AFTER

ATOS ASSESSMENT

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEY

Part 2: The AssessmentMental Health

Results 2012

AFTER

ATOS ASSESSMENT

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEY

Part 2: The AssessmentMental Health

Results 2012

afteratos.com

How was the Assessor?

HOW WAS THE ASSESSORS ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS YOU?

Excellent 0

Very Good 3

Good 6

Acceptable 31

Bad 25

Very Bad 24

None At All 0

Not Applicable 2

Don't Know 4

HOW DID THE ASSESSOR COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE WITH YOU?

Excellent 0

Very Good 2

Good 6

Acceptable 23

Bad 28

Very Bad 31

None At All 0

Not Applicable 2

Don't Know 3

Excellent 0

Very Good 2

Good 0

Acceptable 8

Bad 24

Very Bad 45

None At All 0

Not Applicable 2

Don't Know 14

HOW WAS THE ASSESSOR'S KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR CONDITION?

HOW DID THE ASSESSMENT ADEQUATELY INVESTIGATE AND REFLECT YOUR CONDITION?

Excellent 0

Very Good 1

Good 2

Acceptable 1

Bad 18

Very Bad 67

None At All 0

Not Applicable 3

Don't Know 3

Please Explain and Give More Details

The nurse was working within a very rigid criteria and when I tried to explain or be proactive in expressing my difficulties within this very narrow scope I became very anxious and agitated. The nurse was clearly not trained in mental health nursing as Atos do not employ Mental health nurses as part of their recruitment policy. The manner of questioning from the nurse and the aggressive/defensive stance adopted would also suggest very little or no training of working with people with mental health probs. I am a registered nurse on the learning disabilities part of the NMC register and therefor feel confident in making this appraisal of the assessors performance. I have had 17 yrs experience of working with people with mental health problems and special needs.

Although the assesor seemed friendly and understanding he obviously didn't really understand as the medical result showed.

found communication from assesor bad, not always understand clearly what he wanted, and was made worse by being very emotional throughout the interview, even though on my medical form he said i was calm, the answers he put on the report was totally different to what i said, and this happened on the previous occasion when i had assessment with this assesor he did exactly the same with questions and did not write I the answers given by myself.i currently see Dr Wells, and Clare Coulson at Chronic Fatigue clinic at sunderland royal and i advised them that assesor put answers on form that i had not replied with these answers, they advised me that they hear this frequently. having this illness is bad enough without all the stress etc with having to deal with this also.

she went as far as telling me to put my parents into care, and that caring and voluntary jobs are not work. at the time I was a disabled carer and and under a lot of stress and suffering from sleep deprivation and living on dyhydracodeine phosphate for pain

All information given was passed as a result of the assessors need to fill out a form/tick boxes. When writer gave seemingly relevant infrmation writer was continually pulled back to the needs of the assessor to fill out the form appropriately.

The questions asked were not relevant to my illness apart from when they asked about symptoms. Also they ask questions so thay you answer yes or no and I didn't know at the time to give a full answer of why I can't do something or can't do something consistently. Questions such as what TV progs do you watch, should be answered that you can't concentrate fully on progs and watch them in parts and have to move about as your in pain-I just told them what I watched without giving them a full answer that reflects my illness. I was naive and didn't fully understand what they were asking about as it is not like a professional medical. I understand that some assessments should be carried out by a doctor, not a nurse or physio for some neurological conditions.

no assessment required

The assessor, although young, seemed to be switched onto the problems of having unstable mental health and low energy. Her questions made me feel that I was being listened to. My partner was there and she was engaging with him too. This was a second assessment after my incapacity benefit was withdrawn in October 2010. During that assessment I also felt the asessor knew what I was going through. In both assessments the report I received afterwards bore little relation to what happened in the interview. For example, I stated I could not concentrate, yet the report says my concentration is unnaffected.didin't listen, just looking at clock

assessor just sat behind a desk and barked questions at me, which caused me to have a panic attack, to which she told me to "stop messing about“

