PIP Award

dotty72

Hi everyone, this may seem a bit long winded so apologies.

My Husband has been awarded Pip recently,  both good rates for the daily living and mobility, he recieved the forms back in March, filled them in June, ( had an extension due to mental health) was awarded on the 15th of september.

Really grateful for the award as the last couple of years have been a slog, I work long hours to support us since he had to finish work.

He suffered heart failure, it took its toll, he also has a blood condition, is awaiting tests on his bone marrow, high blood pressure, over active thyroid, angina, AF,  he has always suffered from PTSD from his army years and some form of depression which fluctuates. He has had 8 cardioversions in the last 2 years, this is no longer an option, is now taking Amiodradone to extend this, has been on this "black box" medication for around 9 months, fast forward to June, I encouraged him to to get some help regarding his mental health.

The award has been awarded from the 16th of September, basically all for mental health really, as we put the date of june when he was diagnosed the award states due to a law change he cannot be awarded anything before this for his mental health as there is a 3 month period that he has to have suffered it for, hence the september date.

The award is sort of in 2 parts, March until September, no award, then September awarded, I'm really peeved about this, his mental health suffered way before June, he didn't seek help until then, but his heart related problems it feels have not been recognised at all, physically it takes a huge toll on him, and what he can do on a daily basis, he is due a catheter ablation and a pace taker to be done next month, it just seems to me if he wasn't suffering from mental illness his health conditions and how it affects him wouldn't be recognised at all.

Anyhow, after the long winded post, is it worth doing a mandatory reconsideration? And does anyone know if it can be done from the march to Sept or would they have to look at the full award? My husband wants to leave it as he doesn't want to risk the award he has been given, as we are really grateful for the award, but I'm angry that his health hasn't been recognised and want to.

Thanks for reading 

chiarieds

Hi @dotty72 - & welcome to the community. I'm sorry for all that your husband is going through with his health.

As far as your PIP claim goes, yes, it's normally from the date you rang, which is the first stage of claiming, but, unfortunately, if I'm reading this correctly, as you say, ''we put the date of june when he was diagnosed'' then the DWP have used this as a claimant has to have had difficulties for at least 3 months, so that's from September.

A diagnosis, altho you list it, isn't essential, & you've put the date of a diagnosis rather than how long he's had problems before getting a diagnosis.

Yes, of course you can do a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), explaining how long your husband has actually had problems prior to a diagnosis, & the error you'd made. His whole award will be looked at again, but don't worry, it's rare for them to be lowered. His PIP payments will continue whilst his MR is looked at by another DWP decision maker, & it may take up to 12 weeks to get the outcome.

Please don't ring to request a MR, as it's much better to put it in writing. If you ring, you're not speaking to the DWP, rather call handlers, & you can't be sure they'll write down what you say. Far better to take a little time & do it yourself.

As far as writing about his mental health, this is an excellent site: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/    altho this is about completing a PIP claim, it's relevant with a MR as it says where he may need support, etc.

In general, with a MR, you should say where you think he should have got points, & why giving a couple of recent, detailed examples as to the difficulty he faces for each applicable descriptor, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity, e.g. pain, fatigue, breathlessness, etc?
Say if he can't do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes him much longer than someone without a disability.

A longer, but very informative read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria   Please do look at the 'reliability' section. Remember also that PIP is about how he is the majority of days.
Put his name & National Insurance number on each page. Keep a copy, & get a free Certificate of Posting from your Post Office when sending it off.

dotty72

@chiarieds, thank you so much for your reply,  i understand regarding the mental health, it's the health issues relating to his heart etc... that I'm peeved with, this is documented for around 3 years, numerous heart procedures and hospital stays, and also his other health issues, the operations he has coming up, the physical toll on him has been awful, basically if he didn't have any mental health issues there would have been no award at all, as from when he first rang in March to September there was no award, I don't think we will go ahead with a MR as we are grateful for the extra help and I can stop working myself in to the ground and work normal hours.

I'm so frustrated about it all though, so many others must be in the same boat with heart related issues, he will receive his first payment in October yet this has been an on going claim since march x

chiarieds

It's totally up to you both, & I understand your viewpoint. Just to emphasise, PIP isn't about any diagnoses, it's literally how a claimant's disabilties affect their functional ability to 'reliably' do any of the applicable activities/descriptors.

My next door neighbour completely forgot to mention a physical problem they'd had since birth (as it was so long ago they said!). The decision maker reported, well you have osteoarthritis (but you're not taking any medication for it), so your medical history suggests you can walk x metres, with their PIP claim. They're doing a Mandatory Reconsideration, now including relevant info they'd omitted.

Many people will miss relevant stuff out, many may suffer like your husband, & others with even more disorders.

Your husband is also deserving of the opportunity to get all his health problems taken into consideration.

I do however wish you both well, & pleased you'll be to reduce your working hours.