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PIP assessment - not very happy with the whole process

cristobal
cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
edited December 2018 in PIP, DLA, and AA

A long story with a curious ending.....

I suffer from Parkinson’s disease; a few months ago I had an assessment for PIP. I recorded the interview.

I was unhappy about the way that the assessment was carried out, and when I received a copy of the report I found that there were many mistakes - some, if you are being very generous, might be classed as genuine errors. Others can only be classed as lies - for example, one question was ‘which leg is the problem?’ and I explained in some detail that it was both legs. The assessor recorded that it was only one leg. Another question was “can you walk to xx?” I said that I could but couldn’t walk back - the assessor said that I could walk to “xx and back.” These are just two of many examples .

I should mention at this point that, before I had to give up work, one of my duties was to carry out quality control of interviews. This interview failed at every level.The assessor used leading questions, made incorrect assumptions, incorrectly recorded my responses, and fabricated responses (I.e. recorded answers to questions that weren’t asked!). At one point the assessor answered their own question!

Although I acknowledge that the information that I gave should be properly checked and verified I now think that the whole purpose of the interview was to find reasons to reject my claim, rather than a genuine attempt to find out the facts.

I did not ask for a mandatory review, but complained  directly about the errors in the report as I wanted this to be accurate. The result was that the assessor ‘couldn’t remember’ and could not refer to their notes, which I had been refused sight of at the end of the assessment, as they had been destroyed.

I asked if this could be reconsidered and suggested that listening to the recording would help. I  eventually received reply acknowledging that there had been mistakes but stating that, following a clinical review by a ‘senior clinician’ that the original descriptor choices appeared appropriate. A copy of the review wasn’t provided for ‘data protection’ reasons.

Now here’s the strange part…….

I contacted the DWP and they provided a copy of the review. It was dated one week after the letter sent in response to my complaint i.e. at the time I was informed of it’s findings it hadn’t been written! Moreover the review recommended that 9 of the 12 descriptors be changed; score for daily living should be increased by 8 and score for mobility increased by 18!


Lots of people who post on this forum point out, quite rightly, that there are plenty of people who go through the process and are treated fairly. I wasn’t one of them. The process for me was bent at every stage - from the interview which was unfair and biased, my initial complaint, and the final response which suggests that an assessment so poor that 75% of which needed to be changed was ‘clinically sound’.





Comments

  • pixie61
    pixie61 Community member Posts: 67 Courageous
    I totally agree with you. I was on DLA for 11 years with rheumatoid arthritis, osteo & fibromyalgia. My assessment was full of lies & inacuracies. I got awarded less on pip than on DLA. I not only did an MR, I made a huge complainet against my assessor & the system! 
  • fcb1
    fcb1 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Just received my decision for pip my assessment has some major discrepancies mainly the distance i could walk. Assessor says I could walk 25 meters without stopping due to pain or breathlessness, funny that only 5 meters more than the 20 meters that gives you 12 points and access to a mobility car.  I worked out I must have stopped at least 7 times due to breathlessness and pain in my left leg.  in the process of completing my MR and i am asking the DWP to look at CCTV on day of my interview which will clearly show my mobility issues.  pixie61 hope you are successful and get your pip award increased.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    edited December 2018
    fcb1 said:
    Just received my decision for pip my assessment has some major discrepancies mainly the distance i could walk. Assessor says I could walk 25 meters without stopping due to pain or breathlessness, funny that only 5 meters more than the 20 meters that gives you 12 points and access to a mobility car.  I worked out I must have stopped at least 7 times due to breathlessness and pain in my left leg.  in the process of completing my MR and i am asking the DWP to look at CCTV on day of my interview which will clearly show my mobility issues.  pixie61 hope you are successful and get your pip award increased.
    They could have said 21 metres and you will still have the same result.

    That is the opinion of the assessor - what evidence do you have that counters that opinion in that the true distance is less than 20 metres?

    The evidence that I had came from the hospital spinal unit where they tested my mobility on a walking machine. They reported to my GP that I fell off the machine as being unstable after 15 metres.
    That report was dated 2012 and allowed me to get enhanced mobility at MR stage both in 2013 and 2015. However in late 2017 they refused to accept the evidence stating that it was too old and now unreliable The MR in early 2018 came back that the 0 points decision (could walk more than 200 metres) was correct.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 27 Connected
    I went with my wife for her pip assessment and recorded it thank god. She was denied ever pip,  but I found pure lies in her assessment report and by the decision maker who also contradicted the assessor can you believe. We went to an M R and provided proof that the assessor had lied and that the DM had contradicted. My wife continually cried throughout the interview was comatosed on her medication and I had to answer some questions she was so distraught, had no make up a d scratches on her face said she felt suicidal had lost 5 stone in 6 months and not questioned if she meant to lose it ..... there were loads more I wrote 83 pages explaining there mistakes we got full entitlement how's that we go from refusal to top entitlement. If the claimant lies they lose everything if they lie they go straight to the next claimant wrong wrong wrong no accountability the worst of all I recorded it and she still lied justice what justice. Good luck to everyone 
  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering

Brightness

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