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Is this official - suspension of medical assessments for 3 months from tomorrow? 

roecab
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Welfare benefits supervisor - Roehampton CAB

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roecab
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Seems it is…

“From Tuesday, face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability welfare payments will be suspended for three months.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51901818

Cheers

WillH
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Ta…

‘suspension’ implies you’ll be waiting for a PIP decision/waiting in the assessment phase/on UC without LCW status any extra element for longer….??

And then there’ll be a huge backlog??

Mike Hughes
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Ianb
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If they then determine that the quality of decision making has not been adversely impacted by suspending face to face assessments would it be too much to hope that there are fewer of them in future.

WillH
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Thank you Mike - that looks better re phone/paper.

I’ll await the DWP announcement though.


Good point…why go back to expensive/stressful f2f…

Mike Hughes
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WillH - 16 March 2020 12:27 PM

Thank you Mike - that looks better re phone/paper.

I’ll await the DWP announcement though.

Good point…why go back to expensive/stressful f2f…

Er, because that’s the contract!!!

Benny Fitzpatrick
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WillH - 16 March 2020 12:27 PM

Thank you Mike - that looks better re phone/paper.

I’ll await the DWP announcement though.


Good point…why go back to expensive/stressful f2f…

Are they not paid per face-to-face assessment? That’s a pretty good incentive to keep doing them (and is one reason for repeated assessments of claimants with deteriorating and long-term conditions).

Julie HC
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Capita still saying appointments tomorrow going ahead as DWP have not made announcement yet

Benny Fitzpatrick
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That makes sense. Capita were always more interested in money than claimant or staff safety.

2 of my clients have had ATOS PIP assessments scheduled for next week called off, ostensibly due to corona virus.

Mike Hughes
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Julie HC - 16 March 2020 12:55 PM

Capita still saying appointments tomorrow going ahead as DWP have not made announcement yet

Were we expecting anything else at this point?

I’ve got appeals listed for April. There’s been not even so much as a hint of cancellation but it would be extraordinary were they to proceed. If I were to ring HMCTS today, putting aside the 30 minute wait to get through, they would doubtless say nothing has changed. But it has…

WillH
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Mike Hughes - 16 March 2020 12:37 PM
WillH - 16 March 2020 12:27 PM

Thank you Mike - that looks better re phone/paper.

I’ll await the DWP announcement though.

Good point…why go back to expensive/stressful f2f…

Er, because that’s the contract!!!

Yes - so if there has to be compensation for suspension of that part of the contract they certainly will return to them.

Wonder if they built any emergency clauses in…

Elliot Kent
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I was at Court this morning. Nothing has changed except that the security guards had gloves on. There were a bunch of benefit appeals on too. We’ve had at least one possession case so far which has needed to be adjourned because the defendant is self-isolating.

There is a good chance that at some stage within the next few weeks, HMCTS will shut things down - but for the moment I think you need to proceed on the basis that they will go ahead.

As to assessments - I think it is very optimistic to imagine that more cases will be dealt with on the papers. The claimants will just have to wait longer.

Mike Hughes
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Locally, lists are collapsing as people self-isolate. I doubt an official announcement will take too long.

Andrew Dutton
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https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-to-face-health-assessments-for-benefits-suspended-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

‘The temporary move, effective on Tuesday 17 March 2020, is being taken as a precautionary measure to protect vulnerable people from unnecessary risk of exposure to coronavirus as the country’s response ramps up in the ‘delay’ phase. We will ensure those who are entitled to a benefit continue to receive support, and that new claimants are able to access the safety net.
It affects claimants of Personal Independence Payment, those on Employment and Support Allowance and some on Universal Credit, and recipients of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.’

Elliot Kent
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Mike Hughes - 16 March 2020 01:19 PM

Locally, lists are collapsing as people self-isolate. I doubt an official announcement will take too long.

Eh, I would never underestimate the capacity of HMCTS to pretend that everything is fine.

Pete at CAB
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Andrew Dutton - 16 March 2020 01:19 PM

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-to-face-health-assessments-for-benefits-suspended-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

‘The temporary move, effective on Tuesday 17 March 2020, is being taken as a precautionary measure to protect vulnerable people from unnecessary risk of exposure to coronavirus as the country’s response ramps up in the ‘delay’ phase. We will ensure those who are entitled to a benefit continue to receive support, and that new claimants are able to access the safety net.
It affects claimants of Personal Independence Payment, those on Employment and Support Allowance and some on Universal Credit, and recipients of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.’

