OCD telephone assessment /appointee
griff11
Community member Posts: 148 Empowering
My daughter in receipt of PIP till Feb 2022. According to DWP it's a short term award hence she needed to reapply.
Since my daughter awarded her PIP back in Feb 2020 her mental health taken a huge downward tun in June this year when she had a breakdown. She has left the house just a handful of times for medical appointments, I've not been allowed in her house to see her only her front porch. Her husband had to prep her lunch before he leave for work or I drop lunch to her. She is still working - from home , but has had periods of sickness due to her anxiety but now it's been agreed she can work more flexible hours so when panic attack hits she can rest (they exhaust her) and work later in the evening instead of going sick.
As she's been so bad she won't handle mail at all, can't use her phone at times etc. it was agreed I'd apply to be appointee as her husband working full time, studying and has to do everything around the house. DWP granted this so I did her PIP application back in September. When I did her application I sent the same evidence as previously used at her appeal (appeal cancelled by them as they changed their decision) plus an update on how Covid had impacted her OCD. Heard nothing since, rang a couple of times and told they would be in touch soon. Then last week said it was with Capita for assessment and as she was already in receipt of PIP she was not a priority for assessment - her pip ends beginning of February. They gave me number of Capita and she now has telephone assessment next week. I explained that she won't always answer phone due to panic attacks and she don't come to my house and I'm not allowed in her house so could we have a 3 way conference call. They said no but as her appointee I could just receive the call. I'm not sure how I feel about this but can't see another option. Thoughts ?
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I'm not aware of a 3 way call ever happening for a PIP assessment. As her appointee then yes, the call should be made to you, not her, although when i did my daughters last assessment (though it was a work capability assessment) she just had to come to the phone to say "hello."It certainly isn't easy trying to be them when going through these assessments. I've talked on behalf of my daughter during her first PIP assessment, which was at home. The other 2 after that were paper based assessments thankfully.You just have to do the best you can. You should make the person aware that your daughter is not actually with you when you take the call.
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From previous posts it does seem like you know enough about your daughters conditions to explain them to the assessor effectively. If she agrees to you taking the call alone I think that could work ok. What are your reservations about it?
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That she doesn't face a voice I think ! They ringing my house line so if she's able to I'll put her on FaceTime in my mobile so she can hear what is said and maybe answer more fully. Its a 9 am call though and mornings not good due to her stress at showering1
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Becoming an appointee is not just about talking on the claimants behalf. You then have to completely manage their claim. Which includes, reporting any changes, receiving their money into your bank account, receiving all letters, including any future forms.Someone should only become an appointee for a claimant if that person is mentally incapable of looking after their own claim or if they are severely disabled. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits
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It was actually suggested by DWP. She can't pick up mail or open envelopes, she's hit and miss on phone . Her husband works the hours DWP are open and has a 45 minute commute so he can't ring with her during their opening hours. They sent a form to be completed and I returned with covering letter explaining reasons and it was accepted.feeky1973 said:@griff11 Hi how did go? I hope everything was ok? I'm in a similar situation a relative cant use the phone due to OCD. At what point of the application did you ask to be appointee so that you could talk on their behalf?I only became appointee a few months ago when she had to reapply. She refused to touch form, her husband works full time plus he's studying for professional exams while also doing all household tasks. She asked me to fill out form- but I'm currently not allowed in her house and I couldn't take form from her house due to contamination issues. I rang to ask for electronic form which I think is a reasonable request and adjustment by DWP to accommodate her disability. Request denied. Sympathetic lady though suggested appointeeship as she understood the issue. She currently has a two year award which ends in February 2022. Unfortunately her OCD has got so much worse. Her counsellor stopped therapy in March 2020 due to Covid, She has recently restarted counselling via phone in the evening once a fortnight with OCD specialist (very hard and expensive to find a true OCD specialist counsellor). All her PIP goes in counselling so if it stops February she can't afford to continue though we have said we will help out. When she applied first time she was living at home so obviously I could help her.I told DWP the money should continue going to her bank account. It's joint with her husband and they said that's fine as they do deal with each case individually.1 -
So as per my answer above suggested by DWP due to the unique difficulties OCD can cause. Her PIP is still paid into her bank account. I receive all her letters now which makes things easier. She is fully aware of what I do, I do not exclude her and DWP know this. Her disability just prevents her filling in a paper form, opening their letters etc. I asked them for electronic form as she can use a computer but they said it's not possible - I asked multiple times as I know new claimants get an online form. So OCD is accepted by DWP as a reason to appoint an appointee. If she was living at home I wouldn't be an appointee as I could just support her. If her husband wasn't working full time during hours DWP were operating he could support her, so again I wouldn't need to be appointee. So there are situations if you talk to DWP they will suggest become an appointee. OCD is severely disabling.poppy123456 said:Becoming an appointee is not just about talking on the claimants behalf. You then have to completely manage their claim. Which includes, reporting any changes, receiving their money into your bank account, receiving all letters, including any future forms.Someone should only become an appointee for a claimant if that person is mentally incapable of looking after their own claim or if they are severely disabled. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits1 -
Oh thank you that really helps. I just posted a new post about it trying to get the pip 1 stage done and asking about being appointee, so this actually answers a lot. I couldn't do a lot of the things an appointee to is expected to. I wouldn't want to manage money or be responsible for everything , just wanted to talk on their behalf to reduce their distress.
