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Pip assessors report

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  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,007 Disability Gamechanger
    @pandora86 This is just a personal opinion, as the only medical 'evidence' I had was that of my GP.

    If your mum had severe anxiety for at least 3 months before her PIP assessment, & it's thought likely it will continue for at least a further 9 months, you may need to back this up, as I mentioned previously.

    As each case is individual, your GP may be able to help, depending how well he knows her, & if he is willing to write a supportive letter, which he isn't obliged to do.

    Any other evidence, such as from the mental health care professional she is due to see, could also be sent in with a Mandatory Reconsideration.

     'Overwhelming psychological distress' is legally defined as 'distress related to an enduring mental health condition or an intellectual or cognitive impairment.' So you need to prove as best you can that your mum has this 'mental health condition', i.e. severe anxiety.



  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    edited September 2019
    "no signs of anxiety were present so she marked her down. Not taking into consideration the new anxiety and pain med she was prescribed few days before (pregabalin) which completely numbed her on the day of assessment."

    @pandora86 - I hope I've read your previous post correctly - apologies if not - but if your mother isn't showing signs of anxiety due to the medication that she's prescribed then isn't that a really positive thing? The medication is obviously working which is good news.

    As Poppy has said the problem with getting asking your GP for a letter about your Mum not leaving the house is that he/she will only have her word for that. Possibly they might say that she is always accompanied when she attends appointments?

    I struggle to understand 'planning a journey'...but if she goes with you to the doctors wouldn't that score 10points - which is what you were awarded?

    Good luck with your MR
  • pandora86
    pandora86 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    edited September 2019
    @cristobal yes it is a really good, but the assessor is not taking into consideration that my mum does suffer from this however she has written down that mum does not suffer with this condition, as she didnt show the signs.

    yes my mum has not once attended her appointments alone, always accompanied with someone. For the points system she scored the 10 for the physical abilities however scored 0 for the mental ability of going on a journey unaided. 
  • Jurph
    Jurph Community member Posts: 369 Pioneering
    pandora86 said:
    @chiarieds she got 10 points for moving around and 0 for planning and following a journey.

    however the assessor ticked box saying can plan and follow a journey unaided, but wrote in the comments “cannot plan and follow a simple journey”
    I wonder if this is an administration error? 

    Have you sent in the MR yet? I wonder if you could call and ask politely if there's been an error, if they say no, then send the MR.
  • worried33
    worried33 Community member Posts: 492 Pioneering
    Hi, first off best of luck in the MR.

    Second did you look at more than just the points, the assessor should have put some reasoning below the planning a journey descriptor choice to justify why they gave that descriptor (they only dont have to do this if they agree with the claimants choice of descriptor).
  • pandora86
    pandora86 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    @Jurph i hope so!

    just a little update on my mum, we was in a&e last night all night as mum fell from panic as she just stepped out to open the door and thought she heard someone in the block and hit back of her head on the glass door outside her flat  :'( the glass is all smashed (which we have to talk to housing association about now) shes ok and at home now, luckily only suffered muscular damage, so you see guys mum is even frightened to step out the door let alone on a journey by herself!

    @worried33 thank you, unfortunately this is where im confused as although the assessor had ticked the box “can plan and follow a journey unaided” she then wrote in the box “cannot plan and follow a familiar journey” this is where all my confusion has arised!
  • worried33
    worried33 Community member Posts: 492 Pioneering
    Thats certainly a starting point for MR, the report contradicts itself and the assessor has even noted there is issues in planning and following a journey.
  • April2018mom
    April2018mom Posts: 2,882 Disability Gamechanger
    Definitely make a list of things that are falsehoods. In the letter, give a list of examples of situations or scenarios (include the broken door story too!) that indicate your mom is incapable of doing the activity safely. Best wishes as well. Say the report contradicts itself. Use a red pen to circle all inaccurate facts. 
  • ruckerdee
    ruckerdee Community member Posts: 10 Listener
    Well I'll definatley be highlighting all the contradictions made in the assessors report and sending off for MR but as of yet I'm still waiting for the decision letter to arrive in rang them yesterday and was told they can take up to 10 weeks to come
  • pandora86
    pandora86 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    @ruckerdee yep! Same here still waiting for decision letter. All this waiting is so stressful. Good luck and hope you get the award you hope to get
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,333 Disability Gamechanger
    ruckerdee said:
    Well I'll definatley be highlighting all the contradictions made in the assessors report and sending off for MR but as of yet I'm still waiting for the decision letter to arrive in rang them yesterday and was told they can take up to 10 weeks to come
    Hi,

    DWP and Tribunal won't be interested in any contradictions/lies told in the report. They will only be interested in where you think you should have scored those points and your reasons why. Adding a couple of real life examples of what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you will also help.

