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PIP Update

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    @paffuto10 that actually made me laugh out loud haha, thank you!

    I think for me it's the fact I feel like me, my Son, a shrink, my previous GP and the previous assessor are being called liars, I mean it's really stupid because the previous assessor totally got my agoraphobia/anxiety and had less info and yet this recent one had my old psychiatrist report and other information plus access to the previous assessors report which I'm told the DM would compare to the newer one (DWP told me that) and yet I don't struggle with my problems 50% of the time over 12 months, really? and how would someone know this by doing a 60 minute assessment where he was looking at his laptop for at least 90% of the time, didn't even recognise that I was having a panic attack and was struggling to the point my Son was having to try and help, oh no he didn't notice any of that.. and then the fact the date of the assessment and the completion date on the report are 6 days apart ring alarm bells for me.

    Also something else I'm trying to get my head around, why make a decision before you have all the info.. I'm wondering if I ought to complain about the decision maker as well and no it's not about having my award dropped, it's about pretty much having my mental health problems shoved to one side and not taken seriously.

    I wish I could show you guys both of my reports so you can see why I'm so annoyed.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,333 Disability Gamechanger
    The assessment report isn't always written and completed on the day the assessment took place, especially if they needed more information, they wouldn't have been able to complete it until they received that information.
    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.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    edited October 2019
    The assessor I saw didn't request any info, he just didn't complete his report for 6 days and didn't send it for a further 3 weeks, there was no mention of the report being audited when we enquired about it. Not only that, the only reason information was requested was because the DM disputed something and it wasn't the assessor I had that requested the info, it was a female from Capita that requested it, the assessor I had was a male. A person isn't going to remember what happened 6 days ago when they've seen x amount of people during those 6 days. I've spoken to someone who helps people with claims and such from an advocacy place and even she said that a flawed system. That's all I have to say about it.

    I do wish that Scope would fix the block feature, I've reported it how many times. I don't want to keep seeing blocked people's posts in the you've commented section. What's the point of having block if you can still see what people are posting..
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,333 Disability Gamechanger
    I do believe it's not the actual HCP that sees you that requests evidence, i believe it's someone else before the assessment takes place. if needed. Of course it can also be requested after the assessment takes place. For others reading this, it is rare for them to request any medical evidence.

    Yes, i know what you mean by the block feature.
    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.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    Yup, the assessor I saw didn't request anything, in fact the assessor I saw was very unorganised, was slouching all over my sofa, gave me screwed up paperwork to sign and just seemed like he couldn't be bothered and was in a hurry. I edited my post above because it sounded weird and I wanted to explain properly.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 231 Pioneering
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2019
    @justdon - the assessor doesn't have to ask for any evidence from you during the assessment - it's up to you to supply this if you think that you have information that's relevant.

    If you do offer extra information then they have to take account of this...guidance is below. It doesn't mention when you can give the assessor this evidence - like you I gave my assessor it at the end of the interview. She didn't include it in her report!

    "If a claimant brings further relevant evidence to a face-to-face consultation which is not already on PIPCS, the HP should always consider its relevance when completing their assessment report. Under normal circumstances the HP would make copies of the original evidence and hand the originals back to the claimant. In circumstances where it is not possible to copy the further evidence, perhaps during home consultations or where the claimant does not wish to part with the evidence, then it is permissible for the HP to make notes from the original further evidence documentation. The copy of the evidence or HP notes from the evidence should be sent to the CM with the completed report."

    (I believe PIPCS is the computer system that DWP use, HP = assessor and CM = Case manager)

    Hope this helps ...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    @justdon Yeah I get you, mine was called worse than "it" lol. The first assessor I had was lovely, very friendly, understanding, polite and her assessment wasn't even that long. Honestly, I think it depends on the assessor and their understanding of your conditions, people can try and correct me all they want, I have my own opinion on the whole system, even when I was awarded enhanced I still thought the system was ****, I'm not one who sits and judges others and blames them because they've not been awarded. Also for my first assessment the assessor DID request information BEFORE she assessed me, not after and her report wasn't disputed by the DM.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,333 Disability Gamechanger
    justdon said:

    Dont you think it should be mandatory for them to request evidence at the beggining of an assesement?and what excuse do they have for NOT doing this ?
    Not everyone understands the asessment process..i certainly didnt ?
    I mean she had no problems asking to see a list of my medication at the beggining.
    So whats that all about if not to make things as difficult as possible for the claiment ?




