PIP Assessment

TwinCam88

Today (Tuesday 22nd) I attended a PIP assessment in my home town at 10:00 and was amazed at how positive and helpful it was. The assessor was a registered nurse and was a delight, totally against how I was told it would be. Apparently I have to wait around ten weeks now for a conclusion due to Christmas delays.

stickywicket

What a lovely, positive report. We get far more complaints than gratitude for a good assessor here. Thank you for redressing the balance and adding to the feel-good factor of the forum. I do hope it goes well for you. Please let us know the outcome.

TwinCam88

Ok so I would like to update this thread having just received a letter from the DWP.
The outcome is a big fat zero for daily living and mobility. On reading the document it is immediately obvious that most of what I said to the assessor has been omitted from the claim. My partner Sue simply said that most of the assessment is simply not true. Apparently I had no problem with movement whatsoever when asked to make a few movements in the assessment but what is not mentioned is that I asked the assessor if I may use a chair for assistance to which she said it was OK. Strange that really.
I also have a mental health issue involving very bad anxiety but, once again, there was no indication of that and I take no medication for it even though I pointed out that I had been on phenothiazine meds from 1987 to 2015 and only stopped when the side effects became too severe to carry on. I now have tardive dyskenesia but, no mention and no meds even though I told her I use a magnesium supplement to help with muscle control. So my partner Sue is livid that the whole process appears to be one big fabrication on the part of the assessor with so many facts being omitted or glossed over as though they simply don't exist.
My physical state goes back to 1978 and is quite clearly on my medical records whilst my mental state goes back to 1987 and is of course also on my medical records. To be refused a PIP payment is bad enough but to be overlooked for so much pain and suffering both physical and mental is an absolute insult and beyond a joke. I guess this is now the country we know and have to tolerate. In my favour, mention was made of how well turned out I am. I wish the same were true of the assessor.

dreamdaisy

This sounds woefully familiar. We have the healthy assessing the needs of the not-so-bonny and then refusing the request. Being somewhat cynical I think it's an attempt to sift out potential fraudsters; I have yet to go through this process (I receive higher-rate DLA and am waiting for them to contact me) but should I be summoned I will go for the Oscar in portraying someone living with arthritis and know what I won't be telling them.

Once you are recovered from this setback please go to appeal: nearly everyone does and the majority are successful. I wish you well. DD

stickywicket

I'm sorry to read this. I can 'hear' your anger and you must be extremely frustrated right now.

I would suggest that you take it to a 'mandatory reconsideration'. According to CAB, who are good at helping,

"The latest government statistics show that more than half of PIP decisions are changed after mandatory reconsideration or an appeal to a tribunal, so do challenge the decision if you think it’s wrong. It won’t cost you anything to appeal." (http://tinyurl.com/zhhlvwb )

I hope you do and also that you have success. I'd add one thing. Anyone could claim to have mental health issues. The fact that you're not on any prescribed medication for yours would make your claim look weaker. I'd suggest you get supporting evidence for all your problems from your GP. You may have to pay for this but surely it would be worth it.

TwinCam88

Yes I shall obtain the relevant info from my GP as it is all there to be looked at and has been for decades. I guess that the assessors pleasant, charming mannerism was merely to conceal the bayonet she was about to stick in my back as I walked out of the room.
One thing that living with disabilities (mental and physical) teaches you is how to be resilient and fight through all obstacles even when it would appear that no living soul is going to help you along. I so often wonder how they would manage if they, or their children were ever put into this situation.
Certainly being involved in a life threatening situation and receiving life changing injuries as a result of that situation makes for a very sober rest of life attitude. Yes, PTSD I could so do without but only death will stand in my way when it comes to being stubborn. Very proud of it too.

TwinCam88

"Anyone could claim to have mental health issues."

How is that..?

Are you now inferring that mental health issues are easy to blag..? Are you maybe suggesting that people with mental health issues should not be taken too seriously..? You seem to fit the stereotype person who ridicules it just because they have no knowledge of it. Four percent of the population of the UK have some kind of mental health issue. Above average alcohol consumption being related to the same thing.

Any kind of health condition is subject to the very thing you have just suggested.

stickywicket

TwinCam, I'm not your enemy. I'm trying to help. What I'm saying is that we all need evidence for our illnesses/diseases. My own evidence is writ clear throughout my body. There is no way I could claim not to have RA and OA.

But, for PIP purposes (I have the higher rate of DLA because I've been on it for years and am now very much a pensioner) proof is needed. That's fair enough because we are talking about ratepayers' money. I'm sure you will prove your entitlement on physical and mental grounds but the key word is 'prove'.

I am by no means saying you don't have proof of your physical and mental illnesses, only that they will be looked on with some scepticism if you are not being treated for them with either medication or other forms of treatment. Of course mental health issues are every bit as debilitating as physical ones. But, let's face facts. Some people will try to fake anything that doesn't involve visible physical change.

I assume you are on medication for your OA. If your mental health issues are not being treated, and if you provide no evidence from your GP that you have them, then how is the assessor to know they are real?

I go back to my earlier post. Contact CAB. Get written confirmation of your problems from your GP. And then go to tribunal.

I hope you win. I think I said that before. I meant it then and I mean it now.