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Variations in Assessments??
Barrylad1957
Member Posts: 100 Courageous
Granted, we never know when people are actually telling the truth - it often seems to be that some fellow claimants actually want you to be distressed at your own assessment - but I attend a 'health group' every Monday, (along with a group of people who are obviously disabled at several different levels), but, yesterday, one bloke - in his early thirties, looks fine (and yes, I know that not always a reliable yardstick) told us all that he had had his WCA 3 weeks ago at the local jc; that he walked in, told the nurse that yes, he could make his own tea, walk his dog, etc., etc., that his back 'hurts' and that he couldnt touch his toes (and refused to try) and that he only took Paracetamol and Ibuprofen for the pain as he 'didnt want to get addicted to strong painkillers'. Yesterday, he had learned, he said, that he'd been granted LCW. Then, there's another bloke; in his late fifties, obviously in an extreme amount of physical and mental distress, medicated to the nth degree, one of the truly poor souls we get at the meeting - last week found out he'd been made 'fit for work', and, it sounded like they had both had the same assessor! I don't know if the first bloke was being truthful - I hope he wasnt - but if he was, its another sign that this 'system' is failing the truly needy and vulnerable, and that, yes, the assessors do in fact have a quota or 'ceilings' imposed upon them. What a carry on.
Replies
I don't understand the variations in assessment standards myself. I think attitude helps, being confident but not difficult. Also, strong medical evidence - but sometimes this is ignored or not understood.
And you have to show quite specifically how you meet the criteria to be eligible for points.
Just one example: for PIP, some people have said that they don't bother trying to prepare a meal from fresh ingredients because they know they can't The say they settle for a sandwich, pot noodle or cereal and consequently the assessors writes: 'can prepare a simple meal unaided'. What claimants have to do is try to chop/peel veg in order to show they can't do it! Crazy, I know.
Strangely, my mum wrote a letter after my refusal pretty much stating she'll sometimes cook for me and that I live on ready meals. They awarded me two points because I can supposedly use aids. There are no aids that tell you when your food is properly cooked.
Most odd how I was granted lower DLA in 2008 because I can't cook a meal. My sight has become much worse since then, plus there has also been additional diagnoses.