Confused about about the assesses report saying because I drive I can get in and out of a bath - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
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Confused about about the assesses report saying because I drive I can get in and out of a bath

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  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
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    Things to remember
    An assessment is not a medical
    An assessment is the HCP's opinion of your functionality and whether your claim is consistant with the evidence you provide.
    Don't expect an HCP to record your every word
    The final assessment report is often completed at a later time
    Contrary to many forum posts HCP's are human
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
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  • robt1066
    robt1066 Community member Posts: 33 Courageous
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    Ok. So could you kindly indicate what are the higher rungs of the evidence chain. Is what is written on the PIP form one of them? 
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  • gruber
    gruber Posts: 29 Listener
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    ilovecats said:

    Basically, Further medical evidence (FME) (letters from medical professionals) trumps pretty much everything. If there is a letter /report describing a claimants functional restriction then a HP cannot really go against it (well they shouldn't do). 

    e.g. I had someone come in once with EUPD, they were perfectly friendly and happy to chat to me and came to the assessment alone and drove themselves, but I had a recent letter from their psychiatrist stating they were a risk to themselves and others and has a history of police involvement and arrest due to violent episodes and self harm. The person was lovely to me and engaged well but I had to score them a 9D and 11F because of the risk of harm the professional stated. 

    So FME is generally at the top. Then it would be medical probability based on condition and treatment for it. Then (in no particular order) mental state examination, musculoskeletal overview, informal observations, social history. So everything that is gathered during the assessment. At the bottom is the functional history which is what is said by the claimant during the interview. The PIP form generally informs the condition history and is not really evidence as such, more a description of what is wrong. Family letters / personal diaries fall into the same category at FH.

    This does not mean that what is written is not important. What it means is that if someone says, 'Everyday I cannot put my socks on due to pain' then in the assessment the person leans to the floor to tie their lace (informal observation - IO) then IO trumps FH. There are a multitude of factors to be taken into account, if the person says 'today is a good day, I only have one good day where I can bend to the floor, I need help on the other days', then this has to be taken into consideration and IO would not trump FH. There are a lot of different factors involved. 

    Again, this is the point of view of HPs doing functional assessments only. 
    Isn't it the case for many that we know what should happen but reality is  something totally different?

    As an example:
    Report from Spinal unit consultant after having had walking tests on their machine in hospital - 'Carried out two tests, both indicated that the maximum distance in walking was between 10 and 15 metres'. HCP reported that I could walk at least 200 metres!

    (a) Assessment report from DWP doctor and notice of decision carried out for a different disability benefit - 'It is clear from the evidence and examination carried out that  'x' has lost considerable mental functionality due to injuries sustained, award to be given is based on a 40% loss of mental capacity'.
    (b) 5 page report from Psychiatrist confirming early onset vascular dementia together with acquired damage to frontal lobe giving way to altered personality with violent outbursts'

    HCP recorded no mental health issues - did not rock in the chair nor did he dribble.


    HCP's do not in many cases accept FE as being relevant it their opinion based on observations is contradictory.
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  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering
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    At my last PIP assessment it was very clear (from the egregious mistakes in the report) that neither the HCP nor the Case Manager bothered to read my form or my FME.
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  • pcoventry
    pcoventry Community member Posts: 149 Pioneering
    edited July 2019
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    Mine said because I could hold on to my driving licence I had no mental health issues at all - and as I put in the tribunal comment - " what, keeping hold of a driving licence is hard and/or requires effort once passed!?"

    Well it's true.. shouldn't form the basis of a reason to give someone 0 in that descriptor. She even went so far as to say that because I was driving before I had my turn that it was evidence to back up what she put! 
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  • pcoventry
    pcoventry Community member Posts: 149 Pioneering
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    Waylay said:
    At my last PIP assessment it was very clear (from the egregious mistakes in the report) that neither the HCP nor the Case Manager bothered to read my form or my FME.
    The case manager is as medically qualified as the milkman - they just go on the report - so if that report said give him a pink fluffy elephant I am sure they would have obliged. 
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  • April2018mom
    April2018mom Posts: 2,882 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hang in there. Do you have a social worker or not? Our amazing social worker helped me successfully fight the decision they made for us. She also read his assessment report. Using her excellent tips and suggestions I typed up a letter to them on my computer. 
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