    Any complaints about the report should be sent to the health assessment providers. Details how to do this will be on their website.

    Good luck.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    edited September 2019
    I tend to agree with @ilovecats - just concentrate on why you qualify for PIP, and give some more examples of what areas you have difficulty with.

    In any event even if you could show that someone has lied - and it is a lie and not an error, a typo, mishearing something or just someone who disagrees with you - this won't qualify you for PIP.

    If you focus on 'lies' then you'll most likely get yourself angry and upset when you are a lot better spending your time on something more positive - I speak from experience as this is what I did!
  • Joanne_Alumni
    Joanne_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 188 Pioneering
    Hi @pandora86,

    Waiting for the decision letter can be a stressful time. 

    If your mum does not get the outcome you want then you can lodge a Mandatory Consideration. When you do this, it is a good idea to ask for a full statement of the reasons why the award was given. The initial decision letter does not contain all the information. It is usually just a summary.

    @ruckerdee asked if you can actually end up with the award reduced following an MR, and you do need to be aware that there is a slight risk when you do this. The whole award can be looked at again, even if you are only asking them to look at part of it. I would stress that this risk is small though!

    Citizens Advice provide useful information on supporting evidence for PIP and sometimes a GP's letter can be helpful. Make sure it comes to you and does not go directly to the DWP so that you can check it. GP's are not always comfortable doing these letters unless they know the patient well and are sure of how their condition actually affects their daily life. The GP will charge for a letter and charges vary.

    I agree with @ilovecats, a list of lies is not a good idea. As others in the conversation have written, the best way is to list the descriptors you disagree with, say what points you think your mum should have got. State why and give examples.

    I hope that you do not need to do any of this and that your mum gets the enhanced rate of both parts of PIP. 

    If you do need any further help please ask. We are always happy to help.

    Joanne 
    Scope
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @pandora86, I'm sorry your mum ended up in hospital. I imagine this was quite a shock! 

    How is the process going? I too would suggest not focusing and listing the mistakes in the report. They would not be interested in this. You would just show them how your mum meets the criteria.

    You only need 2-3 real life example. I hope this helps. :)
    Scope

  • pandora86
    pandora86 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    Thank you for all your replies, i agree i wasnt about to list out all the mistakes i was just talking about it on here, i mean if i was to go circle every mistake with a red pen i think the whole report would be covered in red ink! The typos and grammers were so awful!

    update on mum shes okish in alot of pain due to the fall, i called gp to ask for a letter but they said the hospital discharge note should be enough as she has a ESA assessment coming up on tuesday! 

    Still patiently waiting for the dreaded decision letter. Her payment is due on tuesday so i reckon we would hear from them very soon! 

    Thanks again for all the guidance
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    No problem at all @pandora86. I am glad your mum is okay and I hope her pain eases over the weekend.
    Scope

  • Joanne_Alumni
    Joanne_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 188 Pioneering
    Keep us updated @pandora86,

    I hope everything goes well.
    Joanne 
    Scope
  • pandora86
    pandora86 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    Hello all, just a little update, mum still has not received her decision letter however has received housing benefit and council tax award letters stating no change in the amount she gets and this is due to her new pip award.

    really confused as theyve already got the award outcome but not us!! Im hopeful that nothing has changed in her award as she was getting high in daily living and mobility before so seeing as hb and ct have not been affected am i right to assume her award has been given as same as previous?

    thanks
  • stratos
    stratos Community member Posts: 33 Courageous
    Hi not sure if this will help at all but whilst waiting for my husbands first PIP claim decision letter, we received a letter from the council saying we had a reduction due to the enhanced rates awarded by DWP. This is how we found out he had been awarded! I rang the council and they said it had shown on their screen the award was in place. It took a further 10 days for us to receive the decision letter.

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