Mum has severe anxiety and struggles to speak to strangers. Do the assessors take this into account?

rjlsca1

Hello all! 

I am asking on behalf of my mother. She was previously deemed LCW at the start of this year. However her situation has worsened since. Recently we were sent another questionnaire to complete as her work coach believes she should be in the LCWRA group instead. I am aware an assessment follows the questionnaire. But, my mother suffers from severe anxiety. She found her last assessment frustrating and overwhelming as the assessor was quite rude. We will be requesting a telephone assessment again this time. But, can anyone tell me if the assessors take these things into account at all? I wish to include a note on her questionnaire about how she felt about her last assessment and how she struggles to speak to people she does not know. But, I'm unsure if I would just be speaking to a brick wall. 

I am also curious what other information people sent along with their questionnaire as last time we did not realise we could provide other information. 

TYIA. 

poppy123456

You can see the descriptors here for LCWRA https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/limited-capability-for-work-related-activity please take note of the substantial risk part towards the top because this often applies to those with mental health.

Yes, you can always send more information in when completing the forms. I always find there's never enough of room on them to add everything. You can use extra sheets of paper but make sure you add her name and NI number to everything you send and always keep a copy for yourself.

rjlsca1

Hi! Yes I have looked at the descriptors, I think perhaps we are just worried based on her last experience with this assessment that they will be just as rude again or inconsiderate toward her mental and physical health. I will be filling the questionnaire in for her (she cannot physically write) so I’m just trying to make sure I include everything possible and correctly. I greatly appreciate the help thus far. If anyone could offer specifics on the extra information they sent that would be helpful.

poppy123456

rjlsca1 said:

If anyone could offer specifics on the extra information they sent that would be helpful.

I don't think that will help because everyone's conditions will be different, even if they suffer with the same thing.

The information you put will totally depend on how her conditions affect her. First you need to look which descriptor you think applies to her, only one of them needs to apply the majority of the time. Once you've done that you can base the information on that.

rjlsca1

Maybe my comment wasn’t clear but by extra information I meant like should I include a letter we have from her GP etc? Or what kind of records people sent. I’m just trying to get a very general idea, nothing specific. I’m aware everyone’s situation is different. 

poppy123456

Letters from a GP arent the best evidence to send because a GP will rarely know exactly how your conditions affect you. They may also charge for any letter they write. I wouldn't personally send a letter from my GP.

You can send medical evidence if she has any and if it states how her conditions affect her. Some find it helpful to ask someone they know for a letter of support.

The most useful thing will be the information you put down. Include a couple of real world examples of exactly what happened the last time she attempted that activity. Giving detailed information such as where she was, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were.

Remember she will be assessed on the work she can do, rather than the work she can't do.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @rjlsca1 How are you and your mum doing today? 

Hopefully the assessor will be more polite and respectful this time around. Would your mum feel comfortable saying at the beginning of the assessment that she's feeling quite anxious, and explaining that she finds it difficult to speak to people she doesn't know? This may help them to be more understanding.

On another note, is your mum receiving enough support to help her manage her anxiety at the moment? 

rjlsca1

Hi! Yes my mum does have a support system in place to make sure she is okay! I live with her currently and have taken on the role of primary carer as it isn’t just her mental health that is unfortunately on the decline but also her physical health. I also have siblings who will rotate in to look out for her if ever I am unable to do so. Her doctors have prescribed her anti-depressants and they are seemingly helping. My problem in regards to her mental health is that my mother is old school and is of the view that if you don’t discuss something it doesn’t exist. Or, that she would rather others not know she is struggling. She has on occasion made comments about her life that are quite worrying to me, but to her doctor she refuses to inform them of these thoughts. So, I know that she will refuse to speak to her assessor about this too. I’m hoping we get someone more pleasant this time around too.

Alex_Alumni

Hello @rjlsca1 I'm glad to hear your mum has a support system in place, and I'm also glad that the anti-depressants are helping currently. 

I can understand your worries around how open your mum is about how she's feeling, it takes a lot to overcome the pressure to appear like you're "doing fine". Being open and asking for help is a really hard thing to do.

She has on occasion made comments about her life that are quite worrying to me, but to her doctor she refuses to inform them of these thoughts.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you mean suicidal thoughts here? It can be difficult to know how best to offer support when someone you're close to talks about suicidal feelings, so I'd like to share some helpful resources with you:

• Samaritans has some guidance on supporting someone with suicidal thoughts
• The mental health charity Mind details treatment and support you can access
• Remember if you feel your mother is in immediate danger, call 999 or visit A&E right away

Keep us up to date with how the assessment goes, and I hope things do go more smoothly for you this time. Whatever happens with the assessment, the community are here to support you, so please reach out here or email community@scope.org.uk if you feel we can do anything further to support you.

Alex