    It states on the form you received, at the front what evidence should be sent with the form to support your claim. They don't ask for it during any assessment, whether it's at home or in a centre. It's your responsibility to make sure it's sent with the form.

    During my daughters home assessment, i had one piece of extra evidence to give the HCP but he refused to accept it and gave me an envelope to send it to DWP.
    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.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 231 Pioneering
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2019
    @justdon - I can't disagree with what you say, although to be 100% fair I believe that you are supposed to send it to the DWP - that's what I was told as well.

    I recorded my assessment so I have an accurate record of what went on. I gave the assessor my additional info and she scanned through it - took about 10-15 seconds from when I gave it to her to when she passed it back. 10-15 seconds to read/ make notes on approximately a page and a half of A4 typed. It wasn't included in her report.

    I also wasn't asked for consent before I was examined, neither was the procedure explained, and when I stopped because I was in pain I was asked "Are you sure it's definitely pain?" (Paraphrasing here - I don't remember accurately without checking)

    The answer to your question about why procedure wasn't followed is that no-one is interested. The overwhelming majority of assessments are done correctly - those that aren't, if you complain, are just ignored.

    The key is just to try not to let it bother you - although in my case I found this very difficult. and I got very stressed/angry until I concluded that it wasn't worth it. The consent thing didn't really bother me - if I hadn't consented I wouldn't have done it. Doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done properly though...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 231 Pioneering
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2019
    @justdon - I can't see a contradiction - @poppy123456 's experience seems to be the same as mine as far as i can see. Have I missed something?

    I don't have any stats - sorry. They would be very difficult to interpret anyway because, without looking at an individual case, no-one know whether a claim is valid or not. I'd guess that most people who get PIP think the system is great; those who don't think it's rubbish. But again I don't know.

    Speaking generally people tend to concentrate on the negative stuff. No-one wants to hear that thousands of trains run on time; everyone will let you know about the one that doesn't. People don't say how polite traffic wardens are when they've got a ticket. Or that they didn't have to queue in the supermarket.

    It's the same here I think. My assessor wasn't very good but you can't generalise and say "all assessors are xx" - it's very important, in my opinion to treat people as individuals...

    Have good day..
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    I have PIP and I still think it's rubbish, even when I was awarded enhanced I thought it was rubbish, but that's just my opinion and I'm not going to pick at or question anyone who has a different opinion :)

    I've had both positive and negative experiences with PIP.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    @WF2k - I agree. I'm the same.

    Where the system seems to fall down, in my opinion, is that it doesn't seem to allow for the fact that some people find it very difficult to claim because of their illness - which is why they're claiming in the first place e.g. find it difficult to fill forms in, go to interviews etc.

    As you say, we each have our own opinion..

    Have a good day ...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    edited October 2019
    Very true, I have difficulty with both forms and explaining how my health problems affect me (verbally and written), I'm also not good with people anyway so that makes it worse.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 231 Pioneering
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    @justdon -  you're not picking holes at all...but it's possible you might have misunderstood my post because I completely agree with what you say.

    Totally.

    If you offered the assessor additional evidence then the assessor should have noted it, and you should have been told to send the it to DWP (who scan it I understand?)

    If this didn't happen - as in my case, and yours - then the assessor, in my opinion,hasn't followed the correct procedure...
  • paffuto10
    paffuto10 Community member Posts: 388 Pioneering
    @WF2k

    How are you feeling this week? And have you heard anything from your mandatory reconsideration? 

    Hope you're coping.
    Wishing you well x
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 587 Listener
    @paffuto10 Aww thanks for reaching out to check on me, I appreciate that! :D 

    Feeling poopy still and trying to figure out what's going on with my dog, she's being weird with her food, it could be her anxiety playing up because of the stupid fireworks :/ I've ended up contacting Wellness in Mind for my area and the person thinks I may need secondary mental health care so I said I'd get back to him as I'm quite stressed out atm.

    Not heard a thing about the MR or anything else yet, I do know the DM got the GP's factual report though but don't know if she's looked at it yet. I don't think the MR would have been looked at yet, I think it was only sent about 2 weeks ago, I mean it took my GP's report 7 weeks to get to them and to be put on their system lol.

    I hope you are doing ok?

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