My DLA experience

Hi everyone, I have been on DLA since 2010, I was awarded the middle rate care & high mobility indefinitely, I was contacted by DWP in November 2016 to fill in a back to work capability form, which I had the CAB help me fill in, I sent it back, I was contacted again & had an appointment in May 2017 for a assessment, after reading various blogs online I contacted the assessment centre & requested my assessment to be recorded, the private assessment Capita people cancelled my appointment & rearranged it for end of July because they explained to me they could only do recorded assessments at 9am & 1.15pm.

by the way I have osteoarthritis in my feet, ankles, knees, hips, back, hands, wrists, elbows, also very severe cervical spondylosis in my neck which causes a lot of pain in my shoulders & arms, a pro lapsed disc in my lower back & degeneration of 5 or 6 other discs in my back, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2009 by a rheumatologist consultant, I have a under active thyroid, IBS (due all the medications I take for my pain), prolapsed bowel (maybe due to my prolapse disc), I have suffered from AIH (chronic active hepatitis) since I was a child, I had been in remission for about 20yrs (that's when I stopped taking prednisolone & aziothyroprine), but have had bouts of jaundice, lots of pain on my upper right side over the yrs, I am awaiting to see a liver specialist as I type this post.

back to my appointment which was rescheduled to end of July due to my request for it to be recorded, I took my friend with me to the assessment as I don't have a car, the assessment centre is in a really hard place to get to in Cardiff if u don't have a vehicle, I had to wait about 20 minutes for my appointment, the assessor seemed like a really nice person, she told us her sciatica was playing up so please to be patience with her, she asked me some questions, she could see I was uncomfortable sitting etc & said she'd be as quick as possible, she did a quick check up, made me lay on a bench, pulled up one of my trouser legs to look at my leg, I had supports on my ankles & supports on my knees, I explained if I don't wear them I have falls & I have in the past torn (severed 2 of my tendons in my left ankle), she asked me how many times I have falls,I explained 5 to 6 times a yr & even with supports on I'm very clumsy & smash into things but the supports help save me from tearing my tendons etc. The appointment lasted about 45 mins.

When my friend & I got in the car we asked each other what about the recording???? With the stress of the assessment & everything we totally forgot to ask the assessor! I assumed it was recorded & left it at that as I needed to get home & lay down.

i got my decision letter from the DWP in August, the assessor had awarded me 0 points on all counts, as I read the decision she had lied on multiple accounts, she even said I only had one fall 5yrs ago instead of 5 to 6 falls I told her I have every yr! I went to CAB to get help with the mandatory reconsideration, this week I got the letter from DWP against the reconsideration, they have stated in the letter that they don't dispute I have disabilities but from what the assessor's findings they stand by her decision & still award me 0 points.

i wanted to share my experience of the DWP assessments with everyone & to be aware if u request your assessment to be recorded then it's up to you to make sure the assessment is recorded even though Capita or Atos have made your appointment with the knowledge of your request! I believe that these companies try to get away with anything anyhow if they can so that they can refuse you your legal rights.

i am lucky I have a big family & friends I can rely on to help me through this tough time but I am aware of all those disabled people who might not have anyone to help them, if I could feel helpless & suicidal after the decision by the DWP/Capita then my heart goes out to every single person that is being made to feel this way! Shame on the government.

hal