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<p>The categories of prognosis that a health care professional can advise as part of the Work Capability Assessment, which have been in place since the introduction of employment and support allowance (JSA) in 2008, are:</p><p>I advise that work could be considered within:</p><p>three months</p><p>six months</p><p>12 months</p><p>18 months</p><p>I advise that work is unlikely:</p><p>Within two years</p><p>In the longer-term</p><p>Decision makers use the health care professional's advice on prognosis to determine when the claimant should be reassessed. Guidance on prognosis is contained in the WCA handbook for health care professionals. This is on page131 here:</p><p>http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wca-handbook.pdf</p><p>The health care professional bases their prognosis advice on their assessment of the claimant, their knowledge of the natural progression of the identified medical conditions, and the time they feel a claimant may need to adapt to their condition.</p><p>In compiling the response to this question it has come to my attention that the answer to your previous question, 12 September 2013, Official Report, column 829-30W, may be unclear. As the above information shows, there is a prognosis advising that work is unlikely in the longer-term but, as the previous answer stated, there is no such prognosis as being unable to return to work in the longer-term. The figures quoted in the previous answer for "claimants with prognosis of two years or more" do however relate to the "I advise that work is unlikely in the longer term" category. I would like to apologise for any confusion this may have caused.</p> |