Social Welfare Disabillity Doctor Was A Pig

LegacyUser

Hi all,

I hope this is posted in the correct forum!

I've recently gone to the social welfare in oisin house in pearse st. this week for my pending disability.
Part of my illness was caused by my mothers ill health and effected me and now i have panic attacks heart palpitations and suffer with depression, irritable bowl!

It's quite clear to us all that my symptoms are of a need to claim disability benefit. But the doctor i got was a right Ba***rd - pardon the pun.
I'd only entered the briefing room and he tells my mother to leave the room until he talks to me. Has he a right to decide who enters the room for me as my support?

After being spoke to like i was a piece of **** on the ground - NOTE: he spoke to me in his 'Professional modest' way but with a derogative tone - firing hudreds of questions at me at once to confuse me, if you understand what i am saying.

Doctors are meant to have compassion but this Doctor was from hell.
What can you do in regarding being treated like this? Where can i go to complain about this Doctor? And are these Docs aloud to decide who enters the room, even if they are with me?

I am sick of these Social People thinking they can treat you like ****...
I didn't leave my management job for no reason or to sign on SWP.

Has anyone had these experiences?

Canis Lupus

Maybe there's nothing wrong with ya and he's sick of people claiming disability benefit when all they need is a kick up the h*le..... But then who knows eh? Get the old second opinion and with any luck you'll get on the gravy train.

com7

here here canis thats it gravy train and the taxpayer getting screwed too many people on that disability for no good reason , the doctor is only there to weed the scammers out

Santa Claus

Canis Lupus wrote:

Maybe there's nothing wrong with ya and he's sick of people claiming disability benefit when all they need is a kick up the h*le..... But then who knows eh? Get the old second opinion and with any luck you'll get on the gravy train.

Try and think before you type Canis....replies like that simply make you look ignorant and stupid !
Panic attacks can seriously impare a persons ability to function socially and professionally and make someone incapable of work if the attacks are bad/frequent enough.

The social welfare gravy train as you put it, is about 150 euros a week....hardly enough to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Anyone who's even worked for 2 years paying standard rate tax omn a modest salary would have paid enough tax to fund their own disability benefit payments for a year anyway (approx 7.5k a year from disability payments).

OP, are you on any medication for the panic attacks etc ? If so, then bring this up and talk to the doctor to prescribed these and maybe ask him to write a letter that you can bring along to the medical assesment with his views etc....
You can appeal the decision of a medical officer, if you ring the social welfare they will tell you what you need to do on this.

As for having your mother in the room, they are entitled to see you 1 to 1 if they wish as it's just you they want to assess.

Can you clarify, have you already been receiving disability benefit and they called you in to be assessed for continuing your payments or are you just starting to claim ? (normally disability benefit starts with the payments you get for sending in PRSI certs from a doctor stating you are ill are unable for work/seeking work).

Also, where you in employment directly before your illness or had you been receiveing any benfit from SW ? (this could have an impact if you had been receiving another benefit before as they would be more likely to assess you).

Hope this helps and hope you're trying to get help for the panic attacks!

uoluol

Got to be honest - maybe a little harsh - I have little sympathy for you. I too suffer from IBS ( have been hospitalised several times) and am currently on medication for depression...... but I hold down a full time job.

You also appear to have quite a negative attitude,the doctor was only doing his job. Unfortunately all the conditions that you have do not generally prevent sufferers from working. How old are you? - Did your mother have to go with you to your appointment.

If you feel you were unfairly treated, by all means appeal the doctor's decision - but try and be less negative - try looking at it from the doctor's point of view.

LegacyUser

When I went on disability allowance I did'nt have to go to a sw doctor as my psychiatrist filled in the doctors recomendation at the back of the form. If your seeing a psychiatrist maybe you could get them to write a letter for you.

As for the above poster, I suffer from depression and schizoid personality disorder and it would take more than a kick in the hole to sort me out and get me off the so called gravy train as you put it.

AnnaStezia

Ignore the unhelpful comments. They would not be made by reasonable people if they saw what harm the attitudes of some of these Nazis inflict on vulnerable people who are genuinely ill.

Your experiences at the hands of a SW doctor are not unique. I am aware of a number of people with a particular illness who are given a very hard time by some of these gits so you are not alone.

For balance, it has to be said that some of the SW doctors are good and quite reasonable to deal with.

Appeal. I think that you can appeal further if you still get blanked.

Make a Freedom of Information request for all papers relative to your disability claim. Hoefully, you should get a copy of what the SW doctor said about you as well as a copy of your own GP's comments if they still ask for those. You might be surprised about some GP's say about their patients behind their backs !

