I have idiopathic intracranial hypertension and a Vp shunt - PIP Assessment

shazza3

Had my personal independence assessment yesterday the lady was a occupational therapist she was at my home for 1 hour my husband my carer was with me and answered quite a lot of the questions she literally went threw every question
she mentioned to me a couple of times you have had a few assessments over the years yes 3 in just over four years because they want you to reapply 12 months inadvance I did-not say that though just said yes I have
she also mentioned all the doctors reports I had sent but I felt she was trying to force answers on me she asked about my sons dog do I look after it I replied no my son does
I cried a lot even fell asleep/napped my husband said, which I feel horrible about but it was 9am in the morning and it does take me a while to sort myself out most days in the morning
I gave extra evidence also but she pulled a form out her bag and told me I had to sign a form to give this in?my husband said I can do that but she replied it had to be me 
she also shoved her hand in front of me when leaving and said goodbye so i shuck it did not really grip it though felt under handed to me
I have idiopathic intracranial hypertension and a Vp shunt and just diagnosed with fibromyalgia and other problems my mobility is very poor and I have a few bits of equipment like a bath board bath seat walking stick a wheel chair all mentioned in the assessment but I have a really strange feeling am not going to get it even though my consultant my doctors and my carers have all sent in the letters of support its going to be a long couple of weeks waiting for the brown envelope the stress is terrible
has any body else felt like this before my other assessments were not as stressful as this 
my husband thinks it went well and she could see I was in pain groggy and upset.
any advise would be great

thespiceman

Hello @shazza3 Pleased to meet you welcome.

Thank you for joining and sharing. Sorry to hear about your assessment.

I am one of the team of community champions who guide, advise and help new members who join.

I understand what you are going through. I have been there as have many of our community members.

We are here to support you . If there is anything we can help and advise with. Please ask.

As with any assessment it is waiting for the outcome.  To reassure you I have doing these assessment a long time and it is never easy to deal with.

You not alone.

Please have a look around our website.  We are friendly.

Keep in touch .

Wish you all the success for a positive out come.

Please take care.

@thespiceman

shazza3

thank you its just waiting now to see what happens the assessor was polite and she did mention my mobility problems but you hear that many bad stories makes you more anxious

thespiceman

Hello @shazza3 Please try not to worry.  I know that is easy to say but having been doing assessments a long time.

I have anxiety myself and what can happen if you get too anxious and then it becomes in your mind.  Like a record. Goes a round and around.

The effects your stomach head and mind. Making you feel worse.

I was told that by my floating support.

Please can I ask if you need any support with anything like anxiety . Speak to your Doctor. I would please can I suggest have a visit.

I do every time after an assessment. Not wasting Doctors time just for first to keep them in the picture. Add to that anything they may offer medication to help you.

Talking it over also does help.

Might offer additional advice and support if needed. After all that is there role.

One final point there are always answers and solutions to your mobility problems. To give you lot more reassurance. 

I understand the concern please just wait and see. We are here what ever happens to give you peace of mind and be supportive.

I hope that helps please ask if I can advise any further.

Please keep safe and warm cold day today.

Always here for a chat anytime you wish to.

@thespiceman

shazza3

thankyou appreciated

shazza3

well i received the dreaded brown envelope today my award has stayed the same for 5 years which I am glad about i rang and asked for a copy of the assessment Tuesday and got that today to, read all the way threw and to be honest found the assessor had been quite good and honest with what she had put different point on activities from last time but still stayed the same on my points so am happy anyway,she did pickup that we had a dog and it was my sons, that I looked healthy but pale and over weight! she also noticed I had a sick bowl and inhaler on the side,she mentioned my equipment I used in her summery also wheel chair walking stick bath board etc,so there was things she did pickup on her eyes were everywhere but still gave me the points so positive assessment,
now I can relax for 5 years,hate this ordeal so much but its come out positive for me fingers crossed for everyone else make sure you have documents from hospital appointments doctors etc because she also wrote this saying she has plenty of support from people for her illness backed up with letters of support.

madquasimodo

Well done its good to hear a successful claim, its nice to hear the assessor had a good grasp of your needs and problems, at least you can relax a bit, I hope you get some relief from the fact your case went well and your problems were identified, you mentioned carers if the local authority is providing help they might be able to help with reports and details of your case for next time. It may be some time away but you need to keep your medical reports current and valid.   

braca

ilovecats said:

So in fact, nothing she did was underhanded?

