ME/CFS Support Group

My IB to ESA change over has been successfully completed so I'd just like to say a huge thanks for all the help available on this site.
Using the excellent guides available to members and supporting letters from two great Doctors I've been fortunate enough to be placed directly into the Support Group without having to have a Medical.
The award was received within 3 weeks of posting the ESA50 form to Atos, I was expecting months to hear from them rather than weeks.
I understand that I should now contact the DWP and ask for form ESA85A which will give me more information about the award, is this correct. I also see posts relating to ESA72, do I need to request this too or is it automatically supplied with the ESA85A.

Thanks again to everyone here and hope this small post helps in any way.

Jack

jackmalanak wrote: My IB to ESA change over has been successfully completed so I'd just like to say a huge thanks for all the help available on this site.
Using the excellent guides available to members and supporting letters from two great Doctors I've been fortunate enough to be placed directly into the Support Group without having to have a Medical.
The award was received within 3 weeks of posting the ESA50 form to Atos, I was expecting months to hear from them rather than weeks.
I understand that I should now contact the DWP and ask for form ESA85A which will give me more information about the award, is this correct. I also see posts relating to ESA72, do I need to request this too or is it automatically supplied with the ESA85A.

Thanks again to everyone here and hope this small post helps in any way.

Jack

Hi J,

That is really good news, and quick as well !!

Thanks for letting us know, and also for you kind comments.

Yes, the ESA85A should contain the prognosis, and may also give you an indication of how and why you were placed into The SG.

We are not sure under which circumstances an ESA72 is generated, as some members have received them and some haven't

There will also be an LT54, and there may be an ESA113 if one was sent to your G.P.

You can request the above over the phone, but you may have problems in obtaining them.

We advise that you back up any such verbal request in writing, to make it formal, you could use a SAR, see :

www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/request-for-personal-information.rtf

From this page :

www.dwp.gov.uk/privacy-policy/data-protection/

Here is a list of potentially available : ESA Forms

See also : ESA medical – what forms to ask for?

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

bro58

Hi bro
thanks for the reply but I notice you say "may also give you an indication of how and why you were placed into The SG."
Does the ESA85A definitely give you the length of the award?
Sorry for the extra work bro I'm sure you've answered this a 100 times before.

Thanks again

Jack

jackmalanak wrote: Hi bro
thanks for the reply but I notice you say "may also give you an indication of how and why you were placed into The SG."
Does the ESA85A definitely give you the length of the award?
Sorry for the extra work bro I'm sure you've answered this a 100 times before.

Thanks again

Jack

Hi J,

The reason that I said "May" is that sometimes these ESA85A's are most vague.

They are computer generated, and somtimes state more information with regards to which descriptors you do not fulfill, moreso than the ones that you do.

To gain definite information, you could request on the SAR.

1. The length of the prognosis, and when you should expect to be reassessed.

2. Written reasons of how and why you were placed into The SG, and which descriptors you actually fulfilled.

You could do this in the first instance, or wait and see how informative the ESA85A is .

bro58

are there specific guides for those of us with ME on this site? or are they the general guides for filling in ESA forms and DLA forms. I have to fill in a DLA renewal form and have a new ESA form to return and am overfaced by this paperwork.

I just lost an appeal for my request to be moved into the Support Group from ESA, after my ME got so much worse and I was mainly bedbound and housebound at the time of my last assessment, which was done as an ESA 85 A ie not based on a recent medical.

I have moved GP but I do not think she has any idea of how much time I have to spend in bed. ARe there any documents on this site I could look at to help?

thanks!
cA