urgent PIP advice

happyfella

Today i received a form from PIP and I was shocked. My award ends in May of next year. I got a letter with the review application which states that i have 20 days to fill it in and return it. If it is not returned within 20 days then my award will be stopped.

I thought letters were going out to extend awards and why am i receiving mine so soon and why are they only giving me 20 days.

I have tried to get hold of the people who filled my form in for me but they are not there until monday. Has anyone gone through this

poppy123456

You are still due a review so receiving the forms now is correct. The DWP has confirmed that with effect from 6 September 2022 it is increasing the automatic extension period of existing PIP awards awaiting review from 3 months to up to 12 months and will do this 35 days before their end date. So the extension won't be applied yet. If a decision hasn't been made on your review by the time those 35 days come then your award will be extended.

You can ring DWP to request an extra 2 weeks to return the form. Make sure you treat it as a new claim.

poppy123456

You also asked when you will be sent the forms on this thread here a couple of weeks ago https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/95440/dwp-confirms-it-is-increasing-the-automatic-extension-period-of-existing-pip-awards-awaiting-review/p2
I did advise you there that it would be anytime around now.

happyfella

on the review they are asking me for dates and discharge letters. i always throw my discharge letters away but i have had three operations this year. They are also asking for scans, tests, and reports from GPs tp ne semt to them. how do i get these. Sorry, this is the first time i have been through this

poppy123456

You should never throw anything away because it may come in useful, especially for things like PIP reviews and work capability assessment reviews.

Your review now will be no different to the first time you claim, other than the shorter length form. Letters from a GP are never the best evidence to send because a GP doesn't spend any time with you to how you cook/wash/dress/budget/mix with others etc etc.

Medical evidence isn't really needed, it's only useful if it states exactly how your conditions affect you anyway. The real world examples i mentioned about would be a very good start so you should concentrate on those.

happyfella

Deppi said:

@happyfella You can get a copy of your discharge paperwork form the hospital 
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/going-into-hospital/being-discharged-from-hospital/

Since you now claim PIP it would be a good practise to keep paperwork in relation to your condition for future requests from benefit providers etc, avoiding delays.

Thank you for this. I am going to start keeping my letters. I have just sent them an email asking if they can send them to me

poppy123456

Deppi said:

@happyfella You can get a copy of your discharge paperwork form the hospital 
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/going-into-hospital/being-discharged-from-hospital/

That link doesn’t tell you how to get copies of your discharge letters. Usually the hospital will send a copy to your GP so you can request your medical records from your GP surgery.

If your GP doesn’t have them you can request them from the hospital. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-get-your-medical-records/

chiarieds

As poppy says, your GP does indeed receive a copy of any discharge letters, so I'd contact them.

The PIP review form just gives suggestions as to what to send if it's something new since your last award, & yes, scans & tests are also mentioned. What's important to think is, do any of these have any relevance to your PIP review thinking about the PIP activities/descriptors that are looked at? Sometimes, depending on the surgery/operation, you would normally be expected to improve, & this may be taken into account by an assessor.

As above, do give a couple of detailed examples as to the difficulty you face with any of the activities/descriptors that are appropriate. Remember to say if you can't do any of these 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, be able to repeat as often as would be reasonable to expect, & does it take you more than twice as long as someone without your disability? Also mention any consequence to doing an activity such as increased pain, or fatigue for example.