Incapacity medical - a rant!
Incapacity medical - a rant! I just got a call from the DWP asking me to come in on Monday for a medical regarding my claim to Incapacity Benefit (which I have been claiming for all of 3 months).
When I filled out the incapacity for work questionnaire I gave tons of information about my treatment and the remaining side-effects.
I explained that I had a job being kept open to me and was desperate to return but needed a little more time as I had only just finished 9 months of treatment.
I told them I had already been in to speak to my employer about a phased return.
I know that I covered myself for the required number of points as I am a money/benefits adviser and fill out these forms all the time.
So, why do they want me to be examined? Because, clearly, they think I am a big, fat liar who is exaggerating her symptoms to scrounge money from the government.
I am so angry. I have represented at hundreds of IB appeals and, to date, haven’t had a single cancer sufferer. I thought they left people like us alone.
My main concern is that there is one doctor at the DBC who is supposed to be a complete bitch. Knowing my luck that’s who I’ll get and I’ll be thrown off and will have to appeal which will mean washing my dirty laundry in front of my professional contemporaries.
Arrrrgh!
Anyne had a medical and managed to get through it?
Thanks.
Lola x
Hi Lola
I havn’t had a medical yet but I have been asked to fill the personal capabilities form in. I don’t think I will get enough points as none of the questions seemed to apply to me. I can walk, talk etc so probably nil points! I am sort of expecting to hear from DWP for a medical and even my GP warned me that it was possible. It is ridiculous though as I am still having radiotherapy at the moment so I am attending the hospital every day. I have worked since 1977 and never claimed before and find it irritating that I may be forced back to work before I have had time to recover from 9 months of treatment. I was made redundant just after diagnosis so I want to be recovered when i take a new job and not have been forced back to work too soon.
All the best with the medical on monday. I hope you get on ok.
Love Lollie x
Been there my self!!! Hi Lola
I had been claiming icb for 8 weeks when i was asked to go for medical. I went and my benefit was stopped as of that day.
On their letter it said that i hadnt scored any points ( you have to have 15 i think ) because i I can sit, bend, kneel, stand, walk, reach, lift, speak, hear, and I’m conscious and I’m not incontinent.
They made me feel as though Breast Cancer is not an illness. Looking back I should have gone to that medical assessment a wreck, crying, scruffy and mentally unstable instead I told the truth. I have learnt from this that being truthful doesn’t get you anywhere with their system, but after 10 months of looking and feeling awful, I wanted to look and be normal.
i have appealled against their decision but not heard anything yet .
I didnt have a physical examination and still dont understand why the doctor wanted to know the length of my mastectomy scar.
Hope its not the same for but thought you might be interested to know other experiences so you can prepare yourself.
Keep in touch
Gilly xxx
ME TOO!!! HI
I have also had a letter with the booklet to fill in.
Went to my GP today for the MED 4 form that they want from him, and he couldn’t believe I may have to go for a medical.
I do have other conditions the latest being blood clots on my lungs down to the chemo/surgery combination.
He said if he thought they were out of order to ask for a medical due to everything I have.
Someone told me today that they think the money is due to go up soon, as they have had one too, so maybe they are trying to sift through the scroungers???
You don’t realise how much this illness is costing you, do you?
No wages for me as I am self employed, god knows how many visits to the hospital (I have had 5 visits in the past 7 days!!!) Luckily I don’t have to have radio as that it is at a hospital that would involve a 50 mile round trip!!
There should be more out there for all of us unfortunate ones as we never asked to stop work with this illness.
I couldn’t work at the mo, I always seem to have “chemo - brain” as my kids call it - talking about aload of twoddle!!! Good job I only have 1 session left.
Anyway - rant over.
Take care
Ang
xx
I had a bad time at the incapacity medical too…i had also been on the benefit for 3mths and was called in for medical in the november after finishing treatment at the end of the august…i felt onoe of the questions i was asked were relevant to my condition…and when the doctor said…‘’ so its just the cancer thats bothering you then’'…i could of cheerfully thumped him…my benefit was also stopped…forcing me to return to work sooner than i felt physically and mentally able to…i’m sure they pick on the ones they know have a job thats been left open for them to return to…i would advise anyone not to do the phased return they offer on incapacity benefit as that seems to again go against you…i’m not a scrounger…just feel they do not deal with cancer paitents properly or fairly…we haven’t been diagnosed with a flippin cold…but a life threatening disease.
i wish i had been strong enough at the time to appeal, its only when i read through the paperwork now i see i could of had a good case.
karen
Thanks Thanks for your replies, girls.
I’m even angrier now. How dare they? I mean if these doctors wanted to they could ‘find a way’ to allocate you the points required. It’s not hard. Can’t walk up and down a flight of staris without holding on and having to take a rest due to effects of chemo. 15 points. PCA satisfied. How can anyone challenge that? But, instead they write things like ‘altered illness behaviour’ (ie, you’re at it.)
They went into medicine to save lives and all they are doing is ruining them. If I lose my IB we can’t pay the mortgage.
