Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

(asked on 30th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that staff conducting benefit assessments with people suffering from ME and long covid patients are aware of the harmful impact of inappropriate exercise, over-exertion and exposure to light, sound, touch and new environments on those people.


Answered by
Chloe Smith Portrait
Chloe Smith
This question was answered on 3rd December 2021

We have interpreted your question to mean what steps her department is taking to ensure that staff conducting health and disability benefit assessments with people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Long Covid patients are aware of the harmful impact of inappropriate exercise, over-exertion and exposure to light, sound, touch and new environments on those people.

All Health Professionals (HPs) carrying out health and disability assessments are clinically qualified practitioners. They are subject to a rigorous recruitment process followed by a comprehensive training programme in disability assessment.

CFS / ME and Long Covid are medically recognised conditions associated with a range of disabling effects which depend upon the severity of the condition. HPs who undertake assessments on behalf of the department are trained to assess the disabling effects of these conditions, and have access to learning material on both Long Covid and CFS / ME. They do not advise on treatment or management of conditions.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment provider, Capita, developed a Condition Insight Report on Long Covid, which was released to HPs on 17 May 2021, and is utilising Long Covid in scenarios embedded into various training programmes and modules as they are being updated.

PIP assessment provider, Independent Assessment Services (IAS), has a training module on coronaviruses and has also sent out a shortened clinical bulletin to their HPs in March 21.

All Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), who carry out the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and assessments for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB), were issued with a distance learning module on Long Covid in June 2021.

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