Lies on assessmemt

Bfarrell

My partner recently was sent for a pip review he was disallowed his PIP when we received the report it looked like the assessor made up her own answers she constantly states my husband not on any anxiety medication yet he has been on Sertaline 100mg for past 5 years she also stated he had no movement restriction yet my husbands weight is one of the main symptoms of his severe sleep apnea she puts it as he looks well nourished and should have no problems with bathing and dressing even though we told her I have to do this for him there was several points I was able to challenge so I asked for a reconsideration after this he was still disallowed his PIP so we have decided to go for an appeal while getting the reports ready we have now noticed that in his medication section she has Sertaline 100mgs for breathing this is an anti depression tablet nothing to do with breathing I am assuming the assessor got this mixed up with his seritide inhaler if these people are from medical backgrounds how can they make such a big mistake

twonker

I am on Setraline but at a dosage of 200mg daily which according to my GP is the max that they can give. Like you according to the DWP I don't suffer from depression or any other mental illness. Seems that this drug according to ATOS is no better than a box of smarties!

madquasimodo

Unfortunately PIP F2F is a bit of a cr*p shoot, I think we need proper advice when filling the form in, if your lucky the CAB might be a good place to find advice. My local CAB is a joke, when trying to get help for MR I was told "But you got something" during the meeting another member of the CAB sat in the next room, we could hear him laughing, when we left he was sat in there and no one was being interviewed.

I went PIP2 failed, MR failed, Tribunal epic fail, the doctor asked one question only, the chairman said you looked fine walking in, the disability member ripped me to shreds, rude, dismissed everything I said and all my doctors/hospital paperwork.

Put in for PIP again, sent for F2F had a nice lady, used to be a mental heath worker, and knew all about my other problems, gave me a proper medical assessment, unlike the first one who wrote down I had a full musculoskeletal examination and assessment, when she did nothing at all.

My partner recently had a review for PIP and said she knew she would lose as the girl sneered at her, avoid eye contact, refused to look at any doctors/hospital paperwork as we had been back to hospital for more test since the original claim, even though she told her she had fallen and hurt her back and the doctors note explained this, pushed her to try range of movement, when she could not do what was asked, marked her as fit.

There is pressure from what reports I have seen (BBC) on assessors to just push people as "Fit for work" and reduce the benefits bill, strange as government figures used to show there was 12b in un-claimed benefits.

Waylay

@Bfarrell and @twonker I SO hear you. Having taken 14 psych meds since 1995, I'm now on lamotrigine, diazepam and 375mg venlafaxine (the max dose) for my mental health. Apparently that's, "not serious medication". Mmmm.

twonker

madquasimodo said:

........strange as government figures used to show there was 12b in un-claimed benefits.

That is basically correct with the majority of it being unclaimed by those of pensionable age.
That money rolls over year after year, 12bn, 24bn, 36bn.....
It is not sloshing around in some piggy bank, any used money from the DWP budget gets re-allocated to other projects.
Unclaimed or not, it means nothing as regards qualifying for any welfare benefit.

madquasimodo

We may disagree on some points, I see many people struggling with claiming as I get older and its the one thing that always get brought up, much of the money not claimed is through people too afraid to get into the whole process as its a nightmare, many people do qualify for benefits but have no idea or are determined enough to try and claim, the whole system has gone from "you have this, we will give you" to "you said you cant, but I think you can" even with doctors reports, hospital reports, physiotherapy reports and neurologist reports I have seen claims rejected, assessments full of errors and lies.

If when you need help and fill in a form truthfully and explain why you can no longer manage, you still have an untrained nurse, physio or "health professional" make a judgement that can effect you for years, I find the whole system corrupt, for ESA my partner "had" to be seen by a doctor, if she was a bit further in the care system, it would be a social worker or care provider report based over longer than 40 min interview, when it comes to PIP they have no liability if they make an error there's little you can do, there is no legal recourse if they lie or miss something, there should be.

