The Countess of Mar tabled a Written Question asking the Government why, in view of the fact that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is classified by the World Health Organisation's mandatory International Categorisation of Diseases as a neurological disease, and that the Government's contract with Atos Healthcare requires a qualified doctor to assess employment and support allowance claimants for CFS/ME, the Department for Work and Pensions stated, in response to a Freedom of Information request of 23 March 2011, that any healthcare professional can undertake such assessments.
In a Written Answer on 14 November 2011, Lord Freud (Minister for Welfare Reform at the Department for Work and Pensions), replied:
The Government's contract with Atos Healthcare requires that doctors are used to assess claimants with conditions that are likely to have complex central nervous system examination findings.
The majority of claimants with CFS/ME do not exhibit such signs and therefore CFS/ME is not on the list of conditions that are required to be assessed by a doctor. However, if a claimant with CFS/ME has neurological signs, they will be passed to a healthcare professional with the requisite expertise.
This rather sounds like doctors are on hand to step in when needed, which is not my understanding of how Atos schedules its staff – with a “spare” as it were. Critical therefore that this need is made claer on ESA50 and when WCA appointment is made.
Is a non doctor qualified to assess whether a person has neurological signs and symptoms? They do appear to be saying they are not. So how can they pre-judge? And as ME is a neurological disease how can some patients not have such signs and symptoms? I think they must be mocking the invention of the mixed cohort NICE created. So when are they going to fix that by insisting these signs and symptoms are required? How about insisting there is objective evidence for them?