All they care about is getting repeat business.
I’m ready for a fight. If I fail the test (which I’m convinced now I will) and the doctor tells me then and there I will tell him/her exactly what I think of them and how despicable they are. I will appeal. I will probably be back at work by the time the appeal comes up but it’s a matter of principle.
Now I remember why I do this job!
Lola
ICB Hi Lola,
I must have been one of the lucky ones, when I had my first medical the doctor (an elderly male) just said ‘you have enough to deal with already’ and after a general chat that was it, I had ICB for a year . The second medical a year later was a completely different story, it was a young female medic who was very unsympathetic and made me feel a srounger.
When my benefit was stopped I appealed and was sent copies of her report which said as she had seen me pick up my handbag with no discomfort she considered that I was fit to work! The rest of the report was actually about another client with completely different problems, this didn’t fill me with confidence and when I queried the mix up was told this often happened.
Later that year I was given ealy retirement from my job as I have never recovered full shoulder movement and decided to adbandon any dealings with the DWP.
Good luck with your medical, I think it all comes down to which side of bed the doctor got out of that morning.
Jakey.
Hi Lola,
I had to go for a medical.
After getting really worked up about it Husband and me attended spoiling for a fight!
I was particulary upset as part of the letter said “you may be examined and will require to remove some clothing”.
I’d just finished rads and was absolutely sick of stripping off in front of Uncle Tom Cobbly and all.
As it turned out I saw a lovely female doctor who was even madder than I was that they dragged me in.
I could’nt speak for tears at one point whilst explaining what treatment I had had, and she went on to tell me how BC is a lot more treatable these days and not to despair etc.
I ended up feeling much better and was glad I had gone.
After reading some of the previous posts I can see Iwas quite lucky though.
Best Wishes
Linda xx
appalling I just want to add my support and disgust at some of the bad treatment people have received.
I was sent a form with ICB after first four week claim. Actually I was in quite a state at the time and that will have come out on the form!!! I am in a position to stop claiming now and would have dreaded a medical.
It’s good to hear there are sensitive doctors but it really should not be a matter of luck. By the way, people on sickness benefit experience the same humiliation and inappropriate assessment.
Look after your own interests girls! Or enlist help.
Ladies,
What nightmares!
I was called for a medical before I did chemo. I phoned them up and they decided to delay it ‘for at least a year’. They said they didn’t usually call people in active treatments if dr’s co-operated???
I was ill throughout chemo and still know I could not manage to work.
I think it is just the whole thing of stopping people claiming for any reason.
For myself I am concerned that I have not been going to my Dr as I have got used to all my symptons.
Anyway I have found this site which looks as though it could be helpful to people. It does cost £16 to join, which I haven’t done yet, but may, but it looks very good. Even if you do not join, there is a free forum there where anyone can get advice who is called for a medical.
Here’s the link benefitsandwork.co.uk/index.htm
I know one cancer site (don’t know if it was this one) was trying to get them to stop hauling us for medicals when we are not ready. I think it’s a nightmare as the form is really for people who are severely incapacitated and doesn’t account to just being ill!!!, having side effects, exhaustion and any number of things.
Hope this is of help to some people.
love alethea
“you may be examined and will require to remove some clothing”.
They can’t make you have an examination or insist that you remove your clothing.
I had to go for an examination some years ago {not BC related} & the doctor wanted to check my knee joints. I flatly refused to let him even touch the knee that frequently dislocated.
I would refuse to get undressed now for any medical.
I claimed IB for all of 5 weeks and was pulled in for a return to work interview 2 WORKING DAYS(!) before I was due to go back to work. They knew I had a job to go to, they knew the date of my return, and they knew I was within the minimum recommended recovery period following 3 weeks of rads. But I still had to attend an interview that took place in an open plan office, at a desk about 10-12 paces away from the main entrance. The lack of privacy and confidentiality was appalling. I flatly refused to discuss anything sensitive or personal. I did n’t have to complete the PCA form as I was going back to work. I noticed that on the computer, I was recorded as “unemployed”. When I pointed out that I was not but on long term sick leave, the officer said that that just told him I was in receipt of a benefit. He also told me I was the 4th woman with breast cancer he’d seen that week. Presumably I am now recorded as someone they have helped to find work, which is a total fabrication of their figures. I lodged a formal complaint and submitted a copy of my letter to my local MP. The reply from Jobcentre management included a comment about the process being used to protect public funds. She also commented that due to my “circumstances” they felt that an interview was needed to get more information, despite having sick notes and a report from my GP (and the small novel that I had to complete to claim in the first place. Presumably this is because I am also a single parent and get maintenance from my son’s father. This would take me just outside the cut off point for Income support so if they’d stopped my IB, I’d have got nothing from the state.My MP is taking this up with Jobcentre Plus senior management. He and his assistant felt that what is being done is all about the Jobcentre meeting targets, not about supporting people into work or hwoever else they try to dress it up… They could n’t believe that I was called in for an interview under these circumstances. I also told him about the experiences of other people I’ve chatted to online.My personal view is that this procedure is being used to take benefits away from people and force them back into work before they are fully recovered. I felt that because I’m not terminally ill, I was regarded as an unreasonable claim. It’s an absolute disgrace the way the system goes after people dealing with a life threatening illness. I felt I should have plonked my wig and prosthesis on the desk so that I looked deserving enough. I have always worked, supporting me and my son, including during the times when his father just did n’t pay anything towards his support.
