pip review forms

connor123

hi all ,i have been putting off filling in my review forms as i dont know where to start.i have mental health issues and my forms need to be in by 28/8.if i telephone them to request more time will they hold it against me the fact i can use the telephone/ fill in the forms myself?this is because i have no family to help me and i am reluctant to seek help from cab/age concern etc as i suffer with really bad social phobia so i have no choice but to fill in the forms myself witch im sure i will make a complete mess of.will they hold it against me the fact i can make the phone call and atempt to fill out the forms?this is making me really ill and i dont know where to turn.many thanks in advance connor 

mikehughescq

No it won’t be held against you. Try these though. 

1 - Identify those activities you have any kind of issue with.

2 - Identify whether the issue is that you can’t do the activity at all; can’t do it reliably, can’t do it repeatedly; can’t do it safely or in a reasonable time. If any one of these apply to an activity then you can’t do it at all and it’s okay to say so. However, as well as ticking the box saying you either can’t do it all need help or aids, remember to say which one(s) of the above apply.

3 - have a copy of the PIP points scoring system in front of you. The questions in the form don’t match the points scoring so it’s as well to be aware of this.

4 - For every activity you think you score points you need to think of 2 or 3 recent examples of incidents when you tried to do that activity. Describe in detail the what, when, where, who witnessed, what happened next etc. Don’t skimp on detail. It’s often better to type it up in Word first rather than write in the form. If it won’t fit then add extra sheets, remembering to put your name, NINO and the question to which the answer relates on each sheet. Alternatively, reduce the font and cut and paste the Word answer into the form.

5 - Use the extra information section to describe your conditions  in detail; the specifics of the symptoms and especially how they interact. 

Also use it to spell out that you want an ongoing award and explain why e.g. your condition is degenerative, you’ve done all the adapting you’re going to do etc. If you don’t specifically ask for an ongoing award you will get a short one. 

6 - Assuming your diagnoses are not in question and ditto the prognosis then ask yourself what gap in your evidence does medical evidence fill in terms of points scoring? If you can’t answer that then consider not sending it in. 10 reports all saying the same thing are no better than 1. Volume doesn’t win you PIP. Clarity and focus does.

7 - Whilst PIP ask for the form back in 4 weeks they will grant a 2 week extension without question if you ask. However, there is no actual deadline for deadline in the legislation as the deadline can be extended if reasonable and what could be more reasonable than having a medical condition which slows you down. Ask for an extension as a reasonable adjustment under EA 10 if applicable. 

8 - By all means get an advice service to do this but if they don’t do most of the above then you’re better off doing it yourself.