VERY RUSHED AND VERY QUICK -NOT TIME TO GIVE ENOUGH DETAIL. BLAMED THE DWP FOR MAKING APPOINTMENTS SHORT AND NOT GIVING ENOUGH TIME WHEN IT IS ATOS STAFF WHO FIX THESE. DID NOT GIVE MY HUSBAND TIME TO FULLY ANSWER QUESTIONS BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT ONES. IN FACT THIS SO STRESSED MY HUSBAND OUT HE ENDED UP IN HOSPITAL THE FOLLOWING DAY FOLLOWING A COLLAPSE WHILE OUT.

he didnt look at me was more interested in tapping way on pc,he also lied

My brother simply cant remember,because he had taken Diazipams in the morning so that he did not suffer one of his panic attacks which are terrifying for him.

HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE MEDS WERE OR THE CONDITIONS

Total disregard for anything I told him, stated complete opposite of anything I told him about my depression and incontinence, embarrassed me further by calling in a lay member of staff to witness physical examination and then discussed personal issues in front of her

He wrote the exact opposite to every question he asked me. He laughed at me because I was unable to do things he was asking of me. And when I opened my eyes he was rolling his eyes at the "nurse" and I felt ridiculed. Infact afterwards I felt violated and got drunk even though I dont drink.

The assessor was said to be a 'Dr' on the appointment letter but he did not introduce himself. I tried to explain how my conditions affect me but he was not interested & wanted only answers which fitted his questions. He was I think Polish by his accent & I think that his knowledge of english may well have been limited.

She knew nothing about my illness. In fact she said, 'I have never heard of your condition, tell what happens'. She completely used the LiMa system to guide her through the assessment, had she any knowledge of my condition she would have overriden the pathways. She said I had normal movement of my limbs because they only assess stiffness up 'normal' full range and do not have any tick box for overflexibility to cater for limbs that go beyond normal. She said I sat for an hour but ignored that I fidgeted for the whole time even though I stood up for the medical she had me stand up for the medical. She did not tell me that I could get up and move around if I was in pain, I just kept using CBT techniques to keep me seated knowing full well I would suffer for days afterwards. She did not ask about any personal adaptations that I may have to allow me to walk without falling over, ie using walls to brush against so that you know where you body is in relation to the floor and so rerported that I walked from waiting room to interview room without any difficulty even though I used the walls to keep me upright. She had absolutely no idea about the disabling difficulties that someone who is hypermobile faces - the prime attitude to disability is an inability to move and so I felt like I was a lamb to slaughter. She asked very little about my mental health problems and because I'm intelligent and articulate did not see any mental incapacityIt was a diabolical assessment, a monkey could sit there and press buttons with more success, in my mind's eye I could see

She did not write what I said but the opposite. She knew I had complained about a previous examination despite me being assured she would not.

the assemt did not relate to my difficultys and my attemts to describe how my conditions effected me were not lissened to. the assessor did not seem intested in the difficutys and her attude inhanced the angsity i was feeling, also no notice was tacken of the difficutys i had concentrating on the assesment. the cognitive abilirty test was also conpreatly unsuterbal as it did not asses cognitive ability only short term memmory which in dislexis is uncommanly good so masks the real problems.

Due to my dissociation I was unresponsive for parts of the assessment, therefore the person conducting the medical spoke to my partner during these times. She was quite nice and gave me time to calm down from a panic attack before starting to ask me questions.

No eye contact. No personability. Cold. Report very inaccurate.

The assessor knew nothing about my conditions, and wasn't very respectful with regards to my mental health condition - because I hadn't gotten a 100% diagnosis from a consultant it felt like I was being frowned upon, when I did present the letters the assessor didnt even read them or look at them - instead they were more focused on typing. I constantly asked the assessor to rephrase questions as I was having trouble understand from the fibro fog, and it felt the asssessor was getting very impatient; I was unable to do many of the physical tasks asked of me

The assessor seemed pleasant enough and I thought he was sympathetic, which made the award of no points all the more shocking.

She ignored everything that I had to say and completed her tick boxes in a random fashion. She also knew nothing at all about my condition; so I was compelled to explain it to her in addition to the distress of explaining its impact upon my ability to work- only for her to take no notice of what I said when it came to completing her form. By the end; I was too exhausted to complain upon finding that the form reflected nothing of what I had said.

