Pip assessment questions- did I mess up? What can I do

RVJ11

Hi I think I made a horrible mistake in my pip responses and I wonder if anyone can advise- like it says in the title I looked over the answers i gave for my pip reassessment and I think I may have made a mistake that may negatively affect how my review goes.

A couple of years ago I was put on a resilience and stabilisation course at mind, and was discharged from the local cmht where I live.

 I thought I should mention this in my answers where it says tell us about any changes in the help you need or get, so I did mention it, also making sure to mention that I still receive support from my friend and mental health nurse but with the way I've phrased it I'm worried that they're going to misinterpret it as me no longer needing help, and no longer needing pip, or that they may misread it as a change in the help I need- this is not true, only the help I'm currently getting has changed but not the level of help I actually need.

 I didn't make it clear in the responses that the level of help I need has not changed, only mentioning this in a sentence in the section that says tell us anything more you think we should know. The help I need is still the same- my depression is far from over and still makes my life very difficult but I don't think I explained this well enough- what can I do? can I send them some extra information? am I going to get in trouble

p.s. have drafted a clarification letter explaining my responses in detail- will this help?

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @RVJ11

I would say not to worry. All you have said is that you are getting the help and support you need from elsewhere and not the CMHT anymore. Many people receive PIP with no diagnosis and only friend or familial support. They may call and ask additional questions which may give you the chance to expand on that answer.  

RVJ11

Okay thank you-that was worrying me a bit, although having said that I did take another look at what I wrote and it doesn't seem as bad as it did initially- as you say there is always the chance for me to explain in person.

Jimm_Scope

Indeed, there's always further chances to explain your circumstances and how they affect your daily living. There's also multiple steps to appeal (MR and tribunal) if things are still not understood!

Looby74

Hi I am my daughters carer, she had a telephone call with a health assessor regarding a review on her pip claim she has difficulty with answering the questions so I am present to help it took 1hr 45minutes by this time she was exhausted and in pain and the very last question she was asked did she get side effects from her medication and she does because she is on a lot but she said know because she was getting confused I had to leave the room for a few minutes so couldn't pick up on the question, now she is worrying it will effect her claim would be grateful for any thoughts on this please

Emilee

I would not say it has been messed up but if you are concerned here are a few options:

1. Wait and see what the assessment report says and challenge it if needed
2. Send in some additional information, explaining what has happened and what the side effects are

Looby74

Thankyou Emilee for your advice, very helpful