Pip assessment without notice

hellooooo

Hello, I recently put in a claim for PIP back in March for mental health ( depression, anxiety and PTSD on set was 2013 )
ifs taken a lot of courage to apply.

yesterday I received a phone call without warning and the woman said she was a health care professional calling from the DWP to check a few bits around my mental health and that it wouldn’t take long… it was about 20 mins in total and because I wasn’t aware I was a great big tumbling mess anxiety through the roof, breathless after every word… any how I received a message this morning saying they have received my written report? 

Is this correct is this how it happens as I really don’t feel like that 20 mins of me not really understand what was going on but sheer panic can be used as an assessments  and without notice. 

poppy123456

Hi,

Sometimes they maybe able to write the report without the need for a full assessment but just need to ask you a few questions. If this happens they don't usually send you any appointment time/date. It's rare to have a paper based assessment but it can definitely happen. Speaking from experience with paper based assessments, it's not a bad thing.

Now the report has been returned to DWP a decision can take anything up to 12 weeks sometimes longer.

Your timescale up to now has been extremely quick.

hellooooo

Thank you both for the responses, it has made me feel a bit better.

I just felt and feel like I was a bit of a mess on the phone to them because I don’t really handle unplanned situations very well. 

Thank you again so much @poppy123456 @woodbine

calcotti

hellooooo said:

I just felt and feel like I was a bit of a mess on the phone to them because I don’t really handle unplanned situations very well. 

That potentially speaks to your mental health difficulties so may be no bad thing.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @hellooooo How are your anxiety levels today, now that you've had some time to process it all?

hellooooo

@Tori_Scope
I do feel better now that I have reached out / had a few days to process it but I also do keep “ reliving it “ which then leads me to worry about it … I just keep telling my self it’s done now and it’s a matter of time before I find out, I imagine we’ve all been in the same boat at some point.
I have thought about requesting a copy of the report but at the same time I honestly don’t think that will do me any good either so I’m just going to sit tight x 

Tori_Scope

That's understandable @hellooooo, but try and put it out of your head for now if you can. As you say, you just have to sit tight and wait for now. Is there anything you like to do that usually helps you to take your mind off of things? 

hellooooo

@Tori_Scope I do find peace in colouring and tbh sleeping and waking up helps me “ just shutting the off”. 

Thank you for your support, I appreciate it x 

Tori_Scope

Colouring and sleeping are both good options @hellooooo  

hellooooo

Hi guys! I wanted to update you… I had a text this morning saying I have been awarded and to await the decision letter in the post.  

I did phone the PIP contact number and I got an automated message to tell me my next payment date and I do believe I have been awarded the standard mobility rate only ( which I am grateful for if that’s the case ) but I can’t help but think I have a number of factors that I need support for daily living.
like eating - I really struggle to have the urge to eat … my other half will constantly tell me to eat and he makes the meals ( I do make meals for my children but if it wasn’t for him I would live on tea and the occasional biscuit when I get shaky) I also have a strange fear or undercooked food.

my partner also with out a fail tell me to take my medication as I am terrible at taking it with a mixture of forgetting to
But also I fear something bad could happen and have a reaction… I don’t enjoy taking it Somthing inside me tells
me it’s not right l.

I lost my daughter at a younger age in 2013 I was 21 at the time she was 3 months old and that is where my PTSD comes from along with that I risk asses everything and as you can imagine I always think the worse so I will avoid any kind of danger. 

I don’t really see people I won’t as I over think conversations I feel uncomfortable that and I don’t like going out on my own so my partner will be with me whenever we go to shops etc but even my neighbours I will avoid talking to as I just get anxious and I can’t really hold a conversation out loud. 

I would be tempted to appeal the decision but I’m not quite sure I can handle the anxiety that will come with it x 

I will await the decision letter.

Ross_Alumni

Hello there @hellooooo  

Thanks for getting back to us, it's good to hear you have been awarded, hopefully the letter arrives soon to confirm it for you. 

It is a difficult decision deciding whether to ask for the MR or not when you have received an award, because of course they could look at the whole thing again and remove the award altogether. It might be worth taking some professional advice before proceeding, you could find some support through Advice Local.

I'm sorry to hear of everything you have been through, and how your mental health is impacted at the moment. I hope you receive enough support to manage.

poppy123456

When you get the decision letter it will tell you exactly where you scored those points. 

In your comment you only mentioned 2 activities but there’s 10 in total for the daily living part. 

Before doing anything else you should get some expert advice from an agency near you. Start here https://advicelocal.uk/
The first step to appeal is the Mandatory Reconsideration, which should be put in writing if you decide to challenge the decision. 

hellooooo

Thank you so much for all of your support.

i honestly believed I would have got points on the following for daily living  

• preparing food
• eating and drinking
• managing your treatments
• mixing with others

I will speak to citizens advice and see where I stand with things x

poppy123456

What about washing/bathing, dressing/undressing, communicating verbally?

For example, do you need prompting to dress? Maybe you just don't feel like getting dressed and you would much rather stay in your PJ's all day. Changing clothes because they could be dirty and you just can't be bothered, do you need prompting for this because of your mental health? Points could be scored here for these 3 activities. See link. https://pipinfo.net/#activities

hellooooo

I do but I shower every evening as I need to wash the day away as mad as that sounds I the get changed but I then won’t get changed until the following shower some / most days. 

I also think I may have put communicating with others as probably 95% of situations I’ll ask my partner to speak for me or ring people for me. But I wasn’t sure if that would count as points. 

hellooooo

But I should also add I wasn’t asked much on my “assessment phone call” all of my questions were actually based on me going out of the house and she asked about medication and I was honest and said my other half tells me to take them and gives them to me, he also collect them from the pharmacy.
Food again I was honest I do and can make my children food but I won’t go out of my way to make my self anything and I told her than if I do feel a bit shakey I’ll eat a biscuit or have a tea.

I don’t know if it helps that i do have quite a lot of evidence  from a mental health charity “well being” and I have a lot on my notes that show majority of what I have said to them. Xx