CAPITA and contract information?

[Markb73]

Hi can anyone please help me find out or know if the contract between Capita and DWP mean they have to use medically trained personnel or at least be GMC registered at minimum as they are asking me to go for a medical assessment for pip which i applied for in november 2013, yes long time to wait hey ........

I have sent in a complaint to Capita as i asked them if they provide GMC registered people for this and they said no , when i questioned about the contract some other person rang me said they did not have to be medically trained in any way or registered with GMC for medical assessment, I asked them for that in writing and they sent my case back to DWP saying i refused to co operate, have put a complaint in waiting for reply and their stance on the situation.

If anyone knows anything about this then please let me know as i remember that with ATOS they did have to use GMC at a minimum.

 

Also while i remember they also refused a recorded interview and said they do not have to agree with that also...........

 

Anyone also have any idea of whom in the DWP i send a complaint in writing to thgem as they ignored my phone effort of starting a complaint and some case manager or succh rang me and said they would not take the complaint any further so i am going to put it in writing as im guessing they dont want the time frame my aplication has taken being put into them as a complaint.....

 

Thanks in advance people......

[Mr.P]

You could try a Freedom of Information request over at www.whatdotheyknow.com, but I expect the DWP will cite "reasons of contractual confidentiality" and refuse to supply a copy contract.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Hi can anyone please help me find out or know if the contract between Capita and DWP mean they have to use medically trained personnel or at least be GMC registered at minimum as they are asking me to go for a medical assessment for pip which i applied for in november 2013, yes long time to wait hey ........

I have sent in a complaint to Capita as i asked them if they provide GMC registered people for this and they said no , when i questioned about the contract some other person rang me said they did not have to be medically trained in any way or registered with GMC for medical assessment, I asked them for that in writing and they sent my case back to DWP saying i refused to co operate, have put a complaint in waiting for reply and their stance on the situation.

If anyone knows anything about this then please let me know as i remember that with ATOS they did have to use GMC at a minimum.

 

Also while i remember they also refused a recorded interview and said they do not have to agree with that also...........

 

Anyone also have any idea of whom in the DWP i send a complaint in writing to thgem as they ignored my phone effort of starting a complaint and some case manager or succh rang me and said they would not take the complaint any further so i am going to put it in writing as im guessing they dont want the time frame my aplication has taken being put into them as a complaint.....

 

Thanks in advance people......

 

 

 

On the subject of medical assessments and the competence of those carrying them out your best bet would be to browse through this site and see what the experiences were of claimants who have gone through the process. There have been many examples of such experiences in recent times. I couldn't, from memory, immediately point you to any one specific example without carrying out such a browsing exercise myself.

 

If you have a general complaint about the way in which DWP is dealing with any issue relating to you that you have concerns about there is a procedure in place that allows you to raise and pursue your complaints. In the course of pursuing such a complaint you could ask about and insist on answers relating to your particular concerns about Capita.

 

You will find a summary of that procedure on the link:

https://www.gov.uk/complain-jobcentre-plus

 

Since it is such a brief summary I'll repeat it here for convenience.

 

Complain about Jobcentre Plus

 

Contact the Jobcentre Plus office you’ve been dealing with if you’re unhappy with the service you’ve received - their details will be at the top of any letters from Jobcentre Plus.

 

Explain what has happened, how this has affected you and what you want to happen to put things right.

 

Jobcentre Plus will try to resolve the issue over the phone or deal with your complaint within 15 working days.

 

If you’re unhappy with the response

 

You’ll be asked if you want your complaint sent to the Director General of Operations for the Department for Work and Pensions.They aim to deal with complaints within 15 working days.

 

If you’re still unhappy, you can then ask the Independent Case Examiner to investigate - they’re impartial and this is free.

 

You must not contact the Independent Case Examiner before you’ve received a final response from DWP saying you can do so.

 

If you’re unhappy with the response from the Independent Case Examiner, you can ask your MP to send your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

 

If a mistake has been made

 

You may get a special payment if you’ve experienced unfair treatment or suffered financially.

 

You can get independent advice from Citizens Advice.

 

Lastupdated: 8 January 2015

 

 

If there is anything there that you feel requires clarification please feel free to ask.

 

There is one point in it that I would hesitate to swallow whole and that is where it says:

 

"Jobcentre Plus will try to resolve the issue over the phone or deal with your complaint within 15 working days"

 

The experience of many complainants is that dealing with DWP over the phone is fraught with difficulties, one of which, as you have found out, is that you can be easily ignored and fobbed off. Unless you have the means for recording all communications then it is highly recommended that all communications be in writing. This is because you will need definitive evidence of what you have been told at each stage of the process as you progress with your complaint up the pecking order. Relying on what 'so and so' told you over the phone at some particular stage without evidence of it is not advisable. Those 'so and soes' have been known to lie.

 

The other advantage of insisting on all communications being in writing is that it gives you time to consider what you are being told and then to formulate a considered appropriate response.

[think about it]

Mr P, if they're unlikely to provide a full contract via Whatdotheyknow, might it be worth just asking the question posed by the OP via the same channel. Might be more likely to get a response.

[estellyn]

I think assessors can be nurses, physios etc which would be registered with their own professional body, not the GMC which is for doctors. So Capita are correct.

 

And it's not a 'medical assessment' it's a disability assessment, and it's important to get your head around the difference.

 

In my opinion this is not a sensible fight to be having, save your energy for other things.

[stevemLS]

As far as I can see you don't need the contract, Regulation 23 of the ESA Regs 2008 simply require that the person carrying out the assessment is a healthcare professional - that doesn't mean they have to be GMC registered.