Need to report change but partner is awaiting MR response

PIPnewbie

4 weeks ago my partner had major surgery to have an ileostomy, mucous fistula, and hysterectomy. She came out of hospital 2 weeks ago.

She is already waiting to hear back for her Mandatory Reconsideration which was sent off the end of October. She was given standard rate for both, after her mobility was downgraded from enhanced after a renewed claim.

Her bag has burst several times in the past 2 weeks already because she sleeps so deeply between of her ankylosing spondylitis, and all the care and assistance from her grandparents who she lives with still applies; help with changing the bag, help showering after accident, etc.

How will this affect the claim or MR? Will her payments stop for another 8 months until she’s assessed and awarded again?

This seems like such a nightmare after waiting to get awarded for 8 months, only to possibly have her money stop and take another year,

Plus she’s still recovering from surgery and is bed-bound due to the usual exhaustion and now trying to heal from surgery, so when she will be able to get around to letting them know is anybody’s guess.

poppy123456

A worsening of conditon must have been present for at least 3 months and expect it to last for at least a further 9 months. As she's only recently come out of hospital then i wouldn't expect her condition to have improved yet. I hope things start to improve a little for her soon but for PIP purposes there's nothing to report at the moment.

PIPnewbie

poppy123456 said:

A worsening of conditon must have been present for at least 3 months and expect it to last for at least a further 9 months. As she's only recently come out of hospital then i wouldn't expect her condition to have improved yet. I hope things start to improve a little for her soon but for PIP purposes there's nothing to report at the moment.

Hello Poppy. Thank you for the quick response.

Really? This doesn’t need reporting yet? If her MR comes back and they reinstate her enhanced mobility, and she’s happy with the award and feels it is fair, does she need to report it at all before reassessment sometime in 2027?

Also, she’s waited 8 weeks for MR but hasn’t heard anything yet. Is this normal at present?

poppy123456

There's nothing to report because it's not been 3 months. If it had been 3 months, a worsening of condition doesn't mean a person will score more points for a higher award and you should never report any changes before getting some expert advice.

If everyone reported changes everytime something happened then the backlogs would be longer than they already are.

If she's happy once the MR decision is made then there's nothing further for her to do until her next review.

MR decisions are currently taking anything up to 3 months, sometimes longer.

PIPnewbie

poppy123456 said:

There's nothing to report because it's not been 3 months. If it had been 3 months, a worsening of condition doesn't mean a person will score more points for a higher award and you should never report any changes before getting some expert advice.

If everyone reported changes everytime something happened then the backlogs would be longer than they already are.

If she's happy once the MR decision is made then there's nothing further for her to do until her next review.

MR decisions are currently taking anything up to 3 months, sometimes longer.

Thanks again Poppy.

In her mind she’s about the same in terms of help needed.

She received standard daily and enhanced mobility before and is aiming to get that again with MR. 

She was just worried if she had to report her ileostomy they would use it as an excuse to stop money for like 9 months until she’s reassessed and a decision made.

As for MR, oh dear, she’ll be waiting until end of January to hear then.

poppy123456

No worries. A lot of people automatically assume that they need to report every single change, which simply isn't correct.

The timescales are really just a guide, some have a decision quite quickly and others wait longer.

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456 thanks so much ? 

janer1967

Even if she did report a change though I'm not saying she should bur so you are aware 

Her current award wouldn't stop she would continue to be paid the same until a new decision had been made . The new decision would then replace the current award 

You should as poppy says only report a change if there is potential of getting a higher award if not then no point reporting unless of course there has been an improvement 

PIPnewbie

Wow, I thought they would stop it immediately. I've learned a lot from this thread.

Thank you so much @janer1967 and @poppy123456 !!