Geraldine
I really wish there was some way we could petition the government about this carryon.It’s disgraceful! Having a life threatening illness knocks enough stuffing out of you without having to run the DHSS gauntlet just to keep the wolves from the door.A lot of us have worked up until our illness yet we are treated like serial scroungers!
Just wanted to add my voice to this one.
I had been on Income support for approx 2 months when I was asked to go in for a medical. Had spoken to Gp beforehand and she was furious that I should be asked to attend.
On the day in question, I was white as a sheet, had a bowl in hand because of throwing up due to chemo, wrapped up in a hat, coat, gloves, three jumpers, scarf, blanket round my shoulders (due to shock to the system due to chemo), and had to rest every three steps. We phoned on the morning of the appointment and was told that it was important that I had to attend that day. Why couldn’t it have been delayed for a few days beats me.
However when the lady saw me, she just said to go home and that I wouldn’t be bothered again for six months. Why they didn’;t just suggest that on the phone I do not know. Yet it seemed that despite Gp writing to them and onc & surgeon also adding their pennyworth, the DHSS did not seem to believe that I was the right person at all. It was a good job that my sister was spoiling for a fight that morning and told them “what for”. She even suggested to the lady how would she feel if it was her going through this. But of course she was told that the lady was “only doing her job”.
I really do feel that the DHSS should be a bit more sensitive to those like us who aren’t scroungers but just ill and wanting some financial support at a time when we most need it.
Good luck to you all
x
Lambkin
just a quick reply called in for a medical 3days after 4th chemo, as a carer for hubby disabled following brain surgery 5 years ago, we have no transport, so had to go by taxi, had to take bowl for being sick, sat for a hour, kept being sick and running to the loo because of the other end!!!know what I mean was told they had lost my file and to go home till next time,well I was in tears hubby upset half the people in waiting room in uproar,asked for my expenses it had cost £20 by taxi to get there and would cost the same to get home told could only have expenses paid when I had seen doctor,they were prepared to phone a taxi for me (how kind) by the time we got home I was a wreck, 2 days later my doc phoned to say they had contacted him, and I wouldnt need to go for a medical for quite a while, no sign of my £40 taxi fares though which I could ill afford to lose
good luck all chris
I was asked to go for my examination last August, at the time I was actually in Hospital, despite phoning and telling them this, they stopped my benefit anyway. This was started again without much fuss, I then went for the examination in October when I only got about 12 points, the joke is had I said I like a wee drink in the morning I would have got 2 extra points, there are numerous other questions which if people gave the “correct” answer they would get the points. I wish I was able to post the se questions on the web to let everyone read them in advance.but my IT skills are not that hot.So after this I was put on reduced income support of £40 per week, thus forcing me to go on the dole to look for a new job.
Its funny how at the same time as all of us are being denied what we have paid into the system for for years all the long term work shy are still scrounging and playing the system. Meanwhile the government can say x number of people came off benefits and went back to work. It makes me really angry!
Next step Ive recently applied for incap benefit (although not holding my breath), my forms have been sent to jobcentre plus but its gone quiet, do they keep you waiting for months or do i have to have an interview?
thanks
Tracey
Use your MP I would suggest to anyone having diffculty claiming IB and being dragged in for these stupid interviews to contact their MP about this. Also Macmillan Cancer Care are campaigning on behalf of cancer patients about the lousy way they are treated. If you check out their website you can find how you can lend weight to their campaign for fairer treatment for cancer patients.
Regards
Geraldine
incapacity benefit I to had trouble obtaining any financial assistance, my
claim was declined as a result of a telephone interview.
I had had chemo the previous day and was really
ill but silly me took the call (8.30am) the lady if you can
call her that assured me that they only wanted to ask
a couple of questions, 35 minutes later her response was “so you are telling me that you are not capable
of grilling a chop and cooking a few vegetable” i was
so stunned by her attitude it was like an interogation,
suffice to say my claim was declined.
During my second type of chemo CMF i suffered a
heart attack and was hospitalised for 15 day, most
of it in isolation as i developed neutropema, the hosptal
advised me to claim for disability living allowance which
i did, this time i did not even have the courtesey of a
reply, i have phoned constantly but have now decided
to forget it, i have worked most of my life and like most
other people have never claimed benefits of any kind.
My company whom i thought had supported me, declined to renew my contract even though i made
every effort to go to the office be it only a few hours
a week., still, moan over, am into my second year
have had my first mammogram and thankfully all
clear the the consultants are very pleased.
As i type this must add am now in a plaster cast
as i broke bones in my foot when i fell walking the dog,
but must add life is great.
love to you all
gillya