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PIP assessment

swifty

hello everyone, never thought that I would ever need to do something like this, actually embarrassed at my situation. Little background info - woke up in January with a really sore stomach and back. Was admitted to hospital for 4 days where they ran blood/urine tests. Received a ultrasound on my ovaries where all was normal. Went for a CT scan, again all normal. I have been living with constant severe back pain since. Nothing found on MRI. Just went for another MRI of full spine and head and waiting for results. So been off work since January and take morphine tablets as well as liquid. On a bunch of other meds too. Everyone told me to claim PIP but only recently done it.

Went for my assessment today and truthfully was dreading it as I’ve read so many horror stories! Anyway the nurse who interviewed me was actually really nice. My issue is that she didn’t ask me to do any physical movements or exercises as she “could see I was in pain”. Has anyone else ever had this and is this a good or bad thing? This money is desperately needed as I have no pay now. So worried why she didn’t ask me to do anything and what she may put in report i.e refused to do anything.

Sorry for the long winded message but any help/advice/comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments

thespiceman

Hello @swifty Pleased to meet you welcome. Thank you for sharing.

Understand the issues around PIP assessment. I can just say we all of us who have done these. Have moments of regrets and get guilts. All the time getting anxiety. You have in the end of the day. Done your best and to reassure you we are here to support and help you.

All I can add is please try to not to worry. Think of positivity. My concern is right now and what happens next.

Your wellbeing and health . Try to get help and support for anything you might need. Advice and information. Have a look at our Posts. Dealing with Chronic Pain might be useful.

We are a supportive friendly community care and share.

Ask the community anything some one will know. Ready to listen.

Wish you the best for a successful outcome.

Take care

@thespiceman

Liam_Alumni

Hi @swifty,

Welcome to Scope's online community! It's great to have you on board.

Best of luck for a successful result for your assessment. I've moved this post into our dedicated PIP category, so other members of our community can share their experiences and offer their advice and support.

If you have any other questions, then please do get in touch!

blueboy87

Hi @swifty just wait for the outcome a nurse assessed my brother in law she was nice and chatty got his outcome they’ve reduced his money hopefully yours was genuinely nice good luck

swifty

Thank you for the welcome! Guess I just have to wait although 4 weeks is a long time! Wish DWP would employ more people and process this quicker. So stressful waiting that long.

blueboy87

Hi@swifty I think they do it deliberately so people give up cos they can’t handle the stress

Yadnad

blueboy87 said:

Hi@swifty I think they do it deliberately so people give up cos they can’t handle the stress

I won't disagree with that comment

swifty

Username_removed said:

The assessment is not a medical and a functional test or observation is not necessary if up to date clinical information has been submitted.

Does this mean that my doctor has given them a report on my capabilities/medication etc?

This is so confusing as I read on so many comments on google where they said doctor hadn’t been contacted.

poppy123456

No, it doesn't. They vey rarely contact GP's/Consultants for any evidence, the onus is on you to make sure it's sent. It's your responsibility to prove those descriptors apply to you and not their job.

blueboy87

Hi @swifty when my brother in law had his assessment she had him trying to pick things up then bend even tho he had just had an op on his spine which unfortunately hasn’t worked he came out said he felt as if he had been kicked all over he has osteoarthritis in his knees hips and spine I told him not to do the tasks if they were causing pain but the nurse said I need to know what he can do

blueboy87

My brother in law had letters from gp cardiologist orthopaedic none of these were used his outcome was what the nurse said they should have cameras so there’s proof of what happened in assessment

jae377

The critical point made in many of these comments is that these assessments are being carried out by Nurses and physiotherapists NOT Doctors. Without being rude the 5 GCSE's and 3 years training to be a nurse do not equate to the education and training to be a Doctor. Even then doctors refer complex patients to specialists. So you are trying to explain complex medical conditions to someone with neither the training or education to understand you fully. I am a "frequent flyer" at my local hospital and often have to explain in simple terms the issues of my injuries to nursing staff to ensure I do net receive further injuries when being handled (or fed, as I suffer from anaphylactic shock inducing allergies)

blueboy87

Hi @ joe377 you couldn’t have worded that any better

Matilda

The paramedic who did my assessment couldn't even pronounce the name of one of my meds let alone know what it does.

blueboy87

Hi @Matilda the nurse who assessed my brother in law hadn’t even heard of 1 of his illnesses. Anyone could do assessments and just write stuff down cos that’s what’s happening

Matilda

Yes, @blueboy87

That's why there are so many incompetent and dishonest reports - and therefore why 71% of appeals win.

dougal1

Comment made by Joe 377 in my own humble opinion is spot on, l have had many medicals at my previous employment to see how I was affected by my illness, they were all qualified doctors, this was a local authority, so surely these companies like Atos etc should do this as well, umm silly me it comes down to money and targets
Regards Doug

Waylay

@Username_removed I'm sure you're right in some cases, but certainly not all of them.

II don' explain what my conditions are, and I do tell the assessors about my functional limitations. I've still had multiple bad experiences with assessors who didn't know what one of my conditions was:

One assessor didn't allow me to talk about important functional issues because he didn't understand that they were part of that condition.

A couple of assessors have had silly/wrong ideas about what a condition is/means. e.g. One of mine, a physio, clearly didn't understand that depression (I have chronic refractory major depressive disorder) can be worse than moping about feeling sad. She completely discounted all the functional effects from my depression, and wrote things like, "Unlikely to be due to depression".

One assessor just ignored my mental health completely.

Waylay

@Username_removed I think the solution is to scrap the assessment and re-imagine the whole thing.

jae377

Username_removed said:

@jae377 the problem is more that people think they are going into a medical assessment when they’re not. Then when they find out they’re not they decide to educate the HCPs on their conditions because they’re not “medically qualified” etc. As a result some claimants spend little time in their assessment talking about the functional consequences of their conditions and then wonder why the HCP concludes that the functional consequences aren’t as the claimant says they ar.

Sorry to disagree, There is no way that the interviewer can assess either what is reasonable to request me to do (physical actions) or its effect on me without understanding my issues. An example is that with a high level (C4, C5) spinal cord injury and Cardiac arterial Disease one DLA assessor demanded I get on a treadmill on the grounds I could support myself on the side rails. Threatened with withdrawal of benefits if I did not, I duly attempted to comply, luckily assessment was in rented room in BUPA Hospital and one of my NHS Consultants happened to be passing. He immediately stopped assessment.
Another is requesting me to perform movements that WILL aggravate cord injury but crucially not until later - invitation to see effect on me e.g. next day consistently refused.. The reply to last report requested from the surgeon who carried out my last lot of spinal surgery read "I suggest someone with basic medical knowledge reads this gentleman's notes and repeat prescriptions" - enough said I believe.

Matilda

My assessor did ask about my medical conditions, though she didn't understand them. The tribunal doc also asked about my medical conditions. Both I assume wanted info because I have a degenerative disease known to cause physical disabilities. Therefore in certain cases at least assessments, and tribunals, are something of a medical consultation.