ESA decision

I had my medical on the 10th Jan 2011 and just got a letter advising me of a one off payment that i wasn't expecting.
I phoned and was advised that I had been put in the wrag group and that, as a result. my payment was increased to the higher amount and this one-off payment was for back payments to when I qualified.
The advisor told me that although they recognised that I was unable to work, at present and therefore I could stop sending med certs. It may be possible for me to work in future.
This was this morning and in todays post I got an invite to my first "Pathways to work" interview this Friday.
I have not yet received a letter advising me of any decision and so am bemused by this invite.
My condition is Parkinsons and also early stage dementia, both of which are progressive and basically not treatable.
My point is that neither is going to improve and are more likely to deteriorate so if I am classed as unfit to seek work now, how canthey imagine I may be in the future?
Any comments or advise would be much appreciated.

Hi Bob

I'm afraid your situation is not uncommon.

Basically, under the present Work Capacity Assessment, if you can't walk 30 meters you are placed in the support group. If you can walk 30 meters but no more than 50 meters you are placed in the WRAG and presumed to be able to work at some time in the future, even if you have a progressive illness. How this test was ever created is beyond anybody with reasonable intelligence!

You have the option of appealing but there are risks involved and you would be advised to seek face-to-face advice. If you attend Pathways to Work, your advisor who is allowed to use his/her judgement rather than strictly bound by rules, could decide to defer your interviews if they feel that they would not be of benefit.

Hope this helps

Derek