Another assessment.. another lie.

amy1188

I had a telephone assessment last week and have received a copy of the report. A few things to note.. 

It states I do not take antidepressants. Despite providing evidence I take the highest dose of my specific antidepressant. 

It states I am entitled to points because I need support when washing the lower half of my body due to impairments but turn the page and I have no apparent lower body impairment and therefore require no support when dressing. 

Then to top it all off, I have lung damage following covid in March 2020. I am currently waiting for an appointment at the long covid clinic but undergoing multiple tests whilst waiting for the appointment. Because I have not actually had an appointment yet this apparently means I have not required any intervention. It is not my fault waiting lists are so long surely!! 

The assessor has continually said that my mental health has not deteriorated since the previous assessment, I was not taking medication then nor was I receiving counselling. 

The previous assessment has been used as a reasoning behind all decisions to ignore the evidence I have provided despite a tribunal disagreeing with the previous assessment. 

I am really at the end of my tether with this all. I told her I was suicidal and have previously made attempts and this is how they treat people! My last attempt was two weekends ago and so I am still struggling, how can they expect people to cope with this. 

chiarieds

Hi @amy1188 - I'm sorry the assessor's report is not as you'd hoped. As you know, you will have to wait for your decision letter, & the decision maker will take not only this report into account, but also your PIP2 form & any accompanying evidence you sent.

All this waiting is of course difficult, & sometimes getting a report from your assessor doesn't always help. Just remember, it's only a part of your claim. If your PIP2 form has been well completed, with those important couple of detailed examples of the difficulties you face for applicable descriptors, then this is going to help.

I'm sorry how badly all this is affecting you, & wonder if you are getting any support for your mental health right now?

amy1188

chiarieds said:

Hi @amy1188 - I'm sorry the assessor's report is not as you'd hoped. As you know, you will have to wait for your decision letter, & the decision maker will take not only this report into account, but also your PIP2 form & any accompanying evidence you sent.

All this waiting is of course difficult, & sometimes getting a report from your assessor doesn't always help. Just remember, it's only a part of your claim. If your PIP2 form has been well completed, with those important couple of detailed examples of the difficulties you face for applicable descriptors, then this is going to help.

I'm sorry how badly all this is affecting you, & wonder if you are getting any support for your mental health right now?

I spoke with a case manager who was fantastic and very reassuring thankfully. I gave her an example of the inaccuracies such as they say I need support washing my feet but I can dress them on my own. She agreed that this is completely unrealistic and assured me this would be looked in to. I also mentioned that the timescales around my medication were incorrectly as I couldn’t have been newly prescribed something three months whilst also having the same medication reviewed and increased three months ago. It isn’t even really that I am disagreeing it is more just pure facts that are incorrect. 

I do have support through my GP and counsellor thankfully. This is another thing which really hurt because she said my mental health does not affect my daily living when in reality it is a massive part of my daily living. 

Thank you for replying and caring! 

amy1188

Libby_Scope said:

amy1188 said:

I had a telephone assessment last week and have received a copy of the report. A few things to note.. 

It states I do not take antidepressants. Despite providing evidence I take the highest dose of my specific antidepressant. 

It states I am entitled to points because I need support when washing the lower half of my body due to impairments but turn the page and I have no apparent lower body impairment and therefore require no support when dressing. 

Then to top it all off, I have lung damage following covid in March 2020. I am currently waiting for an appointment at the long covid clinic but undergoing multiple tests whilst waiting for the appointment. Because I have not actually had an appointment yet this apparently means I have not required any intervention. It is not my fault waiting lists are so long surely!! 

The assessor has continually said that my mental health has not deteriorated since the previous assessment, I was not taking medication then nor was I receiving counselling. 

The previous assessment has been used as a reasoning behind all decisions to ignore the evidence I have provided despite a tribunal disagreeing with the previous assessment. 

I am really at the end of my tether with this all. I told her I was suicidal and have previously made attempts and this is how they treat people! My last attempt was two weekends ago and so I am still struggling, how can they expect people to cope with this. 

Hi @amy1188,

I'm really sorry to hear about your assessment experience, I can imagine that was difficult to cope with and I really hope you've had some time to process the scenario. 

I just wanted to ask if you currently feel supported with regards to your mental health? Do you have anyone that you trust, that you can speak to? It might be worthwhile getting in touch with your GP to talk about your current situation and they could potentially advise further. 

How are you currently feeling? Thank you for being so honest about your previous experiences and feeling suicidal. Please call 999 if you ever feel suicidal or feel as though you want to act on those specific feelings. I would also like to signpost you to a few resources, that I think could be really helpful for you right now. These include:

• Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen
• Free, 24/7 mental health text support in the UK | Shout 85258 (giveusashout.org)
  
• Home | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems
  
• Advicelocal (this website can provide information based on your postcode in relation to professional local benefits support).
  

We will also be sending you an email shortly via our online community account, so please keep a look out for this. The email will be from community@scope.org.uk. 

Please be reassured that you are supported here at Scope, and we are here for you. 

Libby

Thank you! I am sorry to have shared it so bluntly but it really hurt me that someone can just disregard someone’s mental health like that. I spoke with a case manager who was really lovely and very reassuring. She agreed that the report just didn’t make sense. 

I do have support from my GP and family but I will definitely have a look at the places you have advised as new advise and support is always welcomed. 

Thank you I will look out for the email. 

Thank you again  

chiarieds

You're welcome @amy1188 - & it's good you could speak to such a considerate case manager.

Alex_Alumni

Hello @amy1188, just checking in, how have you been getting on with everything?