Do DMs have to take ESA report into account? Can I use a 4 year old letter from my psychiatrist? — Scope | Disability forum
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Do DMs have to take ESA report into account? Can I use a 4 year old letter from my psychiatrist?

anubis68
anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
edited January 2021 in PIP, DLA, and AA
i called pip  and asked to talk to a decision-maker and was aked why i said of points there wrong in the report and things were put in i was never asked and she  treated like a child in the way she kept saying "aw bless and sorry that must be hard for you"  which had resulted in 0 points on every account.
 "ESA doctor put Getting About- 6 points
Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is unfamiliar without
being accompanied by another person"
2Personal Action - 6 points
Frequently cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least 2 personal actions
Coping Socially - - 9 points
Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is always precluded
due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the individual
Mr ******** states he will only go to shops/chemist with a friend as he is anxious
round people.
Appropriateness of Behaviour - 15 points
Frequently has uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behavior when out and about in public
Mr ********** states he needs prompting to get up and dressed and showered as
well as his friend needing to remind him to take medication and eat properly"
scored 42 points on esa in total and put in a support group
she said sorry we don't take that as evidence and complain to assessors not them also letter is to out of date to use as evidence from physiatrist i called my physiatrist and she said a diagnosis is just that a diagnosis and it isn't going to change because a letter is out of date also autism is non-curable and because of my age things are not going to get better  she just didn't want to know
Can anyone tell me if they have to take their own doctors' ESA report into account and will it go against me the letters being 4 yrs old?



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Comments

  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi and welcome 

    They do not take esa assessment reports into account as PIP is a completely different benefits with different criteria 

    Some people do however send it as evidence 

    As for diagnosis letter again all ot does I'd confirm your condition but PIP isnt about the diagnosis it's about how your condition affects your daily living against the descriptors 

    The best evidence to send is your own account of real examples of what happens when you try and do the task 
    Along with any support letters on how you manage your daily life 

    You can submit a MR to appeal detailing which descriptors you think you should have scored points and why 

    Good luck any further questions just ask 
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    edited January 2021
    HI Thanks for the reply these are copy of my mental team that diagnosed me and they said they are outdated to use as evidence sorry if its a bit much to read
     
    you do have an Autism Spectrum Disorder and meet the criteria of the
    DSM-5 and ICD-10 due to:
    A. Persistent difficulties in social communication and social interaction across
    contexts, not accounted for by general developmental delays, and manifest by all
    three of the following:- ·------ -----.. _
    1. Difficulties in social-emotional reciprocity
    2. Difficulties in nonverbal communicative behaviours used for social interaction
    3. Difficulties in developing and maintaining relationships
    B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities as manifested by
    the following:-
    1. Stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements, or use of objects
    2. Excessive adherence to routines, ritualised patterns of verbal or nonverbal behaviour, or
    excessive resistance to change
    3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are atypical in intensity or focus
    4. Hyper- or hypo- reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory


    I confirm that <moderator removed name> has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition, a diagnosis
    made early in 2016. Despite this diagnosis being made late in his life, we are
    confident that it helps to explain many of the difficulties<moderator removed name>  has experienced
    throughout his life. Autism is a lifelong developmental condition which presents with
    significant social and emotional challenges which impact on <moderator removed name>s wellbeing and
    for which he needs support. This support is provided, in the main, by <moderator removed name>. In
    addition, <moderator removed name> experiences high levels of anxiety which are more prominent at
    times of uncertainty, change and unpredictability and arise out of his autism.
    Sensory issues are also associated with autism and <moderator removed name> is particularly
    hypersensitive to noise which also increases his anxiety
    In addition, <moderator removed name> has a diagnosis of depression and anxiety with some OCD
    symptoms. He has experienced head injuries in the past and reports memory
    difficulties which impact on his daily functioning. The social and communication
    difficulties associated with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder mean that the
    effort needed to communicate with others and this adds to his experience of fatigue.
    During our time working with <moderator removed name>we always found him to be cooperative,
    however, we needed to make adjustments in order to complete our assessment. He
    was always supported to attend appointments by <moderator removed name> otherwise he would not have
    been able to attend appointments away from home. On one occasion he met with us
    in <moderator removed place>, but the stress of using public transport and the worry he experienced
    about the return journey were clearly evident and he was not able to engage with the
    process. Any future appointments were in  <moderator removed place>, in a familiar place and kept
    short.


    also with the esa doctor say ESA doctor put Getting About- 6 points
    Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is unfamiliar without
    being accompanied by another person" am i wrong in thinking its the same for esa as it is for pip as i dont see any difference in it ?