@ds get you down.

Persist, as they would just love you to go away !!!!!!!!!!

Zillah

Wait a second.

He asked your mother to leave.
He asked you lots of questions.

Where exactly did he do something innapropriate? The very fact that you say he asked lots of questions to "confuse" you strikes me as if you're a little paranoid. Why in hell would a doctor set out to try to confuse someone he was examining? Did he ask questions you weren't able to give satisfactory answers to perhaps?

Miss Fluff

I Am Guest wrote:

It's quite clear to us all that my symptoms are of a need to claim disability benefit. But the doctor i got was a right Ba***rd - pardon the pun.
I'd only entered the briefing room and he tells my mother to leave the room until he talks to me. Has he a right to decide who enters the room for me as my support?

Yes, he has a right. What did your mother want to sit in for? What age are you OP? Doctor sounded completely professional imo and I'd quit with the narcissism already, I'm sure the doctor had better things to do then to try and "confuse" you.

The Clown Man

Ignore random boards posters and sort it out yourself.

No-one here has a clue what you are feeling/going through only yourself.

I rarely post here but I have seen all this before with a couple of mates of mine.

Don't get too deep cause that ****s your head up but take everything that comes at you in your stride. It's very possible that the doctor who was with you knows exactly what he was doing so ride with it. You have to feel what you think is right and you have to tell him if you think he was wrong but unfortunately you have all this **** to sort out for yourself.

That is the whole issue in the first place so work with what you have and remember there is a lot of people tryng to help you that may not seem like they are trying to help you but they ALL have your best interests in mind. Just trust where you know you should even if you sometimes might feel you shouldn't.

Best of luck. And take it all easy k.

Dampsquid

Have you gone to your own GP about this? You can't just turn up at the socal welfare and claim all these disabilities without having a history.

dudara

We can't really comment on this because we weren't there.

However, it doesn't sound like the doctor did anything inappropriate.And in fairness, being a social services doctor is hardly going to make anyone look forward to going to work.

Cut the doctor some slack, and remember that if your case is genuine, and pre-existing documentation exists with your own GP, then you probably will receive your claim.

lucernarian

Does anyone actually know if doctors usually tell any other people to leave the room like what happened to the OP or is there going to be more bull****e about gravy trains?? €150 a week, what ever will the exchequer do!:rolleyes:

It sounds pretty unusual to me; in my many appointments with GPs, consultants and junior doctors, I've never had no choice but to stay in the consulting room without a parent or friend. Perhaps with issues like disability benefit it is different, but those aren't the words of a sympathetic doctor. I wouldn't get too annoyed about that. People do have bad days and all that.

You may still get the disability benefit, I'm sure the appointment couldn't have been that bad?? Did you respond to the doctor at the time when you felt unhappy with his questioning?

UrbanFox

With respect, I think that OP is getting a bit of an unfair bashing here.

Some people are very vulnerable at medical examinations and do need to be accompanied no matter what age they are ! This is something that is poorly understood by people who have had the good fortune never to be seriously unwell.

Obviously, the companion must not answer the questions or interfere with the assessment. The companion may reassure the patient and act as an aid to memory as there are certain people who will not remember afterwards what they said at an examination because they are so unwell.

Interestingly, medico-legal examinations many years ago took place on the basis of a joint examination at which the claimant's own doctor was present at the examination by the defendant's doctor but that practice fell by the wayside as it was too time-consuming. I don't think that this ever happened for SW purposes.

I think that the SW doctor might have been a bit dismissive in excluding the OP's mum without enquiring first as to why the OP wanted her there. That said, I don't know what protocol those SW guys work to.

There is always the possibility OP that the doctor may well certify you as unfit for work irrespective of the impression you got, so don't get too worried unless that actually happens.

I have a difficulty with the observation " Cut the doctor some slack, and remember that if your case is genuine, and pre-existing documentation exists with your own GP, then you probably will receive your claim." I am aware of a set of people with a particular group of similar conditions who are genuinely ill but many of whom "failed" the SW medical at first instance. They got through another medical on appeal with the same evidence so I would not have too much confidence in the proposition that SW doctors actually get it right.

RainyDay

You'll find details for SW procedures for the medical at http://www.welfare.ie/foi/medassess.html#exam. To be honest, it sounds like a bit of an overreaction on your part. It isn't really his job to be compassionate. He is not there to treat you, just to assess you. I'm not sure if they have a procedure about bringing somebody into the assessment with you. Did you question him on this?