If, as the press release indicates, they are going to deal with assessments by telephone calls or paperwork then perhaps they should be obliged to ask GPs /Social Services etc for additional medical/functional evidence?

Mike Hughes
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And if we’re all working from home then, er, implied consent anyone???

Oh the layers of irony 😊

Pete at CAB
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SG LB C
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Do we know if our clients will continue to need to supply fit-notes, because that is also going to become problematic?

Victoria Hay
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I’ve been phoning clients I was going to support at health assessment - they’re relieved. I think it’s absolutely the right choice but I am not confident that they’ll have good alternatives.

Trying to support people on phone assessments seems likely to be hard- those will be call in so a lot harder to manage than calling out with clients. My current wish list to make doing all this remotely where needed more possible is a way to support clients with phone assessments (conference calling from the DWP?) - and PDF PIP forms. And ways round more of the JobCentre appointments. But cancelling the health assessments was previously the top of my list.

Paper decisions may disadvantage clients (compared to a good assessment - which is a theoretical thing) - particularly with the likely extra barriers to getting good medical evidence and reports out of swamped doctors.

Currently trying to work out how we’ll help people when they have extra difficulties with their claims and we have less ability to support them. Without being the bridge between extremely vulnerable people infecting each other.

Mike Hughes - 16 March 2020 03:08 PM

And if we’re all working from home then, er, implied consent anyone???

Oh the layers of irony :)

We’re trying to get conference calling up and running for calls where implicit consent is not workable. I don’t want to follow my UC colleague and just hold two (decrepit) mobile phones really close together.

It doesn’t work well, but it does work.

With resources like that I’m sure we’ll be able to cope with whatever the DWP comes up with…

Wensleyfoss
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Pete at CAB - 16 March 2020 03:24 PM

https://www.holisticshop.co.uk/articles/guide-pendulum-dowsing

Perhaps this might help?

I just spent ages reading that, trying to fathom what it had to do with assessments….I got there eventually :)

Daphne
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In a debate in the House of Commons yesterday Justin Tomlinson said that new claims would be prioritised for the paper-based and telephone assessments -

However, we do not want to stop new people gaining access to the support that they are entitled to, so we are seeking to continue to do paper-based and telephone reviews, but prioritising those who are new claimants, and looking at the workforce on a daily basis.

 

bristol_1
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SG LB C - 16 March 2020 03:25 PM

Do we know if our clients will continue to need to supply fit-notes, because that is also going to become problematic?

Absolutely 1000% with you on this - we can’t have vulnerable at risk groups breaking their isolation/distancing just to get sick notes for their claim - GPs might be persuaded to provide over the phone & post out but their surgeries are going to be busy enough without this admin!
For UC it shouldn’t affect payment (?unless there’s a to-do and not doing it puts a block on payment? happy to be corrected) but for ESA claimants payments will cease; big problems. DWP should suspend need for sicknotes dring crisis

My client has LD and COPD - his main surgery has closed and he can only get a new sicknote issued over the phone from the other surgery in the same consortium; he is illiterate and has no smart phone, so getting his sicknote to the DWP is a further barrier. He will be destitute if ESA is not paid; his mum is in her 70s and has carers 4 x daily, so he shouldn’t be visiting her for help either. Arggh

BC Welfare Rights
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I think that they are planning to issue fit notes through 111 - https://www.digitalhealth.net/2020/03/sick-notes-to-be-automated-through-nhs-111-to-prevent-covid-19-spread/
No news on how long it will take to be up and running though
edit
And apparently it is very difficult to get through to 111 on the phone at the moment

[ Edited: 19 Mar 2020 at 04:22 pm by BC Welfare Rights ]
Ianb
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https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-support-for-employees-benefit-claimants-and-businesses

“people who need to claim ESA or Universal Credit because of coronavirus will not be required to produce a fit note.”

Of course this doesn’t help those who are claiming because of a different health condition (everything else hasn’t gone away!)

bristol_1
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Yes - my client needs a sicknote for his ESA claim in assessmetn phase, NOT for coronavirus (yet), this is the problem!