They have a big impact on peoples lives, as such they should be required to get it right and they should have sanctions when wrong, please don't insult me with "they have now you can complain" like any system which self regulates complaints go nowhere, you can keep complaining escalating to the next level but in the end very little happens.

People have died waiting for appeals to be heard, it is little comfort to their families to finally hear yes you were right.

twonker

Could you possibly give your opinion to the following.
I take 200mg of Sertraline for Depression - not considered worthy of note by the assessor - why?
As regards mental health history - how far back would you be interested in? One year or two years. The DWP say that you should not supply any evidence that is more than 2 years old. However going back over 18 years would put the whole mental health issue into context. Do I ignore the DWP rules?

wildlife

Sertraline is most certainly prescribed for anxiety. Many medications are prescribed for different symptoms, I was put on Sertraline for severe anxiety and panic attacks. This is an example of what is wrong with the snap shot view assessor's have of the claimants. They weren't in the surgery listening in to your consultation so how can they say Sertraline was not prescribed for anxiety. Rather than looking at what the drug is mainly used for they should accept what the claimant was given it to treat. 

madquasimodo

I imagine many people including me put down a list of medicines thinking that's enough to show I am ill, but from the other side of the table someone will just see almost basic prescriptions and will think that's the bottom on the list so you are not that bad.
I suffer severe panics attacks but after 20+ years I learned to cope by avoiding some of those things which set it off, the tablets I take are not the strongest, I still need to drive, I came off one type as the side effects were too bad, so when I get asked what I am taking and why it will come across as a mild case with low strength medication.

On the day your assessed the HCP will not worry if you had something for 20 years because you can manage and have done.

twonker

ilovecats said:

Unless your condition involves severe relapses eg bipolar disorder / paranoid schizophrenia then evidence from the last 1-2 years should be sufficient.

you won’t score PIP based on how bad you were 15 years ago, only on how you have been in last year/ two (depending on the nature of your condition).

Serrraline is not generally considered to be an acute mental Heath drug, thousands of people take it. I have taken it myself and did not claim PIP

Many thanks that gives me the answer I was looking for. Current evidence (within the last 2 years) is what the assessor/DWP would only be interested in. Of course I agree past history or diagnosis is not relevant if it goes back 15 years. I am pleased to read that the Sertraline is not classed as an acute mental health drug.

So if by ducking under the radar of the mental health system for the past few years eventually being discharged because of the lack of my involvement there would be no evidence at all only the prescription of Sertraline. That answers the reason why the assessor dismissed my claim relating to mental health issues - I still have them but have refused to get involved in treating them. so therefore no current evidence is available to back up what I claim.  

twonker

madquasimodo said:

I imagine many people including me put down a list of medicines thinking that's enough to show I am ill, but from the other side of the table someone will just see almost basic prescriptions and will think that's the bottom on the list so you are not that bad.
I suffer severe panics attacks but after 20+ years I learned to cope by avoiding some of those things which set it off, the tablets I take are not the strongest, I still need to drive, I came off one type as the side effects were too bad, so when I get asked what I am taking and why it will come across as a mild case with low strength medication.

On the day your assessed the HCP will not worry if you had something for 20 years because you can manage and have done.

Precisely. You do learn to cope which, from what I am told, is a good enough reason to say that the impact is reduced despite the condition still being there. The more you learn to live with a condition and try to mitigate the impact on your life you will reduce the chances of being awarded PIP.

In which case is it sensible to tell the assessor that you have found ways around the impact?

madquasimodo

I have issues, and can see a problem with claiming PIP, if you avoid stressful situations and as a result reduce the anxiety/panic attacks, does the effect entitle you to PIP, your life is badly effected, you cannot go into situation which cause problems.
But your not fully disabled, I see a sort of grey area when going out and planning a route with "mental health problems" if you suffer this you may fail on the assessment simple because your medication is not strong enough.

I failed to get an increased award after the recent review, only because the DWP lost a case by not taking mental health properly into account.

katies140

My bf went for an assessment year before last and they lied about him too they said he didn't walk with a limp he appealed it through a company called drass and won