I guess if you want to make a formal complaint, the Dept's normal complaint procedure would apply.

Victor

Sometimes, when dealing with such matters, a doctor will need to act in what may appear to be a harsh manner.

old boy

what aload of ****e, how many of you have been in front of 1 of these people, do you understand what goes on in peeps heads, them guys are unreal, i was examined by 1 who passed me fit for work, i had to sign on for the dole, the dole office gang started laughing when they saw me, the guy who signed me fit for work had to hold the table to stop his hands from shaking, them people have to add the number up, minister for little dough stand up in de dail an says, last month x amount of people were knocked of the sick, (hurrah) what happened them they went on the dole, then they were transferred back on the sick, its a numbers game, if you want me to keep going on just ask, i am for the moment on a disibility pension, its less than the o.a.p. only for sites like boards i would be off my game (maby i am). wait until you meet one of them before you pass judgement, i have been asked to remove both socks and shoes, in case i had a pebble enclosed to hamper my walk, with migraine to look at a bright light, and people complain about the yanks at that place in cuba, what about our own people that have mental and physical probs, meeting the social welfare gestapo.

LegacyUser

I Am Guest wrote:

Hi all,

I hope this is posted in the correct forum!

I've recently gone to the social welfare in oisin house in pearse st. this week for my pending disability.
Part of my illness was caused by my mothers ill health and effected me and now i have panic attacks heart palpitations and suffer with depression, irritable bowl!

It's quite clear to us all that my symptoms are of a need to claim disability benefit. But the doctor i got was a right Ba***rd - pardon the pun.
I'd only entered the briefing room and he tells my mother to leave the room until he talks to me. Has he a right to decide who enters the room for me as my support?

After being spoke to like i was a piece of **** on the ground - NOTE: he spoke to me in his 'Professional modest' way but with a derogative tone - firing hudreds of questions at me at once to confuse me, if you understand what i am saying.

Doctors are meant to have compassion but this Doctor was from hell.
What can you do in regarding being treated like this? Where can i go to complain about this Doctor? And are these Docs aloud to decide who enters the room, even if they are with me?

I am sick of these Social People thinking they can treat you like ****...
I didn't leave my management job for no reason or to sign on SWP.

Has anyone had these experiences?

Hi i know exactly what you are talking about i am DA myself i had a terrable time with panic attacks amongst other things after a armed robery and had to apply for this the dole said i wasnt wasnt well enough and they wouldnt let me sign on i had to apply for this they told me im fit for work .

The guy interviewing me was a snotty old man who like you say threw a 100 questions at me and i really didnt know what to say i told it to him like it was i had letters from doctors physciatrist and even wrote a letter myself for them but they never read it.

I went to osin house about 5 times maybe more was a man or a woman sometimes they were both extremely dismissive i apeald to there head office
went in for a meeting there one of the main people showed him all the stuff i had shown them in osin house and he was apauled that they declined me so meny times and put me on it right away.

I sugest you do the same because the people in osin house a bunch of dismissive baserds i swear they shold be fired all of them.

tallus

Only been there once but my condition was a physical one but I have to say I found the doctor to be very courteous, and I was in and out of the place in a few minutes. I suppose there's a big difference when there's a psychological condition more so than a physical one. That was my experience.

kittenkiller

old boy wrote:

i have been asked to remove both socks and shoes, in case i had a pebble enclosed to hamper my walk, with migraine to look at a bright light, and people complain about the yanks at that place in cuba, what about our own people that have mental and physical probs, meeting the social welfare gestapo.

But surely it would be foolish to just take everyone at their work when it comes to claims like that though?
And if you're claiming due to a problem with your legs, it would be standard to ask you to remove your shoes and socks.

If they didn't try to vet out the fraudsters we'd be in one hell of a mess, surely you can understand that?!

mikemac

old boy wrote:

i have been asked to remove both socks and shoes, in case i had a pebble enclosed to hamper my walk,

What's the problem? If you have a limp of course they need to examine your legs and feet. Everything isn't a conspiracy.

OP, why exactly do you need your mother to accompany you? You state that your problems was partly caused by your mothers ill health.
If the doctor called in your mother and asked what caused your problems would you tell the doctor your mother was part of the problem in front of her?
Somehow I doubt it.

The_Conductor

Its standard procedure if accompanied by a parent to a Social Welfare doctor, for the doctor to request the parent/guardian to leave the room. This is not an attempt to intimidate the patient- its an attempt to get pertinent answers to questions from the patient themselves, rather than the opinion of what is relevant from the persons parent (who inevitably will insist on giving a running commentary with their opinions of what is valid).

