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Pip assessors report
pandora86
Member Posts: 29 Connected
hello, im writing this on behalf my mum who was awarded higher rate dla lifetime award since 2015. Obviously now being transferred over to PIP. She recently had her f2f assessment accompanied with me which was extremely difficult for her due to pain and anxiety.
i requested her pip assessment report which came through today (still waiting for the decision letter) from what i have understood she loses her enhanced mobility award by 2 points! Obviously i know we have to wait for the decision letter to come through before requesting a MR, but what i noticed on the report were that the assessor had written that my mum was not trembling or sweating therefore did not suffer anxiety and was not deemed to have any cognitive impairment as she had good memory.
now firstly i want to say that my mum did not even speak a word to the assessor as she suffers from social anxiety and there was never a “memory test” preformed! But the assessor had written my mum had good tone of voice and apparently reads and understands everything which i want to laugh out loud about.
how do i convince dwp to reconsider question 11 planning and following journeys? My mum cannot plan a journey let alone go by herself, she has severe anxiety and is so doses up on pain meds is often confused and drowsy.
please help!
i requested her pip assessment report which came through today (still waiting for the decision letter) from what i have understood she loses her enhanced mobility award by 2 points! Obviously i know we have to wait for the decision letter to come through before requesting a MR, but what i noticed on the report were that the assessor had written that my mum was not trembling or sweating therefore did not suffer anxiety and was not deemed to have any cognitive impairment as she had good memory.
now firstly i want to say that my mum did not even speak a word to the assessor as she suffers from social anxiety and there was never a “memory test” preformed! But the assessor had written my mum had good tone of voice and apparently reads and understands everything which i want to laugh out loud about.
how do i convince dwp to reconsider question 11 planning and following journeys? My mum cannot plan a journey let alone go by herself, she has severe anxiety and is so doses up on pain meds is often confused and drowsy.
please help!
Replies
DLA and PIP are different. The criteria is different. For PIP, your mom needs to show that she cannot safely, repeatedly, and quickly manage to do those things by herself.if she wishes to be deemed eligible. Regarding the memory test, this is when the HP will ask your mom about things not related to the assessment, it will be used to form the basis of the memory assessment.
Now you must wait for the award letter then politely ask for a mandatory reconsideration giving examples of what happens when your mom tries a activity. Do not worry about the assessment report. Solely focus on the activity descriptors and prepare to go to tribunal, this is common unfortunately. Best of luck! Keep us updated on the outcome of the tribunal too.
DLA is for children only. Once you reach 16, they will ask you to apply for PIP instead.
I am sorry to hear this, and I appreciate how frustrated you must feel at the moment.
Like it has been said above, you'll have to wait for the decision letter to make an appeal. Here is some information about the Mandatory Reconsideration process. Also, it may be worth seeking some expert advice via AdviceLocal.
If you need anything, we are here. You don't need to go through this alone and we will try our best to advise you.
I did the points system from the assessors report and she will be awarded the enhanced rate of daily living however loses the enhanced rate of mobility by 2 points and that being that apparently my mum can plan and go on a journey alone. Which of course is not the case!
We wish you the best of luck and please do seek face to face advice if you can.
where would that leave us?
Sorry to be a bother this whole thing is just so distressing for everyone and i appreciate the time and effort of all you
I found it easier to write out all the descriptors, what points I should have got and then reference the evidence. It just simplified everything.
If that's all your disagreeing with, you may just be able to dispute that one descriptor in the MR. The more knowledgeable on here will know.
with my mums; there were several sections where the assessor was i fact contradicting herself saying daughter gave all the input but then somehow apparently my mum answered all the questions fully, or that my mum appeared unwell but then she was not trembling..? Or that she was neatly dressed...yes of course she was cos i dressed her! If being dressed in a tracksuit bottom and top is classed as neatly, i dont know maybe i should have come to the assessment in a food stained top or something? Lol
i just wanted to prepare myself for whats the come beforehand
however the assessor ticked box saying can plan and follow a journey unaided, but wrote in the comments “cannot plan and follow a simple journey”
Good luck! Keep us posted.
I wonder if it's worth checking whether the DWP would include this (since it's not a medical condition itself) ?
Could you tell them if your mother has tried other pain relief which don't have these side effects??
Good luck anyway...
The scope of the question actually focuses on mental health ability to plan and take a journey, however as i said previously, the assessor claims my mum wasnt trembling or sweating so therefore no signs of anxiety were present so she marked her down. Not taking into consideration the new anxiety and pain med she was prescribed few days before (pregabalin) which completely numbed her on the day of assessment.
we will just have to wait and see i suppose. Would it help to get a letter from gp to express my mums anxiety attacks? To send along with an MR should we need to? Thanks
She has an appointment with mental health care professional on 24th oct, who had a telephone appointment with her about a month ago and said that mum has severe anxiety etc but i dont know whether they would provide a letter?
Thanks
@pandora86 - I hope I've read your previous post correctly - apologies if not - but if your mother isn't showing signs of anxiety due to the medication that she's prescribed then isn't that a really positive thing? The medication is obviously working which is good news.
As Poppy has said the problem with getting asking your GP for a letter about your Mum not leaving the house is that he/she will only have her word for that. Possibly they might say that she is always accompanied when she attends appointments?
I struggle to understand 'planning a journey'...but if she goes with you to the doctors wouldn't that score 10points - which is what you were awarded?
