Hi I'm Mike. going to have a PIP phone assessment to hopefully get my PIP renewed.

Formidible

Glad to be here. I'm 66yrs old and going to have a PIP phone assessment to hopefully get my PIP renewed. I'm currently struggling with depression/anxiety and servere side effects of tapering a prescription medication (a benzodiazepine). I'm nervous of the phone interview but have made some preperatory notes. Any helpful comments appreciated. 

Jimm_Alumni

Hey @Formidible! Welcome to scope online community. You'll meet a lot of people going through similar experiences to you, a lot of people here have been through PIP reviews. Preperatory notes are really good, I wish I was as prepared as you seem to be! 

When is the assessment? I'm wishing you the very best! Even if it doesn't go well, which wouldn't be your fault at all you are clearly prepared, don't forget there are appeal stages to ensure you get what you're entitled to

chiarieds

Hi @Formidible - it's good you've already made some notes, & I hope the following may be helpful

- If you have kept a copy of your initial claim form, have a read through it.

 - Ideally you should have given 1 or 2 recent, detailed examples of the difficulty you face doing/attempting each applicable activity/descriptor that is looked at with PIP, i.e. when exactly did this occur, where, what exactly happened, why did you have difficulty, did anyone else see this, & were there any consequences to this, if applicable?

 - have a look at the PIP descriptors in this link, reading the notes at the end. The word 'reliably,' which is so important, isn't mentioned as such, but it's if you can't do an activity safely, to an acceptable standard, if you can't repeat it as often as would normally be expected, or if it takes you longer than a person without your disability. If you can't do an activity 'reliably,' say so, explaining why. Please see: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/personal-independence-payment-descriptors-and-scores-april-2023.pdf

 - see if there were any gaps where you didn't give those important detailed examples for each applicable PIP activities/descriptors in your initial claim form. Try to include these in your assessment if asked about any

 - you may be asked questions which you feel don't directly address the PIP descriptors, but they will, sometimes looking across a few, e.g. do you drive, do you have a pet?

- if you're unsure about any question, just ask for it to be repeated. Take your time in answering, & don't just answer yes or no.

- make sure your phone is fully charged, & if you'd like someone there to support you, put your phone on speaker phone so they can listen in. Good luck.

Formidible

Thanks for your help and advice. The phone assessment is on Friday. I think I'm fairly prepared. This is a re-assessment to find out if my condition has changed, which it hasn't. I live alone, so I can't get any other evidence, other than from my doctor. I appreciate your help.