Re: getting asked lots of questions in a quick fire manner- its not an attempt to trip you up- its the doctor, who most probably is working on a very tight schedule, trying to get to the bottom of the case as quickly as possible. He wants data from you- not a rambling story. I deal with people like this regularly, if you know where they are coming from and give them what they are looking for- you are in and out of there in no time flat.

Social welfare are, out of necessity, more stringent about psychological conditions- than they are about physical disabilities. IBS or its more serious relative Crohn's Disease- are both difficult to diagnose and from social welfare's perspective, its easier to deal with the symptoms than the illness itself. I am personally aware of a number of civil servants working in Social Welfare who suffer from both conditions and use holiday leave rather than sick leave when they feel unwell- rather than trying to claim social welfare benefits.

The doctor was not trying to trip you, he was simply trying to do his job as expeditiously as possible. A GP may have time to sit and chat with you about how you feel- unfortunately the Social Welfare Doc does not. If you disagree with his diagnosis, there is a process whereby you could be referred to the CMO (or the office of the Government's Chief Medical Officer) for examination. Once again- this is not sitting down in an office and telling a story- its giving short pertinent answers to a series of short probing questions as they try to get to the bottom of things.

S.

Strokesfan

I feel sorry for the OP - many doctors and professionals don't take depression and anxiety as serious as more physical disabilities but it can be just as debilitating. OP I recommend you accept that this doctor has a not very helpful attitude and do what you have to do to get the support you need.

craichoe

TBH I would completely prefer this sort of behavior to weed out the scammers, i know of a few people claiming disability benefit when theres absolutely nothing wrong with them, well .. they can still drink in the pub and stagger home after a feed of drink anyway.

Theres so many people abusing the system out there it has to be stringent !

rickybutcher

I Am Guest wrote:

Has anyone had these experiences?

First of all, treating you like you're a criminal is unacceptable, I would have given the doctor a few pointers on professional decorum and basic human decency and walked out.

Never had an experience but I have a few suggestions if you're interested in doing something about it, it's tough having to "go public" with such an issue, it's a private thing I know. If you know of a few people with the same experience I would approach a journalist about it, he or she might take it up. Though I would make a formal complaint first, see what happens. Your local TD might also take an interest in it, if you're in Finian McGrath's constituency (or even in north Dublin, Finian won't care as long as he gets publicity for raising an issue!) I would approach him, it's a headline issue for him and this area was the biggest issue for him joining the coalition. If nobody complains about it nothing will change.

PeakOutput

rickybutcher wrote:

First of all, treating you like you're a criminal is unacceptable, I would have given the doctor a few pointers on professional decorum and basic human decency and walked out.

he wasnt treated like a criminal he was treated like someone who is looking for money from the state due to an illness the state need to satisfy themselves he actually has...............he needs to prove his claim as far as i know and therefore the doctor needs all the information possible and if the questions prove that people are claiming in the wrong then it is worth having them rather then getting rid of them for the sake of possibly offending a few people

Never had an experience but I have a few suggestions if you're interested in doing something about it, it's tough having to "go public" with such an issue, it's a private thing I know. If you know of a few people with the same experience I would approach a journalist about it, he or she might take it up. Though I would make a formal complaint first, see what happens. Your local TD might also take an interest in it, if you're in Finian McGrath's constituency (or even in north Dublin, Finian won't care as long as he gets publicity for raising an issue!) I would approach him, it's a headline issue for him and this area was the biggest issue for him joining the coalition. If nobody complains about it nothing will change.

stick it to the man and all that what a load of crap, from what is said here the doctor has done nothing wrong and i doubt the op left something out to save the doctors blushes a certain amount of suspicion is necessary

rickybutcher

PeakOutput wrote:

he wasnt treated like a criminal he was treated like someone who is looking for money from the state due to an illness the state need to satisfy themselves he actually has...............he needs to prove his claim as far as i know and therefore the doctor needs all the information possible and if the questions prove that people are claiming in the wrong then it is worth having them rather then getting rid of them for the sake of possibly offending a few people



stick it to the man and all that what a load of crap, from what is said here the doctor has done nothing wrong and i doubt the op left something out to save the doctors blushes a certain amount of suspicion is necessary

Maybe people in Malahide don't need disability benefit but some people are actually genuine and should be treated as such. The doctor can do his job without victimising the patient.

The_Conductor

rickybutcher wrote:

The doctor can do his job without victimising the patient.

