Foreword
This training has been produced as part of a training programme for Health Care Professionals approved or appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions Chief Medical Adviser to carry out benefit assessment work.
All Health Care Professionals undertaking medical assessments must be registered medical practitioners, nursing practitioners or physiotherapists who, in addition, have undergone training in disability assessment medicine and specific training in the relevant benefit areas. The training includes theory training in a classroom setting, supervised practical training, and a demonstration of understanding as assessed by quality audit.
This training must be read with the understanding that, as experienced practitioners and Disability Assessors, the Health Care Professionals will have detailed knowledge of the principles and practice of relevant diagnostic techniques, and therefore such information is not contained in this training module.
In addition, this Handbook is not a stand-alone document, and forms only a part of the training and written documentation that a Health Care Professional receives. As disability assessment is a practical occupation, much of the guidance also involves verbal information and coaching.
Thus, although the Handbook may be of interest to non-medical readers, it must be remembered that some of the information may not be readily understood without background medical knowledge and an awareness of the other training given to Health Care Professionals.
Office of the Chief Medical Adviser
March 201
3 Responses
Hopefully, once I’ve managed to increase the upload file size on the site I’ll also put the LiMA v2 software, (the software Atos assessors use), manual up there for download with the file too big currently. I’m working on it at the moment.
Oh for a working copy of LiMA. I guarantee if you run that, you’ll be able to prove that all roads lead to “fail”.
It is interesting that the WCA descriptor for “moving around” is not identical to the proposed one in PIP which ignores pain and discomfort altogether. Any talk of employing “the social model of disability” by DWP and Miller is clearly bullshit; the assessment is based upon measuring ‘functional loss’ in ‘ideal’ “modern working environments” – social constructions rather than in real working conditions. It is possible to identify flaw after flaw with this assessment “methodology”.