Good luck with your MR
yes my mum has not once attended her appointments alone, always accompanied with someone. For the points system she scored the 10 for the physical abilities however scored 0 for the mental ability of going on a journey unaided.
Have you sent in the MR yet? I wonder if you could call and ask politely if there's been an error, if they say no, then send the MR.
Second did you look at more than just the points, the assessor should have put some reasoning below the planning a journey descriptor choice to justify why they gave that descriptor (they only dont have to do this if they agree with the claimants choice of descriptor).
just a little update on my mum, we was in a&e last night all night as mum fell from panic as she just stepped out to open the door and thought she heard someone in the block and hit back of her head on the glass door outside her flat
@worried33 thank you, unfortunately this is where im confused as although the assessor had ticked the box “can plan and follow a journey unaided” she then wrote in the box “cannot plan and follow a familiar journey” this is where all my confusion has arised!
In any event even if you could show that someone has lied - and it is a lie and not an error, a typo, mishearing something or just someone who disagrees with you - this won't qualify you for PIP.
If you focus on 'lies' then you'll most likely get yourself angry and upset when you are a lot better spending your time on something more positive - I speak from experience as this is what I did!
Waiting for the decision letter can be a stressful time.
If your mum does not get the outcome you want then you can lodge a Mandatory Consideration. When you do this, it is a good idea to ask for a full statement of the reasons why the award was given. The initial decision letter does not contain all the information. It is usually just a summary.
@ruckerdee asked if you can actually end up with the award reduced following an MR, and you do need to be aware that there is a slight risk when you do this. The whole award can be looked at again, even if you are only asking them to look at part of it. I would stress that this risk is small though!
Citizens Advice provide useful information on supporting evidence for PIP and sometimes a GP's letter can be helpful. Make sure it comes to you and does not go directly to the DWP so that you can check it. GP's are not always comfortable doing these letters unless they know the patient well and are sure of how their condition actually affects their daily life. The GP will charge for a letter and charges vary.
I agree with @ilovecats, a list of lies is not a good idea. As others in the conversation have written, the best way is to list the descriptors you disagree with, say what points you think your mum should have got. State why and give examples.
I hope that you do not need to do any of this and that your mum gets the enhanced rate of both parts of PIP.
If you do need any further help please ask. We are always happy to help.
Scope
How is the process going? I too would suggest not focusing and listing the mistakes in the report. They would not be interested in this. You would just show them how your mum meets the criteria.
You only need 2-3 real life example. I hope this helps.
update on mum shes okish in alot of pain due to the fall, i called gp to ask for a letter but they said the hospital discharge note should be enough as she has a ESA assessment coming up on tuesday!
Still patiently waiting for the dreaded decision letter. Her payment is due on tuesday so i reckon we would hear from them very soon!
Thanks again for all the guidance
I hope everything goes well.
Scope
really confused as theyve already got the award outcome but not us!! Im hopeful that nothing has changed in her award as she was getting high in daily living and mobility before so seeing as hb and ct have not been affected am i right to assume her award has been given as same as previous?
thanks
this was expected as i did mention in my previous posts due to having a look at the assessors report. However we do not agree and wish to apply for a MR.
i will get the hospital discharge letter which states what had happened. She never goes to any of her appointments alone (not sure how id evidence that) Is there any other evidence i can gather?
thanks
she is currently on anti depressants and anxiety tablets for these conditions alongside other medications for other physical issues she has.
Here is some information about the Mandatory Reconsideration process that you might find helpful.
The next stage will be a MR which you have a month request this. Many members of the community have been through this so I hope we will be able to advise you.
Here is some information about the Mandatory Reconsideration process. You will have to give 2-3 real life examples about how your mum meets the criteria. This also can be done online.
It's important to not pull them up on the lies, but just use an example of a real life situation.
If you need any further guidance then please do let us know.
good luck to anyone who is also in the MR or appeals process. Its all so very stressful! My mum looks as though shes aged 10 years in 2/3 months!
We wish you and your mum the best of luck!
Let us know how you get on.
Scope
You also could ring up and tell them more evidence is being sent.
this morning and they said as a decision still has not been made we have time to send in the extra evidence. Thanks
I have just caught up and seen someone did advise you to not even mention the contradiction, I would have definitely mentioned it. Its the very reason reports are been audited in the first place to make sure there is nothing like that on them. If the DWP didn't care about bad quality reports, contradiction's and so forth then they wouldn't even be having the reports audited in the first place. But of course I did say it was only a starting point and not to be the only driver of the request. There is instances of members on scope forums, speaking to a DM directly about reports that contradict themselves and successfully getting a new assessment carried out or the report bounced back to be corrected and usually getting a favourable decision as a result.
anyway where does this leave us now? Can we appeal? How does that process work and do we need a lawyer? What happens to my mums mobility car as we rely on that so much to take her out and about, do they let us keep it for a little longer? Thanks
Sorry to hear that the MR was unsuccessful, although unfortunately this is not unusual.
You can now take the decision to appeal, but you do need to be aware that they will look at the whole award again.
You do not need a lawyer but it can be useful to get help from somewhere such as CAB or your local AgeUK, depending on how old your mum is.
You have a month to lodge the appeal and then it can take several months, sometimes as long as a year, for the case to be heard.
The process for appealing should be on the decision letter. There is also some information about appealing on the Scope website.
You will need to speak to the garage where you got the Motability car and let them know what is happening. Unfortunately you will not be able to keep the car pending an appeal.
Scope