On my initial assessment 8/3/11, I was told they could not continue and I had to see a doctor who was trained in Neurology, so a further appointment was amde for 3 weeks time. When I eventually saw the doctor at my second appointment, he kept me waiting 35 minutes beofre I was called in. He just shouted my nameand then disappeared back into his room, leaving me looking for the correct room to go in. Once in the room with him, he asked me what seemed random questions, but didn't seem to be listening to my replies. I told him that I couldn't manage on a daily basis, the problems I had showering, prepairing food, sleeping and he scored me 0 points on all accounts. I wouldn't mind if I was capable of completing all the things he asked me to do, but I couldn't. I provided ESA details of my doctor and the physio I was seeing, so they could have got further evidence from them to support my claim.

The assessor stated my aspergers started 10 months prior to the assessment - it's a lifelong condition, so that says all you need to know about their capability to assess someone. Given that an assessment for aspergers can take months, one 45 minute session is completely useless.

As with the questionnaire, the assessment is based on general abilities, and takes no account of fluctuating conditions such as depression and anxiety. The scores of the assessment were always based on the fact that sometimes I am able to undertake the functions, rather than there may be equal amount of time that I cannot.

I thought the Doctor was listening to what I was saying but on the completed assessment form, he had put untruths and ignored some of what I had said. He claimed to have examined my neck, when in fact he had not touched it. He also said that there were no problems with me raising my legs from a lying down position, when I had never been asked to lie down. To examine my back, he merely lifted my blouse and quickly put it down again. I told him that I had fallen down the stairs and he recorded 'no serious falls or injuries'.

Avoided questions that actually was in line with condition used one off events for daily activities. Was overly polite and friendly - patronizing at points

A most unpleasant man who did not look at me at all, but only at his computer screen. I was made to feel very humiliated. No respect was given or even friendliness. I would not give this person a job dealing with people at all. I cried afterwards.

my first assessment was awful. no thought given to mental health issues incurred by mastectomy. wasnt listened to.

As I suffer from mental health issues and chronic pain problems I felt that the assessment should reflect that in the questions asked. I have a lot of symptoms not covered by the current questionaire. Not only that but I feel I was hurried over things. Since recieving my letter saying I am now fit to work I realised some of my 'yes' answers have been ticked 'no'. I am currently too ill to appeal and suffering bereavement so I don't know what to do.

Dr asked more questions about the frozen shoulder problem rather than the stroke.

The assessor was patronising and insincere, claiming to have taken on board what I had said, despite entering the opposite to the truth in many cases. For example, I cannot watch television due to poor concentration, but she put "has no problems watching TV", despite there being absolutely no way she could have seen any evidence to contradict my statement from an interview at an assessment centre.

I was just asked yes or no questions, not if I was in pain etc which I was.

Although I told them every thing about my condition they never listened and basically made it up as they went along

More interested in steering my responses to assist filling in fields on the computer program than actually listening to what I had to say

The assessor was struggling to stay awake in the dingy, stuffy room. He clearly had no idea how agoraphobia affects people, deespite my explaining my problems very clearly.

Actually told me I had Asperger's rather than autism so he diagnosed me with a different condition! Made my mum shut up so she could not tell him about my disability. I told him I was not good with numbers and maths.

No idea about impact of Asperger's on my and my life and my problems with social interaction - told my mum to shut up and made me talk to her myself when I have a communication problem. I was very nervous.

Indian Doctor with poor spoken English very difficult to understand Did not take into account my conditions very poor medical examination, he either misunderstood or deliberately ignored my conditions, would NOT read copies of letters from several Consultants, doctors, surgeons, and would not let me leave copies with him

The assessor was not a psychiatric specialist. no cognitive tests were carried out. the examination lasted 17 minutes, both physical and mental. The assessment did not address how the illness affects my every day life.

He did not make eye contact with me, spoke down to me, pushed me to carry out movements I could not do comfortably, asked me the same questions several times and wrote down statements that just weren't true, twisting my words and in some cases he just ignored everything I said and completely lied.

