Atos and WCA from the carer’s side.

From the facebook page ‘ATOS miracles’, 27th August 2013:


This from a carer who has a disabled husband, double amputee and various other illnesses brought on by a rare life threatening blood disorder..

My husband received the dreaded atos tick box form about a year ago..

i helped him fill it in.. i was horrified at the questions on it like lifting a cardboard box etc.. I mean he probably can when his fingers are not stiff and sore or when he can stay awake long enough due to all the medications he takes or when he is not climbing the walls in agony from the nerve pain he suffers in the stumps of his legs ( not phantom pain ).. I decided to take matters into my own hands and I got a sheet of paper and I wrote down our days and about how his illness affects our daily life.. not much of a life really when the highlight of your week is a couple of hours doing the weekly shop.. I also enclosed his prescription for all the meds and other things he needs.. there are almost 30 items on his repeat prescription.. well the result was that he didn’t have to go for assessment with atos and he was put in the support group and not expected to work.. (as if he ever could).

I know more about my husbands illnesses than our family doctor and his consultant at the hospital will say to me.. I have a new tablet shall we try it and he will give me the name of it and I will come home do research on it and i will decide with consultant if we should give it a go.. 

I am fortunate because without this consultant my husband would have been dead by the time he was 50 yrs old.

So I say to all the carers out there.. you are living with it too.. put your input in because you know more than anyone how this affects your lives.. do not just fill in the form.. tell them how you see it from the carers side.. write it all down and send it with the form..

I hope this helps some of you people out there..