DWP has a cure for arthritis

As5567

I had my PIP decision today in the post, according to them my condition isn't considered to be life long and could change from time to time, due to that reason my reward will be reviewed every 3 years. Not sure if that's something I should laugh about or be upset about, when I call to make the appeal I will be asking them about this cure they have.

They have awarded me the standard care rate and standard mobility rate. The mobility part is what I will be appealing against.

It will be interesting to find out who says my condition isn't life long, I know that the woman who did the assessment at my home had no idea about AS and was going to "google it" Maybe she found one of those cures on Google

EnglishRose63

As5567 wrote:

I had my PIP decision today in the post, according to them my condition isn't considered to be life long and could change from time to time, due to that reason my reward will be reviewed every 3 years. Not sure if that's something I should laugh about or be upset about, when I call to make the appeal I will be asking them about this cure they have.

They have awarded me the standard care rate and standard mobility rate. The mobility part is what I will be appealing against.

It will be interesting to find out who says my condition isn't life long, I know that the woman who did the assessment at my home had no idea about AS and was going to "google it" Maybe she found one of those cures on Google

Haha that made me giggle..she actually had to google it? Oh wow! It’s not 'curable', it is lifelong and we have to live with it. Good on you for wanting to appeal. Have you contacted them about a mandatory reconsideration? This is what I would do first. Good luck X

stickywicket

It sounds as if your assessor was pretty clueless and maybe hedging their bets.

It would be nice to think it wasn't lifelong :roll:

I wonder (to play Devil's Advocate) if there was a feeling that there might be some improvement along the way rather than just decline.

Anyway, good luck with the appeal.

Starburst

I only got my blue badge for 3 years due to similar reasons. Being chartiable, I like to assume it's because those who assess think the current physical presentation is due to active arthritis inflammation. In my case (and many other people's cases), it isn't "just" active inflammation that needs the right treatment to settle down, as bone and nerve damage has already occurred and sadly, that will never improve.

Best of luck with your appeal.

dreamdaisy

There's another way to look at it - if things worsen (whoever forbids) then you may be eligible for more financial help. I am aware that I should contact the DWP if things worsen, well, they have but I don't want to rock my particular DLA boat, not until I have to!

We know that 'getting better' (as others understand it) is not an option, and I think it's always been the case with BBs that you have to re-apply every three years - a nuisance for us but some people are granted them to help with recovery from broken limbs etc. One can only hope they hand them back once they're better. DD

As5567

I'm glad that my first stage in the appeal is finally done and dusted. I cant be the only one who finds calling the DWP frustrating and annoying!

dreamdaisy wrote:

There's another way to look at it - if things worsen (whoever forbids) then you may be eligible for more financial help. I am aware that I should contact the DWP if things worsen, well, they have but I don't want to rock my particular DLA boat, not until I have to!

We know that 'getting better' (as others understand it) is not an option, and I think it's always been the case with BBs that you have to re-apply every three years - a nuisance for us but some people are granted them to help with recovery from broken limbs etc. One can only hope they hand them back once they're better. DD

I don't blame you not wanting to contact them, the new PIP assessment is utterly unfair, I can see that the assessor has assumed that I have no problems lifting my arms around simply because she asked me to drink out of a glass that was next to me during the assessment. I'm waiting to see what has cost me on the mobility section, the assessor has put I can walk 50-200M unaided without any problems, when she asked me to walk unaided in my home she had to tell me to sit down and could "see" that I'm in considerable pain walking just 3M which she measured. Something has either got mixed up along the way or I have been duped by something silly.

Starburst wrote:

I only got my blue badge for 3 years due to similar reasons. Being chartiable, I like to assume it's because those who assess think the current physical presentation is due to active arthritis inflammation. In my case (and many other people's cases), it isn't "just" active inflammation that needs the right treatment to settle down, as bone and nerve damage has already occurred and sadly, that will never improve.

Best of luck with your appeal.

I'm not sure if its the same with every council but the person who "medically" assessed me was the same lady who sits behind the desk doing the admin work, makes me think what if any medical training they have had. I don't even have a valid blue badge at the moment because my DLA claim ran out and I was waiting for a decision for my PIP to be made so my local council requested that I have a medical examination, but because the office where they issue blue badges in my area is in the middle of a town shopping centre I wasn't able to get to the place to actually complete the assessment, just makes me laugh sometimes at how stupid some things are.

I'm fairly confident that I will get the outcome I think I deserve from the appeal, if not then off to a tribunal I go. One look at me and you will see I can't walk 200M unaided without discomfort, if I could walk that far I sure would not be claiming any sort of disability benefits!

stickywicket wrote:

It sounds as if your assessor was pretty clueless and maybe hedging their bets.

It would be nice to think it wasn't lifelong :roll:

I wonder (to play Devil's Advocate) if there was a feeling that there might be some improvement along the way rather than just decline.

Anyway, good luck with the appeal.

I think most of the medical assessors are clueless and not up to the job, would be nice to think when they say medical assessor it would be a doctor or a nurse with lots of experience, but from some research I have done a medical assessor can be anyone with no medical background before which has just been given in house training on how to asses medical conditions and then conduct a report into his/her findings.

EnglishRose63 wrote:

As5567 wrote:

I had my PIP decision today in the post, according to them my condition isn't considered to be life long and could change from time to time, due to that reason my reward will be reviewed every 3 years. Not sure if that's something I should laugh about or be upset about, when I call to make the appeal I will be asking them about this cure they have.

They have awarded me the standard care rate and standard mobility rate. The mobility part is what I will be appealing against.

It will be interesting to find out who says my condition isn't life long, I know that the woman who did the assessment at my home had no idea about AS and was going to "google it" Maybe she found one of those cures on Google

Haha that made me giggle..she actually had to google it? Oh wow! It’s not 'curable', it is lifelong and we have to live with it. Good on you for wanting to appeal. Have you contacted them about a mandatory reconsideration? This is what I would do first. Good luck X

What would we do with google? Probably the most helpful and dangerous tool about, she probably came across one of those stupid websites that claim to cure all sorts if you take their special pill or purchase their secret diet. I phoned DWP today and asked for the mandatory reconsideration, it's just a matter of waiting for an outcome now. If that's not in my favour then I will take it to the next stage or if needs be to a tribunal

EnglishRose63

[/quote]
What would we do with google? Probably the most helpful and dangerous tool about, she probably came across one of those stupid websites that claim to cure all sorts if you take their special pill or purchase their secret diet. I phoned DWP today and asked for the mandatory reconsideration, it's just a matter of waiting for an outcome now. If that's not in my favour then I will take it to the next stage or if needs be to a tribunal[/quote]
Did you get a result yet hun?

As5567

I'm awaiting a date for a tribunal, the reconsideration was a total waste of my time and effort, they simply do not listen nor care.