Concerned about ESA?

Hello

Changes are daunting at the best of times, but when people don't seem to know what they are doing, it is even harder?

What view point do you feel out the ESA form from?
Do I believe the rumours that are going around about it?
What is the best way to go forward, in order to receive the benefit?

The list goes on....

This is what happens.

They send you a letter stating, that it is your turn to go onto the benefit, in the letter it states, that they will call you, this is simply to explain how it will all work, and answer any questions you may have to ask, the people who ring, are really nice.

If you are housebound, you can have any assessment you need done in your own home, you just have to have a letter from your doctor, that you include with your form, stating that you need an assessment done at home, rather than going out, and the reasons why.

The secret is to put as much information in the form as possible, to include testimonies from friends.  Look at it as a job interview, the assessors want to know, how your illness affects you, as you are applying for financial help, via benefits, instead of applying for a job, you are effectively apply for benefits, they want to know, are you well enough, physically, mentally and cognatively to do an 8 hour day, on a regular basis, if you are not, you need to prove that in your form, if you have a benefits help type agency near where you live, I would recommend you contact them, as they help with getting people benefits all the time, this will give you the best chance possible, once you have filled it in, send it in, with the testimonies, by the date given on the covering letter, they give you a couple of months to send it in, so you can do it bit by bit.

They will then contact your doctor, to find out more about you, and depending on that and the information that you put in the form, will determine, what happens next, if you put enough in, they will input the information into a computer, and that decides, what you will receive. They will then ring you with the result, if you need an assessment, they will ring you, to arrange for the assessment and medical.

How has it worked for you so far, feel free to share, via the comments section.
You can also share your experiences and learn from others at the Afme forum.

I hope this information helps.

Miriam