Moving to UC. PIP assessment was traumatic for my son, any suggestions? — Scope | Disability forum
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Moving to UC. PIP assessment was traumatic for my son, any suggestions?

rec
rec Community member Posts: 6 Listener
edited January 2022 in PIP, DLA, and AA
My son is moving council area so has had to apply for universal credit instead of the ESA he gets now. We thought he was on the supported group but it appears he was put in the " no work activity " group. So the forms for UC have triggered several assessments relating to work. He is on enhanced PIP for daily living and standard for mobility. He has just come out of hospital having been sectioned. This is causing lots of stress and we live three hours away so hard for us to get to appointments and help him as they seem to be arranged with only a days notice. 
Is it possible to be on these levels of pip with lifetime mental health illness and still be assessed as likely to be capable of work in the future. He is suicidal at the mention of explaining his illness to yet another lot of strangers. The PIP assessment was very traumatic and we don't want him back in hospital because of all this. Any suggestions? The mental health team have promised to help but keep "forgetting" to phone him, and have left all the support to us ( again). 
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Comments

  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
    If he was not in the Support Group he will have have been in Work Related Activity Group for ESA. 
    This means that for UC he should be immediately treated as having Limited Capability for Work which means he will not be required to look for work but will be required to attend interviews about preparing for work. This would have been the case in the WRAG for ESA too.
    In order to be treated as having Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (equivalent to the ESA Support Group) he will have to undergo a Work Capability Assessment which will involve completing a health questionnaire and, most likely, having an telephone or face to face assessment. 
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • rec
    rec Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    Very strange as he has never had any appointments at the job centre or been asked back for review, which was why we thought he was in the support group. He doesn't always show us letters and has been on ESA for about seven years. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,357 Disability Gamechanger
    Sometimes those in the WRAG are just left alone and never have any appointments. 
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,652 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2021
    Hello @rec and welcome to the community, I hope the above replies have been helpful.

    Sorry to hear about what your son has been going through, it's concerning to read the details you mention there about his mental health and that he has felt suicidal at the thought of explaining his condition to strangers, however I understand that doing that can be hard for some people.

    Is he in regular contact with the mental health team about how he feels? Do you and him both feel as though he is able to manage his mental health at the moment? If you ever feel as though he might be at risk of harming himself, please contact 999 immediately or attend your local A&E service. 

    Additionally, if he wants to access immediate support in the form of speaking to somebody, he can contact Samaritans on 116 123 or text "Shout" to 85258. Furthermore, he can read some guidance from the mental health charity Mind about coping techniques.

    If he ever wants to get in touch with us directly to discuss anything or to see if we can support him in any way, then our email address is community@scope.org.uk.
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  • rec
    rec Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    Thanks for the comments. I have contacted an adviser from Mind who suggested we ask for a Supersession as Adam is obviously in the wrong group. The mental health team have now started to give a bit of backup...afraid I was very blunt about how disappointed we were with their lack of support. We are going to have a double appointment in November, regarding the UC and the Mental Health Nurse is attending with me and son. Unfortunately he is very noncompliant and lacks insight into his condition which makes it all harder. His paranoia means he does not reach out for help. The latest admission was under a section 2,   but he was released after less than 2 weeks having had no treatment and with same symptoms. I have also been advised to ring the UC helpline and stress how vulnerable he is so that he should not be sanctioned without checks being made. Hopefully we can sort this out. He meets at least two of the descriptors for the Limited Capability for Work Related Activities group, according to the mental health team.
    Fingers crossed!
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @rec :) I'm glad that you've been able to make some progress! How have you and your son been getting on since you last posted here? 
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  • rec
    rec Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    Had terrible trouble getting through to anyone to stress his vulnerability. My youngest son was talking about it to a friend who works for DWP, and he has spoken to them as a family friend and Adam now is not to go for interview at all as they agree entirely inappropriate!  I am waiting for UC to advise what happens now but the mental health nurse has sent letters and said he will talk to them. So hopefully he will get on right level. Dread to think how one manages on their own without family ( and friend!)

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