PIP Assessment

Tigermoth42

Hi Ash, sadly I suspect that’ll be the case. All I can say is “thank god for my husband” he’s my carer; letter writer; cook; driver and general factotum in no particular order. I hope you have a good day, bearing in mind your difficulties and, if I can help in any way, please just ask. Warmest best wishes, Gail 

ash5896

Tigermoth42 said:

Hi Ash, sadly I suspect that’ll be the case. All I can say is “thank god for my husband” he’s my carer; letter writer; cook; driver and general factotum in no particular order. I hope you have a good day, bearing in mind your difficulties and, if I can help in any way, please just ask. Warmest best wishes, Gail 

I’m seriously worried about the outcome of my assessment of the report is anything to go by. My wife said she will break it all down and highlight all the points so she’s prepared for the MR if it comes to that. It’s still beyond me how all the information from GP and consultants been ignored but I suppose that doesn’t count for anything to these idiots without any proper medical training 

Tigermoth42

Hi @ash5896 that’s exactly what my husband did. My MR letter ran to some 5 pages and I included copies of two letters from my pain clinic doctor, one from the local mental health team and a copy report of an X-ray on my knees. My gp, yesterday, refused to write a support letter as she said they don’t read them. I’m at a loss to understand how she knows this so have another appt with a different gp tomorrow. My husband is coming with me and we’re taking a printout of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau guidelines on what constitutes medical evidence. I don’t blame the DWP girl for her assessment, she can only go on what the HCP wrote and, if her information is inherently flawed then it follows that the final outcome will be too. My stress and anxiety levels are at an all time high and it’s been a while since I’ve felt this ill. I’m just incapable of functioning properly at this level, thank goodness my husband is as supportive as your lovely wife sounds. 

ash5896

Tigermoth42 said:

Hi @ash5896 that’s exactly what my husband did. My MR letter ran to some 5 pages and I included copies of two letters from my pain clinic doctor, one from the local mental health team and a copy report of an X-ray on my knees. My gp, yesterday, refused to write a support letter as she said they don’t read them. I’m at a loss to understand how she knows this so have another appt with a different gp tomorrow. My husband is coming with me and we’re taking a printout of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau guidelines on what constitutes medical evidence. I don’t blame the DWP girl for her assessment, she can only go on what the HCP wrote and, if her information is inherently flawed then it follows that the final outcome will be too. My stress and anxiety levels are at an all time high and it’s been a while since I’ve felt this ill. I’m just incapable of functioning properly at this level, thank goodness my husband is as supportive as your lovely wife sounds. 

It’s really worrying to hear your GP thinks they don’t read them. Surely if that’s the case it’s grounds to complain taht she’s not willing to support you. My GP has always supported me and I do find that worrying. I hope you get it sorted. I’m lucky in the sense that my wife is a Nurse and she can write up better than me. It’s absolutely ridiculous how we are treated

Tigermoth42

I couldn’t agree more Ash. It’s a bit of a lottery as to which doctors will write and which won’t. My sister’s gp wrote a letter with no qualms whatsoever, but I’ve heard stories of other people who’s gp’s refuse. It’s at their discretion apparently. My husband has said that, if it comes to it, we’ll find the money somehow and get a private assessment done. It wasn’t that she wasn’t supportive, she was. Her words to me were “have you appealed? You must must appeal” she agrees with me that the DWP assessment appears to have been written about someone else as I took it in with me, but that doesn’t give me the hard copy I feel I need to present. Time will tell I guess

Tigermoth42

Hi @Username_removed and thanks for your reply. I concur in part with your comments. As I said in my last post and previously to this, it wasn’t that she was unsupportive of my situation, exactly the opposite, she was insistent that I must appeal the decision (I’m going through MR presently) she agreed wholeheartedly that I do have good cause to do so, it’s just practice policy that letters aren’t worth writing as they, certainly in her experience, aren’t read. This, of course, is their prerogative. My reasoning behind believing their evidence is critical is based on information taken from CAB website where they state that, and I quote, ‘medical evidence supplied by a GP or other health professional is vital in helping assessors understand how a patient is affected by their illness or disability” 

pep

I got a letter from my doctor and then. Mot long after that a lot of GPS rufused to write letters because the way they look at it is dwp and the accessor just sit and go oh well the doctors will write out a letter.. And now a lot of GPS just refuse to do it 

pep

I got an excellent letter from my doctor I was talking about a lot of GPS are refusing to do letters as dwp etc etc are leaving it up to the ppl to go to the doctor and get all the back up.. No doctor will have a problem. If the dwp etc etc had to ask the doctor for an update but instead they just sit back and do nothing and that is why a lot of doctors are now saying no sorry. 

