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ATOS - Appointee attending F2F assessments

tarzier
forum member

The Regard Partnership, Kingston

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Total Posts: 54

Joined: 16 June 2010

Hello

Atos has issued the following bulletin:-

PIP Clinical Bulletin
Atos Healthcare PIP News
Important update on assessments with
appointees
Hello everyone,
Here’s an important update relating to assessments where claimants
have an appointee. This is relevant to HPs, scheduling/contact centre
teams, and to centre coordinators in both Atos and Supply Chain.
Where the appointee is present but the claimant is not
Following guidance from DWP received today, we are no longer
permitted to undertake any face to face assessments where the
claimant’s appointee is present but the claimant themselves is not.
Even though the appointee can speak on behalf of the claimant, the
claimant must also be there.
If the claimant has not been present at the assessment, we should not
proceed and FTA action should be taken.
Thanks,
Barrie
Dr Barrie McKillop
Clinical Director, PIP

Apparently, DWP Policy dept, are clarifying the PIP Assessment Guidance 2.15.17 because it seems to contradict 2.15.20. DWP Policy state that claimants must attend with the Appointee, this will be made clearer in the new guidance.

Has anyone seen this new guidance from the DWP?

Regards

Julia

Billy
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Welfare rights - Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

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Hi any update on this ?
Or this ?
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/10792/

Cheers

Wensleyfoss
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Welfare Rights Advisor, Autism Anglia

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Joined: 10 June 2015

This was in response to challenging the regs in relation to Appointee’s, after a visit from Atos. This is what I was sent from Atos:

Wednesday 22 February 2016
PIP Clinical Bulletin
Atos Healthcare PIP News
Important update on assessments with appointees
Hello everyone,
Here’s an important update relating to assessments where claimants have an appointee. This is relevant to HPs, scheduling/contact centre teams, and to centre coordinators in both Atos and Supply Chain.
Where the appointee is present but the claimant is not
Following guidance from DWP received today, we are no longer permitted to undertake any face to face assessments where the claimant’s appointee is present but the claimant themselves is not. Even though the appointee can speak on behalf of the claimant, the claimant must also be there.
If the claimant has not been present at the assessment, we should not proceed and FTA action should be taken.

[ Edited: 5 May 2017 at 10:26 am by Wensleyfoss ]
tarzier
forum member

The Regard Partnership, Kingston

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Total Posts: 54

Joined: 16 June 2010

Yes, that is what ATOS sent out but I haven’t seen anything official changing the PIP Assessment Guidance 2.15.17

Wensleyfoss
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Welfare Rights Advisor, Autism Anglia

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Total Posts: 61

Joined: 10 June 2015

I emailed DWP weeks ago to ask about the change in regs and haven’t heard. I will email again now.

Wensleyfoss
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Welfare Rights Advisor, Autism Anglia

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Total Posts: 61

Joined: 10 June 2015

Just received this:

Annie

The current PIP Assessment guide says:

Updated on 1 September 2016

2.15.16. An appointee can be either a named individual, or an organisation (usually with an advocacy role), known as a corporate appointee. Any paperwork supplied by a corporate appointee using a signature stamp rather than a manuscript signature is not acceptable and the paperwork should be returned and a manuscript signature requested.

2.15.17. Where a claimant has an appointee, this will be flagged in the initial referral to the AP. Where an appointee has been nominated to represent the claimant, the claimant must not be instructed to attend a face to face by the AP. This is because they have been deemed incapable of engaging directly with DWP or its contracted APs. Instead, and only if a face to face consultation is deemed necessary, the AP must send the invite to the appointee – indeed the invite should only go to the appointee – who in turn will provide the details to the claimant. However, it should be noted that where the named appointee is a corporate appointee, he can nominate another person to represent him at any face to face consultation. That said, the HP should make every effort to obtain evidence in order to conduct a paper-based review in these circumstances.

2.15.18 A consultation cannot go ahead if the appointee or their representative does not accompany the claimant. If they do not turn up then normal FTA action is taken.

2.15.19. Where a claimant attends a face to face consultation unaccompanied the consultation cannot take place and the AP should notify the DWP, who will investigate the conduct of the appointee.

2.15.20. At the consultation the HP will still interact with the claimant with the appointee ensuring that the information being provided is accurate and properly reflects the claimant’s condition. It is the claimant being assessed not the appointee.


2.15.17 is not suggesting that an appointee can attend on their own. This paragraph was re-drafted because there had been instances where the invite had been sent to the claimant and they had turned up unaccompanied and the assessment had still gone ahead. That should not have happened. Equally the appointee having received the invite still turned up even when they knew that the claimant would not be attending and the assessment still went ahead. That also should not have happened. A face to face assessment of a claimant cannot be done by discussing their condition and how it affects them only with a third party. The claimant must be there. Where the HCP, having considered all the written evidence, decides that he cannot produce a report and he must see the claimant, then clearly just discussing the situation with the appointee alone does not close that particular circle.  Hence the Atos Note.