So amazing to hear how you've managed to help her, I'm so glad its working out for your daughter she's very luck to have you!
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Taking precautions is sensible but really the risk of contamination via collecting a form is minimal to non existent.griff11 said:...but I'm currently not allowed in her house and I couldn't take form from her house due to contamination issues.
Ring the bell, stand back, ask her to put form on doorstep, she can then retreat and you pick the form up.
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calcotti said:
Taking precautions is sensible but really the risk of contamination via collecting a form is minimal to non existent.griff11 said:...but I'm currently not allowed in her house and I couldn't take form from her house due to contamination issues.
Ring the bell, stand back, ask her to put form on doorstep, she can then retreat and you pick the form up.
No she feels once she's touched something she's made it dirty and I will spread germs to my car, house etc. I know people find this hard to understand, I know there is no risk but her OCD is now so bad it overwhelms her and she would counter every argument I make with "what if" . She feels all her bodily fluids are bad and spread. Her intrusive thoughts cause her to be overwhelmed. There was an incident this week her car needed to be moved as builders removing scaffolding. She couldn't get car keys fromcalcotti said:
Taking precautions is sensible but really the risk of contamination via collecting a form is minimal to non existent.griff11 said:...but I'm currently not allowed in her house and I couldn't take form from her house due to contamination issues.
Ring the bell, stand back, ask her to put form on doorstep, she can then retreat and you pick the form up.
drawer as she'd make drawer dirty, The builder screamed at her to move her car so she rang us in tears saying she felt a failure but wouldn't let us in house to get keys. Her husband had to come home from work to move car. Work told her to take a long lunch as she was so distressed. She knows she's being unreasonable but her OCD prevented her from letting me in to get keys. Now we've told her leave her keys on sill by front door in case this happens in future. My husband also spoke to builder who apologised when explained she is ill.1 -
It's horrendous. I have not been allowed to hug her, comfort her in person for 6 months. As soon as she steps out of shower she thinks she's dirty. Last week a fly in the bathroom landed on toilet while she was in shower then flew around house landing on everything making everything dirty. Her anxiety was high all day and eventually she went to bed at 6pm as she couldn't cope.calcotti said:
I had read your earlier post as you being concerned about contamination. What a distressing situation.griff11 said:.. I know there is no risk but her OCD is now so bad it overwhelms her ..0 -
Can an appointee pick & choose which parts they manage or is it called something different if you don't manage the finances etc?
I've had to ask a relative to phone recently and DWP suggested that they become an appointee. But I can't have payments going to them and I don't want them knowing all of the info that I put in the PIP forms either. They were told they could just be added as a phone contact which would work better for me. However, I'm slightly concerned that they'd be phoned as part of the review assessment, and would not necessarily know how to answer the questions as I limit the amount of health info I share with them. I just want them to be able to access the 'admin' side and hopefully I'll have a paper assessment. If they won't do a paper assessment I won't be able to go any further with it.0 -
I don't think you can but you can only ask DWP and see what they say.OverlyAnxious said:Can an appointee pick & choose which parts they manage or is it called something different if you don't manage the finances etc?
I've had to ask a relative to phone recently and DWP suggested that they become an appointee. But I can't have payments going to them and I don't want them knowing all of the info that I put in the PIP forms either. They were told they could just be added as a phone contact which would work better for me. However, I'm slightly concerned that they'd be phoned as part of the review assessment, and would not necessarily know how to answer the questions as I limit the amount of health info I share with them. I just want them to be able to access the 'admin' side and hopefully I'll have a paper assessment. If they won't do a paper assessment I won't be able to go any further with it.I hope you are not ashamed of your OCD. There is a difference to being embarrassed of the consequence of your illness and being ashamed you have the condition. My daughter was embarrassed in front of workmen and felt bad about herself but she's very open on social media that she has OCD and is not ashamed she has it. It's not your fault you are living with this condition. Most people don't have a clue what OCD reality is unfortunately, she's had GPs say to here "everyone is a bit OCD" but others who have been very concerned for her well being when they've seen her so distressed. but she hopes her posts educates and the number of friends who've reached out has been amazing.Trust someone to help you with PIP process2 -
Today's media share by my daughter ::
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Assessment today just cancelled as the assessor is sick. Now Monday 8am. My daughters PIP ends 8/2/22 so are we unlikely to get decision before then0
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Oh no sorry to hear that! Did they only call you same day to cancel? How frustrating
At least Monday isn't too far away - keep strong 0 -
Welldone!!!!0
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