DLA to PIP change

SydneysMum

 SCOPE,

problems with the DLA to PIP process.

Hello everyone - 

I’m new to this site - but I’ve been reading your posts for weeks - trying to pluck up the courage to join in and ask for help - as nobody I’ve contacted so far seems to know the TRUE rules when it comes to the DLA to PIP change over.

What do you make of this?

I was given a DLA Lifetime Award back in 1997.

Along with ESA and all the top’ups. 

The DLA Award was for mental health issues.

But my physical health has deteriorated in recent years and in 2005 I was diagnosed with KypoScoliosis as well as CPOD. 

Sadly my husband was killed in 2014 and I had to sell our house in London - I’ve since moved to East Sussex.

But my new GP has refused to treat me for conditions I already had when I moved here. He has also withheld a lot of my usual medication - meds that enabled me to cope and live independently.

He’s also refused me ANY mental health support - or treatment for my KypoScoliosis or my CPOD.

It’s now been 4 YEARS - 

I’m back to self harming and haven’t left my home in a year due to the return of my agoraphobia, severe panic attacks, and all the other horrendous symptoms I spent 10yrs getting under control.

When I moved here I could still walk - but without the treatment for my Scholiosis that I begged for - I’m now in a wheelchair and I’m bladder incontinent. Not to mention suicidal. 

My new GP’s reason for treating me so badly? The treatment I need is too costly - and he doesn’t have my medical history.

After 4yrs of this **** I had a total meltdown last summer & different agency’s got involved. 

STEPS pushed me into applying for PIP - I kept saying “NO I’ll wait until the DWP contact me themselves - I’m not risking my DLA if I don’t have to”.

But STEPS kept on & on & on - so in the end I was so weak & mentally fragile I agreed to let them do the change over.

But the letter informing me of WHEN they were coming to assess me - went to a wrong address. So when they came I was on route to the Pain Clinic.

Within days - my DLA was taken away - my PIP was refused & ALL my ESA top ups were also taken away.

But In under a week my carer got a letter from my nurse as ‘proof’ of why I missed my assessment - and sent it of for the ‘mandatory reconsideration’ - which they accepted. 

 EVERYONE told me IF they accept the ‘proof’ I’d sent, which they DID, Id keep my DLA until it was all ‘sorted out’.

But they still took everything!!!

I’m now up to my neck in debt and after paying everyone off monthly I’m left with £27 a week to live on.

Am I finally losing it??

I haven’t eaten in over a week and all I keep hearing is

“They can’t do that - it’s illegal”.

Well the DWP HAS DONE IT.

I’m not fabricating my condition - it’s all well documented in my medical history.

For example - as I type this -

I have builders from my Local Council adapting my bathroom into a wet room & adding other helpful things.

I’m so confused & alone.

Has the world gone mad??

Ami2301

Hi @SydneysMum welcome to the community! I am terribly sorry to hear what you're going through!

You are a member of our community and we appreciate you. 
 
If you are having thoughts of suicide, it is important that you discuss them with someone who is qualified to help. Please call the Samaritans on 116 123 (free) or email them at jo@samaritans.org 
 
You might also benefit from reading MIND’s information on how you can help yourself: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-healthproblems/suicidal-feelings/how-can-i-help-myself/ 
 
If you feel that you may be an immediate danger to yourself, please call 999 or go to your local hospital right away. 

Let's take this one step at a time, we will help you

Adrian_Scope

Hello @SydneysMum, firstly I just wanted to say I'm terribly sorry to hear about your husband.
I'm going to try and help with your queries, but may need to ask a few more questions.
With regards to your GP refusing treatment, are you able to request a new GP at all? You've a right to request a new GP and they should also have access to your medical history and if they don't, can you contact your previous surgery and ask for it to be sent? If that doesn't get you any where, you should also consider contacting PALS, who are a free liaison service that could help.

With regards to your DLA/PIP application, if they've accepted that you had 'good reason' not to attend your assessment, they should reinstate your DLA, while they make a decision about your PIP. The DWP confirm this here: 
We will reinstate your DLA if we or a tribunal find you had ‘good reason’ not to:go to a face-to-face PIP assessment when we asked you to, orprovide the information or evidence we asked forThis change applies to decisions DWP made about people moving from DLA to PIP from 23 November 2017.Is your carer your appointee and are they able to contact the DWP and argue this for you? And am I right in understanding that you still don't have your ESA back? I'm going to tag @BenefitsTrainingCo as they might be able to help with any advice in regards to this.

With regards to your debt, both Citizens Advice Bureau and StepChange should be able to help lowering your repayments and freezing any interest and charges, so at least in the interim you'll have a little more to live off. Both are free services, but STEP Change can be a little quicker dealing with debt as it's their primary focus.
I hope that's helpful and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

Finally, as @Ami2301 said, as a member of our community you are important to us and if you're having thoughts of suicide, it is really important you discuss them with someone who is qualified to help. Please call the Samaritans on 116 123 (free) or email them at jo@samaritans.org Reading MIND’s information on how you can help yourself might be useful: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-healthproblems/suicidal-feelings/how-can-i-help-myself/ and if you feel that you may be an immediate danger to yourself, please call 999 or go to your local hospital right away. 

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi SidneysMum

I agree with Adrian. If it has been accepted that you had good reasons then your benefits should be put back to where they were originally. You should contact the DLA office and the ESA office and formally ask them to look at the decisions again. Referring to the link provided by Adrian may help.

Good luck

David