SPVA

Hello there first time on the forum,I am ex Forces and i have been receiving a War Pension for about 9 years now,i had my entitlement reviewed 4yrs ago and i have just been informed that i am to have a medical at home to review my situation,which hasn't changed,reading all the remarks / stories on this site has been informative and at times a little scary.My question is do Veterans get treated differently from everyone else? ie:is the SPVA another independent branch of DWP? are the tests etc the same as descibed on this site?.Is the medical just the start?.

Chris wrote:

Hello there first time on the forum,I am ex Forces and i have been receiving a War Pension for about 9 years now,i had my entitlement reviewed 4yrs ago and i have just been informed that i am to have a medical at home to review my situation,which hasn't changed,reading all the remarks / stories on this site has been informative and at times a little scary.My question is do Veterans get treated differently from everyone else? ie:is the SPVA another independent branch of DWP? are the tests etc the same as descibed on this site?.Is the medical just the start?.

Hi,


Firstly the SPVA are part of the Ministry of Defence not the DWP. However they do share some common services with the DWP such as part of their IT system for payment of War Pensions (AFCS payments are made on a seperate MOD system).

The medical board (ie medical) for a War Pension is carried out by the Doctors from ATOS as an addition to the DWP contract. It is made to help to assess the percentage disability and/or award of supplementary allowances.

However unlike the DWP benefits and the AFCS claims where the decision to award/not award is made by lay decision makers, in War Pension claims, the decision is always made by the SPVA's own in-house Doctors (SPVA Medical Officers).

If your condition has not changed then you should not really have anything to worry about. If for some reason you do not get the award you believe you should get, then their is recourse via an appeal tribunal in a special 1st Tier chamber reserved for War Pension/AFCS cases. In the unlikey event you need to go there, advice and representation can be sought from such as the Royal British Legion, RAFA etc. You can also take your case to your local independent Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (VA&PC).

In general though, the vast majority of claims/reviews go through without issue or problem.

Pete - RBL Case Officer and VA&PC member.

Chris wrote:

Hello there first time on the forum,I am ex Forces and i have been receiving a War Pension for about 9 years now,i had my entitlement reviewed 4yrs ago and i have just been informed that i am to have a medical at home to review my situation,which hasn't changed,reading all the remarks / stories on this site has been informative and at times a little scary.My question is do Veterans get treated differently from everyone else? ie:is the SPVA another independent branch of DWP? are the tests etc the same as descibed on this site?.Is the medical just the start?.

adding to what pete has put..and he is the expert but being a WP and having had a medical long time ago but knowing other WP who do have medicals IMO its as if they are different people, they listen to you will read anything you hand them answer many questions you ask (if they can) some of course are outside there remit but will if they can tell you who to ask

its like they have taken a be nice pill before coming to you I do have a question have you asked for a review ? because in most cases, you apply if they awarded first award is for so many years then many times without a visit they do a conditial review without a visit then award indef.... and tell you they will only review again if you can show good reason with evidance ?

Thanks very much for the reply,as far as me asking for a review no i didn't.My last review was 4 years ago,they told me then that i would get a review in 4yrs,i was awarded 60% disability.My condition hasn't changed i think it has worsened not just with age but the doctors are trying to manage the pain by changing the medication every few months.Anyway before going into my woes and problems i thank you very much for your help,i will keep you posted

originaldave wrote:

Chris wrote:

Hello there first time on the forum,I am ex Forces and i have been receiving a War Pension for about 9 years now,i had my entitlement reviewed 4yrs ago and i have just been informed that i am to have a medical at home to review my situation,which hasn't changed,reading all the remarks / stories on this site has been informative and at times a little scary.My question is do Veterans get treated differently from everyone else? ie:is the SPVA another independent branch of DWP? are the tests etc the same as descibed on this site?.Is the medical just the start?.

adding to what pete has put..and he is the expert but being a WP and having had a medical long time ago but knowing other WP who do have medicals IMO its as if they are different people, they listen to you will read anything you hand them answer many questions you ask (if they can) some of course are outside there remit but will if they can tell you who to ask

its like they have taken a be nice pill before coming to you I do have a question have you asked for a review ? because in most cases, you apply if they awarded first award is for so many years then many times without a visit they do a conditial review without a visit then award indef.... and tell you they will only review again if you can show good reason with evidance ?

Well put Dave, ATOS do seem to have a different view on WP's.

Chris wrote:

Thanks very much for the reply,as far as me asking for a review no i didn't.My last review was 4 years ago,they told me then that i would get a review in 4yrs,i was awarded 60% disability.My condition hasn't changed i think it has worsened not just with age but the doctors are trying to manage the pain by changing the medication every few months.Anyway before going into my woes and problems i thank you very much for your help,i will keep you posted

AS this is War Pensions not DWP ask the help line why they keep reviewing you ? has someone on a report commented that you might get better with different medication as I thought these days (under old war pension rules) that you got a 4 year awarded then they did a typr of review where they just looked at your file (it has a name) then you was NOT reviewed again unless you could prove you where worse ?