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I need someone to offer advice if they can.

samantha21
samantha21 Community member Posts: 64 Courageous
edited January 2019 in Mental health and wellbeing
Just received a copy of my f2f consultation report with health assessor. I am still waiting for a decision from the decision maker it is not complete yet.
  I already knew the health report would not be accurate and would contain lie after lie which it does. Is it normal that these reports also have many spelling mistakes in them and the English is very poor, I would have expected a better well spelt report than this.

 I tried for over an hour yesterday to get through to the pip helpline without any answer as I want to find out where I have to complain to about the Atos report.

Also very urgent the assessor wrote many times  Today is a bad day and MSE is unremarkable,

has anybody got a clue what MSE is an abbreviation of because I do not know.
All replies are much appreciated, thank-you.

Comments

  • EmmaB
    EmmaB Community member Posts: 263 Pioneering
    MSE is mental state examination... Sorry in haste as got a meeting...
  • samantha21
    samantha21 Community member Posts: 64 Courageous
    Thank-you for letting me know what the MSE abbreviation meant, I am still a bit unsure why that was written in my f2f assessment many times and my mental state was obviously quite unremarkable to the woman as she was completely uninterested in me from the time I went into the assessment room. Any more replies are appreciated I know you are busy perhaps later. 
  • clarkjohnson
    clarkjohnson Community member Posts: 210 Pioneering
    I got that couldn't be bothered attitude aswell seems quite frequent in many cases I've found speaking to people so your not on your own my friend 
  • samantha21
    samantha21 Community member Posts: 64 Courageous
    Hi, yes I know but that cannot be bothered attitude has gone into her report and I expect the decision makers will be taking that into consideration particularly her own interpretations of what she thought of me.
  • clarkjohnson
    clarkjohnson Community member Posts: 210 Pioneering
    Fair play to you well done Sam X 
  • EmmaB
    EmmaB Community member Posts: 263 Pioneering
    Hi @samantha21
    OK more time now... my guess is that if your main issue is mental health that they use the abbreviation MSE several times because they are emphasising that it is unremarkable i.e. you weren't showing signs of distress/anxiety/depression or whatever...
    The decision maker will use this report to make their decision.
    So if your claim is turned down you will need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, the best thing you can do at that point is submit it with some evidence from anyone else you are involved with e.g. GP, mental health team, support worker etc.  Any evidence that shows you are getting mental health input.
    If your claim is still rejected just take all of that to a tribunal.  There is quite a bit of evidence to show that some assessors and decision makers don't really 'get' mental health.
    If your problem isn't mental health but physical health then the idea of submitting evidence is still very relevant...
    Best of luck.
    Emma
  • samantha21
    samantha21 Community member Posts: 64 Courageous
    Hi Emma, thank-you so much for getting back to me.....my problems are unfortunately both as they are physical and mental . The physical being all medically proved back problems and sciatica and I have been under specialists and physios for almost 12 years. The mental health side came in 2011 due to depression. I had treatment and left them and had a lapse in 2013 but recovered. Many mental health issues bothered me and am still on anti-depressants. In March 2018 mental health issues just overwhelmed me, basically because one of my daughters who has three children under 7 years was not coping and when I say not coping I mean in a big way she could not even take care of my grand-children properly. Also I had a traumatic incident with grown up son cannot say too much but even now up until today I will get certain thoughts in regard of him and just start crying it does pass but I do get emotional, and with all that as if it was not enough I lost my eldest brother after his short illness  which will be two years later this year, and I still miss him every day. I have been having treatment with the mental health team since June 2018 and they have supported me really well and I have also had to put in a lot of effort to regain some better coping strategies in everyday life I am in a much better place now than I was in June 2018 although I am still under support of the mental health services.  I do not want to make this too long for you but that is about the situation I am. Also my G.P wrote an excellent letter for me in regard of physical and mental health and the assessor wrote something in the report of me that she did not totally agree what my G.P had written. The assessor also said that because I drive a car that I was capable to drive anywhere which she marked down in her report. I do drive and make local journeys for the hospital and the G.P and to see my grand-children who are doing good now and we have manged to get my daughter back on track.  I have told the DWP that I cannot drive to unfamiliar places either with someone or alone as if I get lost or anything like that I just become severely distressed the assessor asked me no questions like that. It was also written in the report that I do not take any anti-anxiety medication. I will leave it at that for now but just to say the day I got the report I got into such a state that my other daughter  had to come to my home after her work as I was overwhelmed, and that night I took two sleeping tablets and a diazepam just so I would not lie awake all night and have those thoughts of the report going through my mind. It upsets me so much because I have even been only taking a sleeping tablet occasionally as my G. P does not want me dependant on them.  I have phoned the DWP to ask them when will I get my decision letter and was told it is on a decision makers desk with some other cases and it should not be much longer but if they go by her report it seems it will not go well for me. I have asked  Atos to send me a complaints pack as now I feel a bit calmer I can at least say  what I thought of my assessment day. As far as getting any more evidence than I have already submitted there is nothing more to say, they have had written letters in regard of mental health and the exceptionally good letter from my G.P. which was a new one written in December 2018, if any decision letter comes I will let you know.

    Thank- you Emma. 
  • EmmaB
    EmmaB Community member Posts: 263 Pioneering
    Hi @samantha21
    You have clearly had a busy year with a lot going on and other stuff that has been going on for longer too... 
    Some assessors make assumptions which turn out not to be correct, particularly about mental health / autism / learning disabilities...  
    If you have a good GP letter that will be really helpful as will any other letters from the MH team.
    Personally, I don't think people should be judged on their medication - some people chose not to take it [and there is no evidence that mental health problems are caused by a bio-chemical imbalance that medication magically sorts out anyway!], some react badly to it, others prefer other approaches e.g. counselling, mindfulness, relaxation etc.  
    Your doctor is right, you don't want to get hooked on sleeping pills... instead if you've done any CBT as part of your treatment, try to go back to looking at unhelpful thinking styles and challenging them when you are worrying about this PIP process.
    Just remember, if you are turned down at this stage there are 2 more stages [mandatory reconsideration and tribunal]; many many people who get to tribunal stage are awarded PIP - the people on the tribunals have a lot of experience and are committed to being fair.  
    So if you can develop a mantra of 'I can get through this' in response to your worries then hopefully you can offset the negative effects of just getting through the process!
    It's crazy but if you have a genuine problem then I really hope this is recognised at some point in the process, it just might not be at this assessment stage.
    Best wishes.
    Emma

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