Dissertation on WCA's and PIP assessments

Hi @Faye_anth, It would be great if you could write about the assessment from the claimants, sorry customer's point of view. This is what disabled people are called by the assessment companies which is very appropriate as they're making a fortune.  
           I have read a lot about the process and what goes wrong but very little about how it makes you feel to go through one of these assessments. It's like you are a naughty child who lies all the time and no matter what you say you're not going to be believed. After an hour of torture during which time you've been verbally beaten into submission you end up in tears. The frustration and anger that you, a grown up with far more experience of life with all it's ups and down than this stranger, so called a "Health Professional" could ever have is over wealming and worse is to come. You have still got to suffer the shock of seeing the report they've written when the lies are coming from the other direction. Some people have wondered if their report had got mixed up with someone else's it's so different from what actually happened. There's a section entitled "Informal Observations" where free reign is given to the assessor to write whatever they want and usually contains the first lies about the distance and how you walked to get into the assessment room. On my report in this section my assessor described how, during the assessment itself, I took the plastic label (round the middle) off a water bottle whilst holding it between my knees. Why would anyone do that! As a  so called "Health Professional" you'd think she's know it's the thing at the top you unscrew to drink the water. This never happened by the way. Next comes "Mental State" with comments like"Doesn't look tired, Doesn't seem agitated or anxious, Well kempt, normal complexion, no obvious sweating. What gives them the right to treat us like this? So that's 2 things on their customer charter broken for a start: RESPECT and HONESTY. I could say a lot more but I'm sure there'll be lots of others wanting to tell you their experiences.   

Hi @Faye_anth, In answer to your question I would say that all illness/disability that you have provided medical evidence for should be believed and accepted without question. Then a lot of people wouldn't need a face to face assessment.  Doctors/therapists that treat us are far more qualified than any of the assessors so why should they be trying to assess whether or not we have these problems. They should scrap the  informal observations, the physical examination and the cognative tests which prove absolutely nothing. This would allow for the assessment to focus entirely on how the claimant is affected by their disabilities, how their needs vary and what help they need. This is what the assessment is supposed to be for, not to over rule our Doctors. 
           At present people who have had an offer of something are at risk of losing it if they appeal. All offers should be binding and only the parts the claimant doesn't agree with reviewed again saving both time and money. This would make the process much fairer.   
          As the system is now disabled people are being forced to be in the worst possible condition to be offered the very benefit that is supposed to improve their quality of life. Where's the sense in that! You have to stay indoors as stepping foot outside on your own means to benefit providers that you don't need any help with mobility. Anything that you would want to do to help yourself by way of therapy, diet or even just having a positive outlook and I must add taking care of your appearance goes against you for the amount of points you can score. What's even worse is that they've brought in more regular reviews even for the elderly and permanently disabled who are obviously not going to improve so you know you have to remain as bad as you can be or get worse, you can't afford to do otherwise. Even better you need to deteriorate to continue to qualify for money you absolutely need. I have always tried to help myself but this creates an inner conflict knowing if I improve I won't be able to afford even the basic things I need to live. Where is common sense? They're wasting so much time on worthless assessments and spending so much money paying contractors for something DWP should be doing and doing properly and fairly. The whole process needs overhauling and if it was they wouldn't need to lie and cheat people to save money. 

Hi @Faye_anth,thank you I will do that, give me a few days to get everything
together,reports,dates when did I this and that etc!,tomorrow I have to just see to another problem c/o more pension credit,no-one told me because I'm my own carer I should be on an and attendance rate and I was missing out £47.96 per week,The Macmillan help -line have been wonderful with me, it was a lady there who was adding up all monies I received each week,I nearly dropped off my chair when she told me amount I should have been getting since 2009,speaking to Mac 7th April ,as it was a bit late in the day to ring PC 0800 no- that was  10th April - 8-30am and asked if I  could make a claim for this,she asked me various questions and  brought up all details of and about me ,asked if I sent them form  back ,she then found that I had ,and said you never put a claim in for Attendance All,I told her I only found out about it on Friday 7th,she told me amount due and would rectify all, said a date when it would begin,I was overwhelmed with emotion,then on 15th April Good Friday-got a letter pension credit asking where form was and why hadn't I sent it back to them-'one hand doesn't  know what other hand doing here again'! , so will ring them again first thing tomorrow ,like been on a rollercoaster or like a rat in a ferris wheel -round and round all the time, terrible .But I will definitely send all dates and what not to you.  And as @wildlife I too am getting on in age now 67yrs +-4 months off my 68th birthday and sent for a PIP assessment,so anything I send you is alright with me too,I have looked at a speech by ATOS /Goverment  Parliment by Baroness Thomas of Winchester 4th May 2016 ,they don't even know their own rules and regulations they give to us mere mortals to follow and adhere to on PIP form .Don't know if someone on this site sent for us to follow link        Questions on  Assesor's Qualifications,and another link I found myself on youtube 'a chap refusing to have an assessment done by just a nurse and he was filming it  or someone else was ?  'bravo to him he was so brave! I nearly myself didn't  get out of the taxi when I found out what a hill I'd have to climb up to the building where ATOS PIPs assessments were done,  or around the other side of said building that it was down a steep hill- I nearly told taxi driver to take me back home!. My disabilities are numerous  and have been for years -will send you all, from getting out of taxi-through assessment until I got home-sat down ,pad and pen and wrote every detail beginning to end about assessment,then I went and collapsed on my settee and went to sleep.
Bye for now ,one more thing look at monies they pay these nurses  for each assessment done,(they have to get at least 10 per day done) and if it was a Dr doing assessments  ,though very rarely )the amount is ludicrous !,and and after thought on my part,when I came out of my assessment 12-40 pm the waiting room was jammed packed with people, ? about 30+ could have been more and relatives or whatever with disabled. 

sorry for typos, I should have read it first, am falling asleep x