My DSP Medical Review Experience - what to expect
Oct 28, 2017 14:17:31 GMT 7
itsmylife08, gized, and 2 more like this
Post by fred1958 on Oct 28, 2017 14:17:31 GMT 7
I'm in my late fifties and been on the DSP for over four years. In mid July I received a letter advising that Centrelink was a conducting a Medical Eligibilty Review. I had 3 weeks to provide them with "current medical evidence". I was fortunate in that I had a week's stay in Hospital a few months prior. The hospital uploaded a lot of test results and a comprehensive discharge summary that can be accessed and downloaded through myGov's web site (simply visit the Medicare site). I downloaded the hospital discharge summary and then organized an appointment with my GP ASAP. I warned the receptionist that it would be a long consultation for a Centrelink review. I moved to regional Victoria for financial reasons only a couple of years ago and despite only knowing me for a relatively short time, my doctor was incredibly helpful. He provided a great summary and helped me with a cover letter. If you don't have accesss to a document scanner and computer, find a friend that does because that will make compiling all the necessary paperwork so much easier. I scanned and converted everything to PDF files and uploaded it to Centrelink. This is what was uploaded:
Seven weeks after uploading the documents I received a phone call advising that I had to attend a "Job Capacity Assessment" (JCA) interview at a local Centrelink office. Despite my complaining that it would cause me considerable hardship to attend, the Centrelink caller made no offer for a phone or Skype interview and insisted that I attend in person. I had no choice. A few days later a confirming letter arrived.
Three weeks later I attended the interview and was really stressed and anxious. The interview was conducted by a psychologist despite my condition being physical. She was easy to talk to but offered no insight as to how things were going. The interview lasted about half an hour. On leaving she told me that around 1% fail the JCA and that I'd know the outcome in a week or two.
I received the outcome letter eight weeks later. To my relief it said that I was still eliigible for the DSP but those eight weeks were hell.
If you have any questions that I might be able help with, feel free to ask.
- Centrelink DSP cover page
- My cover letter
including a summary of the functional impact on my day-to-day life due to my medical conditions. - Doctor's report
- Hospital discharge summary
- Letters from various service providers about how they've accomodated my needs.
- Medical consent form
Seven weeks after uploading the documents I received a phone call advising that I had to attend a "Job Capacity Assessment" (JCA) interview at a local Centrelink office. Despite my complaining that it would cause me considerable hardship to attend, the Centrelink caller made no offer for a phone or Skype interview and insisted that I attend in person. I had no choice. A few days later a confirming letter arrived.
Three weeks later I attended the interview and was really stressed and anxious. The interview was conducted by a psychologist despite my condition being physical. She was easy to talk to but offered no insight as to how things were going. The interview lasted about half an hour. On leaving she told me that around 1% fail the JCA and that I'd know the outcome in a week or two.
I received the outcome letter eight weeks later. To my relief it said that I was still eliigible for the DSP but those eight weeks were hell.
If you have any questions that I might be able help with, feel free to ask.