Medical for DWP

[pdjkeelan]

Hi,

Roughly 3 years ago I was diagnosed with social anxiety and immediately put onto a medical sick note as it had become obvious from the previous 5+ years before being diagnosed that something was majorly wrong.

My symptoms were pretty obvious, avoidance, extreme anxiety, shaking, stuttering, anxiety attacks etc etc etc.

Well, 2 years ago I was called for a medical at a building for Department for Work and Pensions, in the middle of Manchester City Centre (who's idea was it to ask someone with SA to go to the second biggest city centre in England?).

Well i had someone to go with me, and it went ok, except on the way back as the friend i went with had to go after we'd arrived at the building and I had to get the bus home, of course while walking to the bus i ended up having an anxiety attack.

Now for this Friday I have yet again been requested for a medical as my 18 month medical sick note expired quite a while ago now.

But i'm VERY hessitant about going as i have no one to go with, no one to drive me and would have to use a public form of transport. Buses would be terrible as I have a huge amount of anxiety while on buses, taxi's aren't so bad but would be extremely expensive considering I live about 9 miles from the city centre.

However I heard if a taxi is needed people can request one and they will pay, is this true? and does it cover people with SA? Or is it only for people with physical problems with their legs etc?

Without a taxi i verymuch doubt I would be able to attend such a medical again, as my social anxiety has actually gotten moderately worse over the past 2 years even though I have been receiving treatments.

[pizza]

Hiya, normally you can request to be visited at home. Try phoning them up and explaining part of your condition is that you can't go out alone.

Also if you need someone with you outside normally, it may be worth trying to claim Disability Living Allowance.

[HIM]

hiya,

you have three options, as follows...

(1) ask for a postponement. phone up the d.w.p. office that arranged the exam. and explain that you are unable to attend on the proposed date because of your medical condition and the requirement it imposes upon you to have somebody accompany you and explain that you can't get anyone to go with you. they should give you another date, without hesitation.

(2) ask for an exam., at home. this is possible but, in my experience, unlikely unless you are physically debilitated to quite an extreme level. it is possible, though (even though the d.w.p. will probably tell you it simply isn't an option).

(3) claim travel expenses. phone the medical examination centre beforehand to find out if they will cover the taxi fare from your house to the centre. they'll cover the fare, up to a certain level, so i guess it's gonna depend on the distance.

personally, i'd recommend that you opt for a postponement. it's always a good idea to have a close friend or family member present at the examination, both, as a witness to the exam. and so that they can contribute information which is supportive of your case.

[pdjkeelan]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I opted for phoning them and asking for the taxi, they've said they can't authorise it over the phone, their Doctor can authorise it after seeing me, or I could get a medical note from my own Doctor to say that I need a taxi and that'll qualify it.

I'm going to let their Doctor confirm it.

I didn't want to postpone because my anxiety is already exceptionally high for this Friday, postponing it so the wait time is even longer would be worse, the same is true for a home visit as no doubt this would take much longer.