My answers were yes and no, he did not ask for details.

The assessment itself is too rigid to assess for fluctuating conditions such as M.E.; I was pushed to give answers to questions that I could not answer. For example, what time I got out of bed or went to bed; I have no routine, as my condition is constantly fluctuating. She did this throughout the interview. She appeared to believe that M.E. is a mental condition (it is a neurological condition). When it came to the physical examination she rushed through it far too fast for me to inform her of any pain or discomfort I experienced throughout, and dismissed me when I tried to inform her afterwards. She has then lied regarding what I was able to do in her notes. She had a generally unpleasant attitude towards me; I felt like an object in front of her, as if I was wasting her time and didn't deserve to be there.

The paper work that came back after failing was so inacurate that we honestly thought they had sent the wrong persons information.

Home visit left the front door wide open arrived at the wrong time ahead of my carer and assaulted me whilst carrying out a spinal examination across a two seat sofa then wandered off around my home finally leaving me stranded where i lay after instructing me to report him to the people dealing with my claim and not his employers. Falsified almost the entire form and accused my carer of having caused the injuries to me. Complaint about above forwarded to DWP/DLA and Atos was never responded to.

more interested in not gathering the facts.

She was rude,abrupt,very forcefull in to getting answers when I didn't know the answer,she made me feel I was something she had stood in, she even made my friend so upset she was shaking, & my friend has never suffered with her nerves, she was disgusted at the whole medical & still talks about today, so you can imagine how bad I was,after the medical we were so confused we could not find out way out & had to ask nurse Eileen clover 3 times the way out ,she also told lies on the report she said I had a normal had shake when she didn't even shake my hand, she asked if I had a mobile phone I said & she put I could reliably take a phone message, she said i had been ill for 8 years when it 18 years at the & was wrtten on my form,if they have nothing to gain why tell lies , something serious needs to be done as these are not fair assessments & are surely against your human rights to be treated this bad,

knew nothing about depression and anxiety; did not do a proper physical examination (although claimed to do so on report). If he did he'd have seen that I do have arthritis in both legs and yet he said in the report that my leg movement was normal.

I was horrified to discover that I was expected to let a none qualified person give me a physical examination. My assessor was a former pharmaceutical rep and was delighted that he recognised the name of one of my medications but otherwise appeared to have no medical knowledge.

It was a cursory examination. THe guy didn't seem as horrible as other's have from their experience. But in my case that wasn't the issue, it was the overall decision making process and the scoring system that informs it. It is very superficial. Also ATOS entirely screwed up the appointment process which led to temporarily (thankfully it was sorted out before any loss of benefit) lose my claim. When I complained the guy dealing with the compliant refused to adhere to the spirit of the rules merely the letter and laughed down the phone.

I got the impression that he did not seem to know much, if anything, about fibromyalgia and was not interested in the possible Asperger's as I have not had a formal diagnosis (my old GP was useless in this respect). The subsequent report was so false and inaccurate that I had to check it was my name and national insurance number on the front because it was so wrong that I thought I had been sent someone else's by mistake.rude, abrupt and dismissive

ASSESSOR SAID MY DETAILS WERE INCONSISTANT WITH ANXIETY ATTACKS. THAT BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN IN HOSPITAL OR ON A CERTAIN DRUG THIS MEANT I HAD MILD SYMPTOMS. OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T KNOW THE DRUG I'M ON IS FOR ANXIETY DISORDERS AND DEPRESSION. SAID I HAD NO PROBELMS WITH CARRYING OUT EVERY DAY TASKS AND SOCIAL SITUATIONS AND NO PROBELM CONCENTRATING ETC WHICH IS TOTALLY WRONG. SHE COULDN'T HAVE READ MY FORM BEFORE I GOT IN THE ROOM AS IT STATED ALL THIS ON IT. WAS GIVEN 12 POINTS BUT SAID ALTHOUGH THEY ACKNOWLEDGE I HAVE A MENTAL DISABILITY I AM CAPABLE OF WORK AND STOPPED ESA. DOCTOR SAID I COULD RETURN TO WORK IN THREE MONTHS OR LESS. I HAVE HAD AGORAPHOBIA SINCE I WAS 12 AND TREATED FOR PYSCHIATRIC PROBLEMS SINCE THEN NOT SURE HOW IT CAN GO IN THREE MONTHS. DIDN'T ASK MY PSYCHIATRIST, GP OR COUNSELLOR FOR ANY INFORMATION.