Indeed. However from the description the OP gave, victimisation did not occur. Perhaps the OP is used to sitting down and having a chat with his/her GP and gently broaching things in a circuitous manner. The Social Welfare doc is not his GP however- and his duty is simply to assess whether the person presenting to him has a disability or ailment, temporary or otherwise, and whether they should be entitled to social welfare. The doctor is not paid to sit down and have a friendly chat with the person presenting- nor is the person presenting, his/her patient. His job is to diagnose whether the person presenting is entitled to benefits, as expeditiously as possible, and to move on to the next case. Full stop, the end. It is stressful as hell for the person answering all these questions- possibly thinking to themselves that the doctor is trying desperately to trip them up somehow- but you have to accept that its 20 minutes of hell and then its over.

PeakOutput

rickybutcher wrote:

Maybe people in Malahide don't need disability benefit but some people are actually genuine and should be treated as such. The doctor can do his job without victimising the patient.

what has were i got to live got to do with anything??? the fact that you would make yourself appear to be that prejudice in the first place is kinda telling me to disregard your responce in the first place BUT i won't.

there is nowhere in the description of what happened that suggests the op was victimised. all that was said was that he asked me questions in a way i didnt like therefore woe is me and he thinks im screwing the system. as far as i can see he did not say you dont deserve this go back to work did he??? he got the information he needed and he moved on


edit; too slow smccarrick got there first and said it better

Victor

OP, if you want, can you PM me or another PI moderator and I can share an insight that I can't share in public.

rickybutcher wrote:

Maybe people in Malahide don't need disability benefit

rickybutcher, do not make personal comments. Stay on topic.

rickybutcher

In fact it is very much on topic, stop disrupting the discussion. Neither is it a personal comment in any form. It's simply stating a fact, Malahide is an affluent area, I wouldn't imagine somebody who lives there would ever have any need for benefits.

PeakOutput

rickybutcher wrote:

In fact it is very much on topic, stop disrupting the discussion. Neither is it a personal comment in any form. It's simply stating a fact, Malahide is an affluent area, I wouldn't imagine somebody who lives there would ever have any need for benefits.

are you suggesting that money or were you live stops you becoming ill/depressed or disabled in anyway? its a ridicolous statement.

feel free to actually address the issue which is the fact that you said the op was victimised when he clearly was not

Beruthiel

rickybutcher wrote:

In fact it is very much on topic, stop disrupting the discussion. Neither is it a personal comment in any form. It's simply stating a fact, Malahide is an affluent area, I wouldn't imagine somebody who lives there would ever have any need for benefits.

Banned for another idiotic off topic comment
B

UrbanFox

OP, any news ?

mikemac

rickybutcher wrote:

In fact it is very much on topic, stop disrupting the discussion. Neither is it a personal comment in any form. It's simply stating a fact, Malahide is an affluent area, I wouldn't imagine somebody who lives there would ever have any need for benefits.

Tbh, when I think of people suffering from mental illness, phobias or other problems it usually rich successful people. Robbie Williams or Pete Doherty for example. Yes, I know the media doesn't report on your average punter.

All people from all backgrounds suffer problems and just because you're from Malahide doesn't mean you're not entitled to what you help the state provides.
In fact, a person from Malahide is likely paying top rate of tax and private health insurance and then you say have no need or shouldn't claim disability allowance? Odds are, they've paid for it a hundred times over.

LegacyUser

'Think you need to ask the social welfare dept how many doctors they have reported to the medical council for falsely saying someone is sick. if your doc says you are and their doc says you are not one is lying and should be reported .tell the you will ask the medical council to investigate your case. They are a bunch of******* with their good jobs living off the sick'

Victor

I can't see this thread lasting any longer.

---

OP, if you still want to PM me, do.

Demonique

Santa Claus wrote:

The social welfare gravy train as you put it, is about 150 euros a week....hardly enough to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

It's €185 a week, I'm on DA for Asperger's Syndrome.


IMO, they should also be cracking down on the lazy wasters who are on the dole long-term and the brood mares who have 13+ children whilst claiming benefits. (There was UK family featured in First magazine recently. They had 12 children, both parents unemployed, received £44,000 a year in benefits and were given a £500,000 home in an affluent area because their five year old daughter had burned down their council house, and the parents believed they were entitled to more! I'm sure there's plenty of people like this in Ireland)

Hmmmm, I think using social welfare doctors is a good idea. In Britain some GPs were bribed into falsely claiming patients had conditions they didn't have so the patient could claim disability.
One guy who claimed he could barely move received £800 a week in payments. He was filmed going out to work and lifting heavy equipment.