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Please help - we really need a home assessment

main

Hi can someone please help me husband has severe mental health problems paranoia anxiety and will become aggressive when leaving the house and this is as well he had a back operation last year that has left him unable to go any further than going from bedto toilet severe pain and now occupational therapy are adapting the house also left him incontinent at times doctor has confirmed he is to unwell to attend appointment and he needs a home visit because he is pyscphysic and mentally ill twice I have asked for a home visit twice they said no I phoned up again to say he s getting .reall r distressed they said they won't come out because he is violent and there scared of him I have said he has had many home visit from peo and he is fine when in his own environment occupational health have written letters saying mobility extremely poor apart from feeding him I have to do everything I have even quoted that if a appointment is going to cause someone severe mental disstres due to not being able to plan or undertake any journey due to mental disstres they not listening thanks

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steve51

Hi @main

Good Morning & Welcome to our community.

I’m very very sorry to hear about your current situation/probs.

Can I please ask you to contact our helpline: 0808-800-3333.
as soon as you can!!!!!!!

We have also got our email address: helpline@scope.org.uk
if you find this a better way to contact us.

If you want to contact me please please do I would be very happy in helping/supporting you.

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @main, and welcome to the community.

I'm so sorry to hear that you and your husband are in this position. I've passed on this query to our specialist benefits advisors who will hopefully be able to advise ASAP.

butterflies

Hi @main

You can ask the DWP to do a paper based assessment using all the evidence that you have already sent them with the PIP form.

This is exactly what paper based assessments are used for(when circumstances make it impossible for a F2F to take place) so there is absolutely no reason for the DWP to insist on a F2F assessment given that they are already aware of your husband's mental health problems.

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi main,

If the assessment provider and the DWP have letters about his medical conditions and the effects of his condition they can do a paper based assessment. It is up to them whether they feel they have enough evidence to do a paper based assessment though. If your GP has provided a letter stating that he cannot travel and needs a home appointment that really should be enough for him to have one. I would phone the assessments provider and ask to speak to a manager or make an official complaint about the way he is being treated. You may even want to get the MP involved and I'm sure something would be done then. It appears to me to be quite clear from what you have said that he cannot possibly attend a clinic to be assessed so I really don't know what the problem is.
I assume the assessment provider is Capita, all their website says about this situation is:

It may be possible to have a home appointment dependent on the available Medical Evidence you have provided to support your claim. You may also need to send a letter from your GP supporting your request. For more information please contact Capita's Enquiry Centre on 0808 1788 114.

I would advise you to call them again, ask to speak to a manager and/or threaten them with MP involvement and, if you still don't get anywhere, contact the MP. Good luck!

Lee

main

I have told them in a letter I have contacted MP still not listening to that either I am getting mental health to write me a letter backing me up for paper review husband tried to take an overdose last night because of all this hassle four months his has been going on thanks

main

Provider is atos

BenefitsTrainingCo

Thanks Main - ATOS should do home assessment too. Keep complaining. Say that they are in breach of the Equality Act (they are!) This is what ATOS say about home assessments:

'We’ve made our Consultation Centres as accessible as possible, but we understand that in some circumstances it’s not possible for people to attend.

If your medical condition or disability prevents you from travelling, and you can provide health or disability-related evidence to support this, we may be able to arrange travel assistance or a home assessment. Please contact our Customer Service Centre as soon as possible if this applies to you.'

The letter from mental health should help. Keep insisting that a home assessment is the only way he can be assessed due to both his mental health and his mobility difficulties.

I'm really sorry to hear about the amount of stress this is causing your husband - and you of course. It's terrible - please tell the MP what happened last night. It is completely unacceptable that you are being caused this level of stress to get something your husband is entitled to.

Will

BenefitsTrainingCo

PS Main, the guidance ATOS should be using says this:

'When considering a request for a home consultation, HPs should consider:

• Whether the claimant has a medical condition that either precludes them from travelling, or makes it extremely difficult for them to travel
• The nature and severity of the condition
• The safety implications for a home consultation for the HP – for example, where the claimant has previously displayed unacceptable behaviour towards the DWP and this has been noted in their case file.
• Any accessibility issues related to the planned location of consultations.

The request for a home consultation may come from a GP or other healthcare professional involved in the claimant’s care. When considering such requests, the HP should consider the points outlined above before making a decision on whether a home consultation would be appropriate.'

It looks to me as if they are not properly considering the PIP assessment guidance if they continue to refuse you. I would say to them that they are in breach of the Equality Act and that you will not hesitate to make a complaint if your husband is not given a home assessment.

I really hope you get one soon.

Will

main

Thank you for all your help I am going to phone mental health in a minute to get letter to send off to back me up for paper based review just don't seem to be getting anywhere

main

Hi they have said husband can now have paper based review thank goodness but worried in case he doesn't get anything awarded thanks for all your help