamesRoyle

hello, thank you all for your support, I will try not to worry, however I seem to be a person that worries if I haven't got anything to worry about. I have a lovely partner of 29 years and 3 lovely children that support me unconditionally. so I try and put a brave face on for them, even though it is always seems to be chewing me up inside. anyway now waiting for a letter from dwp, so I will keep you all informed. thank you again, it really helps to communicate with people who have gone through this as well.

Benistmonk

@chiarieds There is no assumption about it, it is 100% fact. I have been found fit for work just as many times I have been found not fit for work.

Why do people keep trying to misquote me.

poppy123456

We are not saying that you haven't been found fit for work before many times. What we are saying is that statistics state that most people are placed into one of the groups without any problems. Just take a look at the link i posted above.

I've posted the link as proof but i won't comment any further on this.

Benistmonk

Only 10% in WRAG, that's not good is it. 55% in SG, that's just over half. Either way, it is a long way short of most people.