So yes, had my Work Capability Assessment this morning. I have no idea how it went, it's essentially a lottery, everything depends on whether the 'health care professional' is honest or a charlatan and I've had both so I'm hedging my bets. All I know is I did everything asked of me and knowing the system as well as I do if I fail then the pretty young thing who assessed me should be struck off from whatever nebulous medical position she holds.
For those not in the know it works like this, said 'health care professional' sits in front of a computer pretending to ask questions that they've thought of themselves pertaining to whatever malady you're suffering from. This is a ruse. What they are actually doing is going down a list on their screen of pre-determined 'descriptors', these being tests if you will arbitrarily invented by successive governments to determine you fitness to work. So for example a casually thrown in "Did you get the bus here today?" is actually related to a number of descriptors involving mental and physical health, from how long you can sit to if you can plan journies and travel alone. Every single thing they say is a facade, each question they ask is for the purpose of scoring or most likely not scoring points in the descriptors as they work through the tick box exercise as quickly as possible.
You can however read these descriptors online. You can see them all here.
https://www.sense.org.uk/get-support/in ... scriptors/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The mental health section has 7 in total to cover disorders from Schizophrenia to Asperger's syndrome. Which seems to me like trying to determine how sick someone is by poking them with a stick. But that's what we have to work with.
Anyway I know I easily garner the required 15 points to pass their nonsensical scoring system without gaming the system but it's best to do it anyway. So I gave carefully rehearsed answers to her carefully rehearsed questions. And there was an observer there, apparently from some charity hoping to help make the system more comfortable for people with mental health issues. So that might make the pretty little thing think twice if she was planning on writing up a tissue of lies.
So we shall see. All I know is last time I was failed with 0 points I went to a Tribunal which overturned the decision in less than 5 minutes. So despite the errant behaviour of my brain when it comes to positivity I still feel pretty positive.
So yes, had my Work Capability Assessment this morning. I have no idea how it went, it's essentially a lottery, everything depends on whether the 'health care professional' is honest or a charlatan and I've had both so I'm hedging my bets. All I know is I did everything asked of me and knowing the system as well as I do if I fail then the pretty young thing who assessed me should be struck off from whatever nebulous medical position she holds.
For those not in the know it works like this, said 'health care professional' sits in front of a computer pretending to ask questions that they've thought of themselves pertaining to whatever malady you're suffering from. This is a ruse. What they are actually doing is going down a list on their screen of pre-determined 'descriptors', these being tests if you will arbitrarily invented by successive governments to determine you fitness to work. So for example a casually thrown in "Did you get the bus here today?" is actually related to a number of descriptors involving mental and physical health, from how long you can sit to if you can plan journies and travel alone. Every single thing they say is a facade, each question they ask is for the purpose of scoring or most likely not scoring points in the descriptors as they work through the tick box exercise as quickly as possible.
You can however read these descriptors online. You can see them all here.
https://www.sense.org.uk/get-support/information-and-advice/welfare-benefits/esa/esa-descriptors/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The mental health section has 7 in total to cover disorders from Schizophrenia to Asperger's syndrome. Which seems to me like trying to determine how sick someone is by poking them with a stick. But that's what we have to work with.
Anyway I know I easily garner the required 15 points to pass their nonsensical scoring system without gaming the system but it's best to do it anyway. So I gave carefully rehearsed answers to her carefully rehearsed questions. And there was an observer there, apparently from some charity hoping to help make the system more comfortable for people with mental health issues. So that might make the pretty little thing think twice if she was planning on writing up a tissue of lies.
So we shall see. All I know is last time I was failed with 0 points I went to a Tribunal which overturned the decision in less than 5 minutes. So despite the errant behaviour of my brain when it comes to positivity I still feel pretty positive.