Assessor asked if someone else could listen in, and they asked a few questions. Is this normal?

ponies

Hi there had a Pip assessment on Tuesday, telephone assessment.
I was very Anxious on the phone
although the Assessor was very patient & had a calm manor, I was still very anxious about the whole thing. I was asked if someone else from assessment centre could listen into the call, wouldn’t say anything to me during the assessment, but maybe ask me something afterwards.
The assessment seemed long 1hour 30mins.
The other party did ask me a couple of questions at the end…
is this a normal procedure 
thanks

chiarieds

Hi @ponies - I'm sorry you felt so anxious with your assessment, tho I think we all are to a certain extent. Yes, everything else is normal too, & assessment lengths can vary widely.

ponies

Thanks
I hope I explained myself well enough about how my disabilities affect me.
This is the first time that I have applied for Pip.
I didn’t realise how long it took…
I know people are anxious about assessments.
I know people have to learn the training & procedure…
It was a bit daunting for me. I don’t know how it went, & was still shaken after it. I was told to wait 5-8wks for the outcome, but could hear b4 that time scale. Was told it now goes to a case manager to review & if they need more information, the case manager could ring me…

poppy123456

Not sure what you mean by "learn the training." There's no training involved for the claimant. The timescale you were told by the assessor is what they tell everyone but they have no idea of the size of the backlogs, which are huge. At the moment it can be anything from 2-12 weeks, sometimes longer once the assessment is done.

It's rare for the decision maker to ring so i wouldn't expect that.

ponies

I meant the person listening in to the assessment, thought that maybe was for training purposes for them and not me…
yep was told if they needed anymore info from me, I could get a phone call.
or if of my circumstances change to contact DWP

poppy123456

ponies said:

or if of my circumstances change to contact DWP

That alone, is terrible advice. A change of condition doesn't always need to be reported.

ponies

Oh right, it’s only I have an ongoing appointment for IBS & if I have it, to let them know

ponies

Although I did explain the affects of my bowels

poppy123456

Future appointments won't help a PIP claim.

ponies

Oh I didn’t know that…
even though I haven’t as yet been diagnosed with IBS & I know it’s not the diagnosis but how things affect you (my bowels) is it still counted towards points 
thanks poppy123456

poppy123456

PIP is all about the activities/descriptors and you need to score points for an award. There's 10 daily living activies and 2 mobilit ones. You need to score at least 8 points for a standard award and at least 12 points for Enhanced. If you score points in both daily living and mobility, they are not added up together, it's added separately.

For your bowels then this would come under toilet needs and incontinece. There are other activities such as washing/bathing, preparing a meal, budgeting, dressing/undressing etc.

It would be very helpful to have some understanding of the descriptors and what they mean before you go any further. See link. https://pipinfo.net/#activities

You can have a disability but if you don't meet the descriptors you won't score the points for an award. I'm not saying you don't qualify because i don't know exactly how your conditions affect you. Before you go further it would be worth getting some expert advice to check that you do qualify. Start here for this.

https://advicelocal.uk/

ponies

Thank you poppy123456
it is my toilet needs & Incontinence as it does affect me 

poppy123456

Are there any other descriptors that you think you could score points for? There are 9 other ones, just relying on the one descriptor to score 8 points for an award is an awful lot to ask and it may not be possible to score so high for this.

ponies

Yes there are other descriptors. 

ponies

Hi there, received a phone call from DWP Decision Maker on Sunday to say I have been awarded pip & will get the letter in the post. Didn’t think they worked Sundays

ponies

Aww thank you, take care…

Bowden27

Just had s phone call from pip saying can someone listen in to monday assesment i said just want a one one i have mental health problems 

chiarieds

Hi @Bowden27 - this would likely be for training purposes, but absolutely fine to just talk to one person instead. Hoping all goes well on Monday, tho thought you'd already had a PIP assessment in July this year?

Bowden27

No i had a panic attack had to end call was in a bad way

chiarieds

Sorry that happened last time, & hope all is indeed OK on Monday

Bowden27

Thank you