AYE RIGHT...Why do so many assessors leave due to pressure from management and then come on forums such as Scope forum and paint a picture that everything is a garden of roses ? the whole system is well and truly flawed and millions of pounds being thrown down the drain by government on those private companies whose only interest is profit and more profit...wish I lived in Scotland as they seem to have recognised that people are being treated unfairly by this corrupt Mob...

CockneyRebel

braca said:

ilovecats said:

So in fact, nothing she did was underhanded?

AYE RIGHT...Why do so many assessors leave due to pressure from management and then come on forums such as Scope forum and paint a picture that everything is a garden of roses ? the whole system is well and truly flawed and millions of pounds being thrown down the drain by government on those private companies whose only interest is profit and more profit...wish I lived in Scotland as they seem to have recognised that people are being treated unfairly by this corrupt Mob...

I think we are very fortunate to have an ex assessor join us. There are two sides to the process and it is easy to see just the side of the claimant as it refers to most of us. By having @ilovecats share their knowledge, we do at least get to see the other side.

shazza3

your right ilovecats
she was not under handed just how I felt on the day because the whole ordeal is so stressful but I have to say she wrote down exactly what I said and my husband no false information at all,to be fare it was me doing all the worrying at the end of the day she done her job and the outcome for me was good.we hear horrible stories and not always the good ones come on and say but hope it helps other people get an idea how the assessments go like I said previously back your claim up with as much information as you can I think it helps..

cristobal

I agree with @CockneyRebel - it's good to have an ex-assessor on the forum. Most valuable I think is his/her explanation of how the points are awarded for the different descriptors.

I don't think @ilovecats is painting a rosy picture - he/she can only explain what should happen - It's fairly obvious that mistakes/ untruths do happen (both by assessors and claimants) and i don't think that anyone would deny that....

braca

I agree having ex assessor sharing their knowledge on forum can be of interest to those trying to navigate the PIP process.. I find information from ( The Not So Secret Assessor blog ) to be more reflective of person who has worked on the Assessment Provider side of PIP and opened my eyes up about some assessors looking at social media to try and gleam info before and after F2F...this is supposedly frowned on by management but talked about openly amongst assessors in that particular office.

Scope forums are also very interesting and in the short time I have been looking at the site have read many interesting stories and picked up valuable knowledge in my own case against DWP...One was about chasing up PIP MR and that you can request PA5 report as I was told by person on PIP helpline that is if MR gets sent back to IAS as in my case and then back to Case manager at DWP for decision...

madquasimodo

If you spend anytime on here one of the most complained about items is errors on PIP2, you said one thing and something you deem as different being recorded.
In my partner case she could not do the ROM tests fully, she did tell the HCP that she had fallen and hurt her back, something that happens a lot, so she did what she could. the ROM report in my opinion was just copy pasted from a standard response, it listed a full medical assessment with angles and measurements, I am a pain, so I went and download all the information I could find, we sat down and went through each test, only 2 of these were done on the day, the rest were not done but marked as done, R could not lift her leg due to extreme back pain when lifting her leg (actually hurt her back further doing the test assessor pushed her a bit too hard) I did warn her to only do what she could, 
Due to balance and mobility issues she needs lifting in and out of the bath even with the aids we have.

None of the many tests listed were recorded correctly, some were never done at all, the HCP will no doubt say she estimated the ROM from observing us enter and leave. Some of the honest information helps everyone from either side, when you think its important but its shown to be of little relevance to your overall claim. 

twonker

shazza3 said:

your right ilovecats
she was not under handed just how I felt on the day because the whole ordeal is so stressful but I have to say she wrote down exactly what I said and my husband no false information at all,to be fare it was me doing all the worrying at the end of the day she done her job and the outcome for me was good.we hear horrible stories and not always the good ones come on and say but hope it helps other people get an idea how the assessments go like I said previously back your claim up with as much information as you can I think it helps..

I can remember back when I was claiming a disability based benefit. I was given award periods of 1/2/3 years. This went on for over 20 years. Then one day I had another assessment and was so surprised with what she said that I shed a few tears. She had looked at the claim and it's history and told me not to worry, and that I had spent far too long on short awards. She recommended a for life award there and then and not to worry the DWP will agree with me.
 I presented no new evidence it was just that the assessor must have had sympathy for my cause.

thespiceman

Hello @shazza3  Congratulations on the outcome of your assessment.

This excellent to hear.

Hope we as community have been supportive. I do understand the difficulties you experienced.

Please if we help, further with anything. Please keep in touch or let the community know.

Always happy to hear of a positive story.

Pleasure to meet you.

Take care.

@thespiceman