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Urgent help/Advice required with fathers PIP

Worried_son

Can anyone please give their advice over problems we are having with my fathers PIP claim? a quick summary - my father was advised by his support workers to make a claim for pip, they did this in Feb 2018, his claim at that time centered around his mental health, it was so severe that he was sectioned on one occasion, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and several other mental health conditions meaning he was unable to use public transport and only went out to visit doctors or hospital, his claim was still ongoing when sadly in September 2018 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, it was advanced prostate cancer that had spread to his bone all over his body including his hips and spine, he has had treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, making going out almost impossible now without help, every time they sent an assessment appointment he asked for a home visit, they refused, saying the reason was his mental health, at one time they refused his claim, he asked for a reconsideration, again refused, he then went to a tribunal, however the DWP refused to send any papers to the tribunal, they reminded the DWP of their obligations under the law to respond, eventually the DWP admitted it was wrong and my father had a reasonable excuse for not attending the assessment, so this stopped the tribunal, however he has now been left in limbo as the claim is still ongoing after over 16 months, they are still sending out appointments, they still refuse to a home visit, this with someone who has a terminal illness, i have written to his MP, i really am struggling to find any way around this? he is 58 years old and has been told that with luck and treatment he may have 2 - 3 years left, any help or advice as to how to go forward would be much appreciated.

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Comments

michfinch

I’m so, so sorry to learn about the way your poor Father is being treated by the DWP. I, too, involved my MP, my Dr and Specialists all wrote letters. Perhaps go to the Press? It took me 18 months but I do now have PIP, one part at the higher rate and the other 1 point away from the higher rate and under Appeal. Just keep battering away and making noise. I hope your Father receives what he obviously is in need of.

cristobal

@Worried_son ...as @woodbine says there are special rules relating to terminally ill claimants.

Unfortunately I believe that DWP's definition of terminally ill is a life expectancy of less than six months, which won't help you. I'll try and check...

I hope your father is OK, as well as can be expected...

poppy123456

HI,

I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis. Unfortunately, @cristobal is correct here and to claim PIP under the terminal illness rules then your life expectancy has to be 6 months or less. See link for confirmation. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/how-to-claim-if-terminally-ill/

I realise you're fighting for a home assessment but they wont agree. I'd advise you to contact your local MP and see if there's anything they can do to help. https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-your-mp/

However, if your dad is still able to attend other appointments then this can very often go against you when requesting a home assessment. Good luck.

Worried_son

Thanks so much for all your replies.

I was aware of the 6 month rule, but his oncologist has stated that he has between 2 - 3 years with luck and treatment, so to everyone else apart from DWP it is a terminal illness, and the 2 - 3 years is the best prognosis, so it could mean anytime before that.
There is a rule which allows for home visits if travelling to the assessment centre will cause psycholigical distress, which is what we were arguing, yes he does go to hospital but this is sometimes by ambulance and he knows where he is going and who he is seeing, however they seem to be discriminating because of his mental health? one of the assessment appointments they sent was even in a different County.

His MP has written to DWP and had a reply stating that PIP is not assessed because of a health condition, but assessed through daily needs and mobility, they also stated that the tribunal can decide that he is entitled to PIP but they cant decide at what rate, which i suppose is correct but this is why he is asking for a home visit, this was about 6 months ago, so i have just written to the MP again to say the problem is not resolved and it is now nearly 17 months since he made the claim.

Again, thank you so much for all your helpful advice, we have contacted several disability and mental health support groups, and one in particular has stated that we should take legal advice as there could well be a case under the equality act 2010, failure to make reasonable adjustments?

So i am in the process of going through this and raising the matter with DWP, i think the main problem is with the health assessment people, as they never record calls and despite my father asking for a home visit every time, sometimes calling more than once and begging for a home visit, they make no record of this and just inform the DWP that he did not attend.

He has Macmillan working for him, and support workers from Peabody (family mosaic) however my father because of his illness, is not the best at opening letters or asking for help, so i have now taken over and doing what i can to sort this out, i will keep you updated on the outcome, and thanks so much for all your help.