ESA questions and how it's awarded..

bluefox

Hello,

I've been claiming ESA for almost a year now and I was sending my fit notes and had my WCA. I never made a copy of the questionnaire form they gave me (which I now realise was a terrible error on my part). When I did my WCA, I was awarded into the support group. I'm just wondering though I never gave any medical evidence in the form of letters, appointments, etc. 

Is this rare to be awarded without evidence? Also, I heard they sometimes do contact your doctor but I'm not aware of them doing this?

calcotti

They rarely contact your doctor(s). 

bluefox

Okay, is it normal to be awarded in this way?

poppy123456

Medical evidence isn't needed. It will have been awarded based on the form you filled in.

bluefox

Ah okay. Then they obviously ring you with the WCA and you tell them about the conditions on your fit note? Do you need medical evidence for ESA?

Also, if my condition has worsened or the type of therapy I need changes, do I need to contact ESA?

poppy123456

sierrafox said:

Ah okay. Then they obviously ring you with the WCA and you tell them about the conditions on your fit note?

I assume based on your first comment that you had a WCA? No, they don't need to know the details of a fit note.

sierrafox said:

Do you need medical evidence for ESA?

As advised here..

poppy123456 said:

Medical evidence isn't needed.

sierrafox said:

Also, if my condition has worsened or the type of therapy I need changes, do I need to contact ESA?

As you're in the Support Group you can't get a higher award than this so they don't need to know about any worsening of condition or any therapy/treatment changes.

bluefox

Ah okay, I totally get it now. 

So ESA is all about the conditions I say I have etc. 

poppy123456

It's about how your conditions affect your ability to do any type of work.

bluefox

I totally get it now and this is based on diagnosis? 

calcotti

sierrafox said:

I totally get it now and this is based on diagnosis? 

No, in general it’s not. Different people with the same diagnosis may be affected differently. It’s based on how your health affects your ability to work when tested against the ESA criteria. There are some exceptions to this, for example cancer patients expected to have, having or recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

bluefox

I wonder if there’s a way to get the form I sent back?

I did say to them, do I need to report a worsening of my condition, as I’m now under psychotherapy and even worse. 

But they said no, I don’t need to as I’m in the support group. 

poppy123456

Not sure why you would need a copy of the form. You're in the Support Group and you can't get a higher award than that so they are correct, you don't need to report a worsening of condition.

If you still want a copy of the form you returned you can request the SAR by filling this in here. https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/personal-information-request/name

bluefox

Are you automatically LCWRA if you’re awarded PIP?

poppy123456

No.

bluefox

Thank you, poppy. And thanks everyone for helping. As you can imagine this is difficult for me. I worked for over 15 years solid before I became unwell.