Tigermoth42

@Username_removed it may well be a poor representation but I am only quoting word for word from the CAB Medical Evidence fact sheet, bullet point 4, which refers to people who struggle to self-report. Whilst I feel I’m able to write comparatively well, face to face situations cause me great distress and here they state “good quality evidence is even more imperative to give the assessor a more accurate picture of a person’s condition.....”

Norton2018

Username_removed said:

I’m happy to go on record and say that I think the statement you quote is a poor representation of the reality of a letter from a GP.

Your choice . But as a bloke...I seriously advise you to Google POLANDS SYNDROME.. PERIFORMIS SYNDROME.. OSTEOARTHRITIS.... 
GP IS WITH ME 100% ON THIS AS SHE KNOWS WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH...  

Tigermoth42

Hi @Norton2018, I’d not heard of the first two syndromes you mentioned so I googled them too. The second one particularly was of interest as it describes part of my pain exactly. There are so many different things out there that it can, and in my case has, taken years to try and get to the bottom of my debilitating pain. I wish you well, warmest best wishes Gail

Tigermoth42

Hi @pep, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. I know it’s not personal that my gp won’t write a letter, it’s practice policy, so I have no choice but to accept that as so many other people. I’m seeing another gp tomorrow for my oedema but my husband did say he’d ask again as he’s got to take me anyway 

pep

Hi @Tigermoth42 a lot if doctors are saying the same thing now why should dwp and assessment ppl sit back and more or less say let the doctors do the work so therefore a lot of ppl are losing out over it and it's just not right.. At all... 

Tigermoth42

Hi @mikehughescq, thanks for your reply. Again, I concur with the vast majority of what you say and am fully conversant of the anecdotal evidence required in order for a claim to be successful. My problem lies with the fact that, despite being in receipt of enhanced rate of both components (previously higher rate dla) of  PIP for over 5 years, the recent assessor has completely ignored the anecdotal evidence given by my husband and myself, when I was physically able to speak. I’m, understandably, clutching at straws to find supportive help in any way I can and therefore, can only be guided by the internet and information I can find there. CAB directly refer, not only to “good quality evidence”, but “medical evidence supplied by a gp” in the same bullet point as I quoted in my previous responses. As I understand it, at MR, it’s not a medically trained specialist who looks again at your claim, therefore any letters that can support the claim are surely helpful, for, like the gp, the assessor doesn’t perform those activities with a claimant either. 

Tigermoth42

Thanks so much @mikehughescq, I’ve seen my gp again this morning for a separate issue, my oedema, I’m now having full blood profile again to try and get to the bottom of it. I’m seeing it much more clearly now, I think it was just the shock at the inaccuracies in the initial report that completely floored me. The HCP, it would appear and I’m waiting for a copy of her report, has written the exact opposite of what I told her if the DWP assessment is correctly based on her findings. I agree, what can the doctor say about my daily struggle? They’re not there to see me on a day to day basis, like the assessment, it’s just me at that particular time. He said today that, should my case go to tribunal, then there’s a 20 page medical report document the gp has to complete which details my medical history, I think I was just getting so worked up about the unfair assessment that I couldn’t see the wood for the trees. I’d like to thank you for taking the time and having the patience to bear with me on this and give your input based on your experience. Who would you suggest I approach in regards to representation should I need it? 

Tigermoth42

@Username_removed wow really? I have no idea what he was talking about then. Oh well, I’ll stick with what I know, me! And trust it goes smoothly. I’m making myself even more ill getting in a stew over it. I guess I can’t change it, what will be will be. 

ash5896

When I appealed my original DLA in 2010 my GP just provided a letter of support for the tribunal 

ash5896

I may have got this wrong and not sure what’s going on. Just received a letter from DWP. It’s just showing my DLA. award as being indefinite and what the rates are. Have I missed something? Too late to call them now 

sleepy1

DWP did contact my surgery by sending 2 pages of obscure questions but it was filled in by another GP (not the one I told them about) that did not know me and the hand writing answers were mostly unreadable. 
The tribunal Judge instructed DWP to provide a complete copy of my medical history between specific dates, they did not comply and things dragged on for several more months.  After the Judge insisted again they eventually came up with the information albeit with some pages missing.

My appeal was upheld but it now looks like I will have to go through the whole trauma of another one because after another assessment the decision maker [name removed by moderator] has changed the HCP report to reduce the points so I don't qualify at all.

ash5896

Received the brown envelope today. Have been awarded as expected standard on both. The letter is dated the 20th and today is the 28th. I’m going to ask for a reconsideration would this be from the date the letter was written or from when I received it?
one of the annoying points in the letter is my GP letter is referred to on one item for points but ignored for the items which doesn’t make sense to me apart from they’ve just picked certain points for a lower score but the high scoring items have been ignored.
The letters from the 3 consultants have been ignored totally. There’s also no mention of the fall in the report either. I am annoyed and am hoping to fight this.