The assessor told me not to worry .. seemed very sympathetic and said she had 3 similar cases like myself that day. I asked if there was a risk to the payment until they send the report. She said no, as how can they when I have no other income. Her assurances put me at ease and she did not get to see my anxiety. Yet the report came that I had zero points on all fronts, cancelling my benefits retroactively 2 months back due to her assesment where she ignored all the info I gave.

All questions were rushed and she kept interrupting as she couldn't seem to type and listen at the same time. Very few probing questions about limitations.

Assessor seemed more concerned with the physical tests even though i stated that i had no great psychical issues.

The assessment (which i was told should last an hour) lasted 20 minutes after starting more than half an hour late. She didn't introduce herself or wear a name badge. When asked if she had experience with mental health conditions she replied "I have experience with assessments" When asked for her qualifications she replied "You dont need to know that, this assessment is about you" When i eventually recieved a copy of the test, the answers written bore no resemblance to the answers i gave. There were several statements which were outright fabrications, and which were directly converse to the facts.

effectively ignored pretty much everything I said. For example I told him that I had been allocated a disabled flat on the 11th floor of a lifted block designated for the elderly and infirm. His report stated I could climb 11 flights of stairs. he took no notice of the impending surgery. He made no mention of my mental health issues. he made no mention of the chronic side effects to medication.

i have had 2 bad experiences and 2 ok, this one mentioned was ok, i thought she understood but the questions are not designed for anyone with m.e and i've been told again there is nothing wrong, but it's totally illogical that they allow benefit, then don't then do then don't, my illness has not got better, i was coping better with it and less depressed at one stage but i wasn't recovered at all, but they can't prove i got better any more than i acn prove i was ill, they are going to have to take my word for it, i am NOT lying to all my friend and family, i have doctors and did have specialist support, they don't take into account how awful i feel 24/7, how much i'm struggling, pushing myself to the limit everyday, how i am AFTER dong something, how it is like a snowball effect, yes i take my daughter to school, but i would rather die than not do my best for her, she and the housework take up everything i've got, with only a tiny amount when i'm lucky to see family or do something small, results made me so angry, they can get away with it, claiming there is nothing wrong

The assessor was kind but the experience was very traumatic as she wanted to know in depth the reasons behind my mental illness which include abuse, bereavement, rape and trauma. This left me feeling quite suicidal after the interview as it brought up intense feelings.

The assessor did not accept my answers to his questions, insteed he tried to bully me into accepting his answers. None of my answers were taken at face value. His medical knowledge was very poor, I used to work as a registered nurse, so I was able to evaluate his medical knowledge which was exceedingly lacking in all areas.

as I said before about the stairs, it went on like that from there. He let the door slam in my face so I had to open it by myself and it was a big old heavy door. Well as I can't push things I usually use my bottom, I managed to turn the handle and then walked in the room backwards, so he put that I could open doors fine, he deliberately dropped my stick so I had to get it and then put that I could bend down and stand up fine, even though I had to use the table for support. He also had me trying to touch my feet, even when I said I probably could (hypermobility) but that I wouldn't be able to get up again, he just said he wanted to watch! He wanted me to sign a form so I got out my big fat pen & that went down as normal too. When I finally managed to get his report from DWP I cried, it was all lies, he had written everything wrong, even things I had said were twisted out of context.

the assesor didnt delve deeply into what may happen to me in the future and couldnt give an explanation of why my liver is still deterorating. they seemd to invstigate and ask alot of questions but the results i got back they cant have been mine. they had a lot of information wrong about my mental condition and all the negative consequences of that.

i didn't feel that she listened to any thing that me and my representative said or take into account any of the information that had been provided

