Letter arrived for appointment?
Posted , 9 users are following.
I'm a carer to my son he suffers with Fibromyalgia /Orthostatic Tremors (Neurological Disorder) Depression for at least 9yrs.
He has been on DLA for 8yrs and now have to attend a PIP re-assessment on the 26th October.
Bad days are 5 days a week – very bad days he is unable to even lift his head of the pillow (2 days a week)
Son only goes out to see his doctor which is 10 minutes away by car or visit his sister. Travelling any more than 10 minutes would cause great discomfort , he users crutches or a wheelchair to help him move about.
His primary pain killer is morphine both is tablet form and oral solution.
My problem is for some reason his appointment has been made 35 miles away at 8.45am! - I don’t understand why so far away as assessments have always been carried out either in our home are at a clinic 3 miles away. I will be ringing them up tomorrow in the hope that another appointment can be made to a ATOS clinic 3 mile away... CAN they insist that we have to go to the one allicated in the letter, if that is the case then my son will be in no fit state to answer any question when he gets there!
0 likes, 15 replies
Scally sue-april47
Posted
ATOS ignore any special requirements for the first appointment. It's computer generated and can be up to 90 minutes away. You can change the appointment once. I've done this recently specifying the centre I wanted and that I needed an afternoon appointment - this wasn't a problem.
If you feel he needs a home assessment you'll need a letter from your GP explaining why it is necessary. This can cause more problems than simply changing the appointment. They sometimes ignore the request even if it is supported by a GP. If your son can manage to get to a local centre it's probably simpler to go for that.
sue-april47 Scally
Posted
Thank you Scally
That's a load off my mind, I know we are not the only ones having to go through this, but its making us both ill just thinking about the upset it caused us when fighting to get the higher rates for DLA in 2008.
Even letters from consultants didn't seem to help, it took the doctor on the second home visit seeing son fall to get the last assessment passed.
I must think positive and hope whoever is seeing son will take in the full picture instead of just ticking squares on computor.
les59996 sue-april47
Posted
jackie79930 sue-april47
Posted
elaine34322 sue-april47
Posted
sukes sue-april47
Posted
I suggest you google the venues where they do the assessments and hopefully there will be one much closer to you or even ask if they could do a home visit. Good luck x
AlexandriaGizmo sue-april47
Posted
I was given an appointment an hours drive away and because I can't walk would have needed a wheelchair taxi and as I can't sit for long I would not have managed it, so I rang them and after explaining to them they changed it to a home visit.
How old is your son
alan69274 sue-april47
Posted
sue-april47
Posted
Thank you for your replies, they have been a great help.
I have been in touch with PIP first thing this morning and have had my son's appointment changed to a doctors medical centre only 3 miles away for 3.30pm.
This will be ideal as it is only 10 minutes a way.
sukes sue-april47
Posted
That's brilliant news, well done.
anthony97723 sue-april47
Posted
sue-april47
Posted
I cannot believe it!
Naughty words could flow out of my mouth - so just pretend I have said them....
JUST GOT A PHONE CALL - one hour before appointment for face-to-face interview with ATOS ... son's appointment has been cancelled!
Poor lass at the other end of the phone just didn't no what to say as I was near to tears.
I told her that my son has taken extra morphine so he could attend the interview and has suffered with IBS for the last 3 days, she said she will definitely write this message down so whoever sees it will know what trouble it has caused.
This is so cruel !
Scally sue-april47
Posted
I'm so sorry. I had exactly the same happen with my appointment although I didn't actually hear the message to call them before I left (too much of a panic and too much medication taken to remember to check for messages) so I was told of the cancellation when I arrived. I rearranged and then they changed that one too a couple of days later. My current appointment is for a couple of weeks time but to be honest I'm not convinced it will go ahead, I reckon another call or a letter will cancel it at some point.
I tried to find out why mine was cancelled but they wouldn't say. I've started to think they might double book and then phone people on the day to confirm that they are coming. The message that was left for me was just asking me to call them, not actually cancelling so I think maybe they called others and they just happened to phone back and confirm they'd attend leaving me as the one who was cancelled. Just a theory obviously but there do seem to be a lot of cancellations.
sue-april47 Scally
Posted
Hi Scally, As you have probably noticed it is 3.27am when I am typing this, I'm finally in bed after attending to my son most of the night, His pain never goes away and the cancellation of his ATOS appointmnet hasn't helped with his deppression. Wish I could drag someone out of bed from ATOS to see him now to give them more insight into my son;s illnesses. How can you make someone believe that here are no good days but only bad and very bad days?
les59996 Scally
Posted
It is quite normal for them to double book. It is done that way as there are always those that don't bother to turn up - much like airlines!!
?They excuse they are instructed to tell the claimant is that they have only just been notified that the assessor will not be available. They will never tell you the true reason.