Do PIP Case Managers REALLY read ALL of the Evidence?

woollywonder

I've just had my assessment which I feel did not go well. My form was filled in very well, with real life examples, frequency/fluctuations, taking into account the 'reliability' criteria and all she seemed to fixate on was how long it takes me to chop a carrot, how long can I stand up for, can I speak to the click and collect driver at Tesco and how often do I have flares (I have MS) . I feel she will fixate on the fact that my last relapse on MRI was in 2018. I explained, and have explained on the form, that I am progressing without relapses but that my neuro has not amended my diagnosis 'type' because he wanted to get me on a particular drug to try and slow progression and needs the relapsing/remitting diagnosis to get the funding approved.   There is so much that she seemed to miss out too. Do the decision makers *actually* read your forms or do they just agree with assessors?

Because the quality of information the assessor gathered, based on the questions she asked, is really poor and this worries me greatly

chiarieds

I'm sure you did a well completed claim form, which is likely why the assessor didn't ask about all the descriptors that you may gave difficulty with. I believe decision makers certainly do read your form; they have to look at everything you've sent in. 

Whilst the decision maker does usually agree with the assessor's recommendation, occasionally they don't. Where the most emphasis is likely put on the assessor's report is where the claimant hasn't understood the descriptors, resulting in a poorly completed claim form, but this wouldn't have happened in your case.

I think we all feel our PIP assessments didn't go well, but you may get a good result; conversely sometimes people think their assessments went absolutely fine, just to be disappointed when they get their decision.

As is often said here, try not to worry, which we all know is easier said than done.

poppy123456

They will only ask questions if they they need answers. If they have the information they need then there’s no extra questions to ask.

Your opportunity to tell them all the relevant information is in the form, which seems like this is what you did. 

Once the report is returned a decision can take up to 12 weeks. 

woollywonder

chiarieds said:

I'm sure you did a well completed claim form, which is likely why the assessor didn't ask about all the descriptors that you may gave difficulty with. I believe decision makers certainly do read your form; they have to look at everything you've sent in. 

Whilst the decision maker does usually agree with the assessor's recommendation, occasionally they don't. Where the most emphasis is likely put on the assessor's report is where the claimant hasn't understood the descriptors, resulting in a poorly completed claim form, but this wouldn't have happened in your case.

I think we all feel our PIP assessments didn't go well, but you may get a good result; conversely sometimes people think their assessments went absolutely fine, just to be disappointed when they get their decision.

As is often said here, try not to worry, which we all know is easier said than done.

Thankyou @chiareds. I'm actually only hoping to get 8 points. For example I use a perch stool in the kitchen as prescribed by OT and have explained why. I have also explained difficulties with chopping smaller items due to neuropathy and unreliable grip. Burning myself (with pics) on things because I don't feel my arm and hands touching them.  I'm only actually hoping for 2 points for using an aid!! So don't really know why she fixated on how long it takes me to chop a carrot

poppy123456

The reason for asking how long it takes is because of the criteria “in a reasonable time period.” This means means no more than twice as long as the maximum period that a non-disabled person would normally take to complete that activity. 

If it takes you 5 minutes to cut a carrot and the same length of time to cut all the other vegetables then this would likely be longer than it would take a non disabled person. 

The questions are more relevant than you think, though I wouldn’t personally time how long it takes me to cut any veg 😂

Albus_Scope

I think I'm going to start timing my carrot cutting, just in case I need that information for the DWP in the future.   

woollywonder

poppy123456 said:

The reason for asking how long it takes is because of the criteria “in a reasonable time period.” This means means no more than twice as long as the maximum period that a non-disabled person would normally take to complete that activity. 

If it takes you 5 minutes to cut a carrot and the same length of time to cut all the other vegetables then this would likely be longer than it would take a non disabled person. 

The questions are more relevant than you think, though I wouldn’t personally time how long it takes me to cut any veg 😂

Poppy me neither! I'm more worried with not dropping it or the knife tbh.  I'm only hoping for 2 points anyway and thought I may get that for needing the perch stool and for being too fatigued and dopey if I've had to take pain meds or if I've juggled other demands. Who on earth knows eh? It just seemed overkill to obsess about the darn carrot   (I have to laugh because that's my coping mechanism..)

woollywonder

Albus_Scope said:

I think I'm going to start timing my carrot cutting, just in case I need that information for the DWP in the future.   

Absolutely who knew it would be a 'thing' !

66Mustang

To add to the advice already given I always went with the mindset that "less is more"

i.e. give all the information required, but using as little text as possible

I would fill out the forms in rough, then go through my writing with a fine tooth comb, deleting all superfluous words

Same applies to the evidence you submit, although I wouldn't recommend editing medical documents, but you can leave out pages that you think are not relevant 

woollywonder

66Mustang said:

To add to the advice already given I always went with the mindset that "less is more"

i.e. give all the information required, but using as little text as possible

I would fill out the forms in rough, then go through my writing with a fine tooth comb, deleting all superfluous words

Same applies to the evidence you submit, although I wouldn't recommend editing medical documents, but you can leave out pages that you think are not relevant 

I pretty much did this - was lucky to be offered a chance to do it online so it was easy to come back to and fine tune! My 'evidence' is just 1 pge of functional evidence each from ot/physio/ms nurse/consultant. But I did give real life examples.

woollywonder

poppy123456 said:

They will only ask questions if they they need answers. If they have the information they need then there’s no extra questions to ask.

Your opportunity to tell them all the relevant information is in the form, which seems like this is what you did. 

Once the report is returned a decision can take up to 12 weeks. 

Thanks Poppy, do you know how long the assessors are allowed to take to get the reports in?

poppy123456

No problem. They don't have any deadlines. Sometimes they are written and returned the same day. Some a few days, some within a week. If you're one of the unlucky ones and it's chosen for audit then it can be weeks. An audit isn't anything to worry about, it just means they are checking the assessor did their job correctly.