I was fortunate and had an assessor who seemed to note down EVERY word said

SHE WAS A CON ARTIST PURE AND SIMPLE....SAME AS LAST TIME...SHE ASKED QUESTIONS I ANSWERED AND SHOULD HAVE GOT AROUND 60 - 80 POINTS ALL IN ALL...GOT 6 POINTS ON A DIFFERENT POINT TO WHAT I GOT 6 POINTS FOR LAST TIME...A TOTAL JOKE SHE EVEN TOLD ME TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF AND SEEMED TO FEEL VERY SORRY FOR ME..PERHAPS THAT WAS BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING TO FIND ME FIT FOR WORK AND KNEW IT WOULD PROBABLY TIP ME OVER THE EDGE....BUT STILL SHE DID IT EVEN THOUGH I ANSWERED ALL THE QUESTIONS AND SHOULD HAVE GOT ALL THOSE POINTS SHE IS A LIAR AS WAS THE LAST ASSESSOR....MY FRIEND WAS TOLD AFTER THE ASSESSOR STOMED OUT OF THE ROOM THAT SHE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE NOTES....MY FRIEND ASKED HER QUALIFICATIONS AND SHE STORMED OUT AGAIN!!! SHE CAME BACK WITH A PIECE OF PAPER SAYING ANY NOTES COULD NOT BE SUBMITTED IN EVIDENCE IT WAS QUITE THREATENING TO BE HONEST...HOWEVER MY FRIEND AND I FELT I HAD DEFINITELY PASSED THE MEDICAL AS I SHOULD HAVE SCORED ON EVERY QUESTION BUT SURPRISE SURPRISE SHE LIED ALTHOUGH SHE SEEMED TO BE TYPING A LOT WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY TYPING!

The Doctor really did not engage with me just typed whay had been saying.. I offerd the Paperwork to him. At the end of the interview he said I would need to be seen again.. He made a request for me to get on the couch I declined. He used I felt a trickploy where I turned quickly due to someone knocking the window outside.. I was asked to read his comments and to sign the document although I could not really read his writing but as this was my first assessment I was unaware what this really meant and what he had written was inaccurate as to my back injury being healed within 90 days .. This was Impossible as I fell heavy down metal edged stairs and moved the discs to my back out of place which are slipping down the back of the neural space pressing on the spinal chord causing thepressure on the nerve to cause referred pain to my foot on the left hand side.. This a Work related Injury and I have had absolutely NO support in nearly 4 years from the NHS.. I was a trained Nurse now retired out after 33 yrs service on part time pay from this injury...

Very friendly, but as this was my 3rd assessment, I know now that they try and trip you up, twisting your answers

assessor did not believe that i could not do certain movements and tried to trick me several times. it was ridiculous and he got exasperated when i told him i could not do certain movemnts. he also did not believe that i did not engage in much activity during the day - i told him that being sick was the major activity which meant hobbies etc couldn't exist in the same way as they would if i were well.

Poor english. Spoke quiet. Didn't assess properly at all. More a consultation. Didn't ask appropriate questions / seemed intersted in anything but script. Clearly spinning it out - tapping keyboard. No examination but somehow took measuremments and made observations. Can't be from medical consultant as not had one in 20 years as I stopped wearing spinal brace as too restrictive. Not sure turning up made a difference! Better not doing.

The lady was not very good with the english language. She didnt ask me how my conditions affected my life. I was in there for ten minutes. During one examnination i cried due to the amount of pain she caused.

I have lymphoedema and she thought that it would get better, anyone who is a physiotherapist should know that this is incurable! It was clear that this was also not her ground of expertise when discussing depression, and she tried a few times to trip me up on various things, but when you have severe clinical depression the answers will always be the same, she had no real knowledge of that or anything it seemed. She came across as she was like my best friend, but it was obvious she was just trying to make it look like she cared.

AFTER

ATOS ASSESSMENT

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEY

End of Part 2Mental Health

Results 2012

AFTER

ATOS ASSESSMENT

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEY

End of Part 2Mental Health

Results 2012

afteratos.com