Mental health claims and appointee

tanya2595

Hi just wondering if anyone has made there partner a appointee to talk to PIP and to talk on the phone call assessment? Will this delay my claim? Also I was wanting to know how many people actually get PIP for mental health? My mental health is so bad that I don’t leave my house, I don’t come out of my room on most days, I don’t socialise, I hardly eat, I don’t answer my phone, I have severe anxiety and depression and going through diagnosis for ptsd.  I am on medication and have a mental health worker too. Just looking for positive mental health pip results.
thank you 

janer1967

Hi and welcome 

Lots of people have an appointee for PIP claims you need to get in touch with them to sort it and it shouldn't delay your claim 

Also lots claim successfully for mental health but it's how your condition affects your daily living against the descriptors 

Look in the PIP section as there are lots of posts on there from members 

tanya2595

Thank you, I will be contacting DWP to set up a appointee today, it says normally they do a interview to see if your a acceptable appointee. Has this changed due to covid? I have tried searching new information on it due to covid and can’t find any

Kettles

Hello, Tanya. I am an appointee for my husband. All it entails is making sure the DWP have the appointee's details and copy letters are sent to both the claimant and the appointee. Permission is sought from the claimant and their system will be updated with appointee details. It will not hold up your claim. 

Mental health as the pervious person has said is now much better for PIP following successful appeals. It is dependent, as with physical health, what your day to day activities and mobility and how they're affected. 

tanya2595

@Kettles thank you I am going to ring them soon and see if my partner can be my appointee I haven’t hardly left my house in over a year, he does all the shopping, pays bills, takes kids to school, answers phone calls. So I think it’s best if he can talk for me too as I get really nervous and start to panic on the phone with people. 

Yeah I am aware of that, I know it depends on how it affects you day to day. I am just hoping a positive outcome. I also am waiting for a letter or message to let me know if I need a phone assessment or paper based but I know it will more than likely be a phone assessment and I am already starting to stress over it even though I don’t have a date (anxiety sucks) thank you for your help 

Kettles

@tanya2595 - that is all it will take. A phone call so they can update their systems. 

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties.

tanya2595

Thank you I am going to ring them up now

Kettles

Good luck, I found them to be really helpful in my dealings with them. 

chiarieds

Hi @tanya2595 - as has been said many people are successfully awarded PIP that have mental health problems. It's very helpful to understand the PIP descriptors, as these are looked at to see where your activities of daily living &/mobility (which includes a 'Planning & following a journey' section) are affected. Please have a look at the following link which is about mental health & PIP. Even tho this is to help fill in your PIP form, it may show you some things that you haven't thought to previously mention which you should do with your assessment. Please see: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/

PIP is about how your function is affected, which includes if you can do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, as often as you'd like, or if it might take you more than twice as long as someone who doesn't have your disability.

It would also be helpful to say, if this applies, how attempting /doing an activity makes you feel afterwards.

I hope some of this helps, & I see others have offered much good advice already, including cupcake on your first post.

Please do keep coming back with any questions, as people here will support & advise you as much as they can.

tanya2595

Thank you I am on hold to DWP now to set up my partner as a appointee. 

I will take a look thank you, I have already looked on the gov site and I think I have mentioned everything about how it affects me day to day and how I am not living a normal life on the form and in my evidence. 

The people on here are very helpful thank you 

poppy123456

Under normal circumstances the procedure for someone to become an appointee is DWP send out a representative to your house, which is what happened when i became my daughters appointee. No idea what the procedure is now, although i'm sure they would want to speak to your partner regarding this. See link. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

Kettles

Hi @poppy123456 that is an interesting read, thank you. I didn't have to do anything like this. Although I don't have my husband's PIP paid directly to me. It goes straight to him so the link you've posted if someone is managing the money on a claimant's behalf, makes total sense.  The only time I had to do anything on the phone, was at the initial claim, the rest was in writing for the MR and tribunal. We have just received the review of his first claim and this was Cc'd to me. 

tanya2595

@poppy123456 I have just got off the phone with them. They have set my partner up as a appointee and said he will receive some documents in the post basically the declaration to read through so he understands everything and that was it they just asked him some questions on the phone and it was done. 

Thank you 

Kettles

Great news, @tanya2595. That is exactly what I did. Answer some questions, I receive the same letters as my husband, just in my name. 

tanya2595

@Kettles I feel so much more relaxed knowing my partner can deal with everything now (phone assessment and other calls) the money however if I get accepted still goes into my account but he’s the one who goes and pays all bills etc. 

Thank you for all your help 

Kettles

It should make life easier for you, @tanya2595. My husband has a mental block on forms and struggles with writing. I don't mind filling in forms. We are waiting for a phone based assessment, I put on speaker phone so he can hear what they're saying and he is able participate in the assessment. 

cupcake88

That’s really good I’m glad you spoke to them . I successful got pip first time for mental illnesses . I was so anxious applying for pip but I’m glad I did as the money really helps.

cupcake88

I wish you all the best 

tanya2595

@Kettles my partner is going to do the same he’s going to put it on loud speaker so I can participate if I need to, I have the same filling forms gives me mental block and answering the phone even to family members makes my anxiety go through the roof, we are also in the stage of waiting for a phone call assessment, I am assuming they will be very busy so I know will take a while 

tanya2595

@cupcake88 I am hoping I am successful if not I will have to do the mandatory reconsideration. (Hoping it doesn’t get to that) thank you so much for everyone’s help. 

It can be very lonely living with my mental health and not wanting to put too much of my worry’s onto my partner as he has everything else to deal with

Kettles

@tanya2595 - the forms are scary if people aren't used to completing forms so I do understand why they cause anxiety. One less thing for you to become anxious about now. You can relax about this. Sending luck for the assessment when it happens.