  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    That evidence looks good to me but they do state should be within last 2 years 

    But I understand with the content it should still be relevant but I'm not a DWP employee and sometimes they just go by the book with what they can and cant accept as evidence 

    All you can do now is submit the MR
  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    @anubis68, PIP is as you well know is a benefit to help you, me and others with daily living and mobility activities. PIP is not awarded on a disability, diagnosis or the amount of prescribed medications we, you or I are taking. PIP is solely award on your, mine and the claimants abilities to preform the PIP descriptors in a safe, repeatable and timely manner for at least 50% of their daily lives. Nothing more nothing less. That’s why when you apply for PIP we all fill in the booklet giving reasons, evidence to support each , question  and descriptor we are writing about giving examples of why we are unable to preform the relevant descriptor. At our phone or face to face assessment the assessor will question us reference to our application form and ask us questions to justify our written answers so as to recommend the correct points per each descriptor. ESA are two different benefits and claiming criteria.
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    thanks for the replys its all confusing when 2 people ask the same thing to the same question and get the same answer but only one is right and the other says it dont count

  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,741 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @anubis68

    Just to inform you - I've removed names and places from your post above to protect your identity.  Good luck with the MR and please be sure to ask any other questions along the way.  
    Online Community Co-ordinator

    Want to tell us about your experience on the online community?  Talk to our chatbot and let us know.

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  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    Thanks for the info. I called my autism team this morning for an up to date report but the person I dealt with has retired. I was told that they would look into it but because of the covid and they running on a low staff it might not be for a while.
  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,911 Disability Gamechanger
    @anurag10 I think covid 19 is affecting alot of things 
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    they ask for recent information and they know that covid is making it very hard to get the info its as if they are saying get the info if not then tough

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,586 Disability Gamechanger
    anubis68 said:
    they ask for recent information and they know that covid is making it very hard to get the info its as if they are saying get the info if not then tough

    I note your ASD letter says about a friend going with you to shops etc.  Would this friend be able to write a statement about how you're affected?  Something like that also counts as evidence as long as it focuses on the PIP descriptors.
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    filling out my MR and would it be ok to put a copy of self-test pip results in with it or would they think im being silly?
     
  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,007 Disability Gamechanger
    i would suggest not, as it's easy to over or under mark yourself. What you should concentrate on is where you should have got points & why, some of which has been mentioned above. Try & give a couple of detailed explanations of the difficulty you face for each activity/descriptor that applies, for example, what exactly happened & when, who witnessed it, why was it difficult when you attempted or completed the activity, & if relevant, how did it leave you feeling afterwards. Do you need support or prompting, etc. Please have a look at the following link, which indicates some of the problems you might encounter: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/
    Altho it's about how to fill in a PIP form, it's still relevant, as it goes through the different activities that will be looked at again with your MR.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
    Rather than self score use the scoring descriptions to help guide you in what you say. So for example you might say "I struggle to do xxx. Recently yy happened. My partner has to help me to do zzz. Without the help he gives me I would not be able to complete this activity."

    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    thanks for the reply is this the address to send free post does anyone know or do i still have to pay postaghe?
    FREEPOST DWP PIP 1
    PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE
    PAYMENT 1
    WOLVERHAMPTON
    WV98 1AA
  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
    I believe all you need is FREEPOST DWP PIP X where X is a number that depends on where you live.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
    edited January 2021
    There's a list of FREEPOST addresses attached to this FOI reply Reply Letter 4333.pdf (whatdotheyknow.com)
    Although the reply is a few years old I believe the addresses remain correct.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    Thanks the the report has now been sent. just the waiting game now
  • anubis68
    anubis68 Community member Posts: 30 Listener
    There is no rule on what evidence you can or cannot send in. If you send in ESA evidence for PIP they have no choice but to take it into account. However, the fact an ESA report addresses slightly different questions will impact the weight given to it as evidence. 

    Similarly the DWP assertion that evidence ought not to be more than 2 years old is utter nonsense. It has no standing in law at all. However, again, the weight given really depends on the nature of the evidence. A 4 year old report is unlikely to be given much weight. On the other hand a 10 year old CVI and SSI registration would be equally valid now as 10 years ago subject to other indicators. 

    This is part of the evidence eas doctor said in his report seems the same to me as the pip descipter
    Adapting to Change - Activity Outcomes
    Coping with change
    CCc Cannot cope with minor unplanned change (such as the timing of an appointment
    on the day it is due to occur), to the extent that overall, day to day life is made
    significantly more difficult
    Activity 14
    Getting about Activity 15
    GAc Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is unfamiliar without
    being accompanied by another person
    Adapting to Change - Supporting Medical Evidence
    The evidence does suggest some functional disability.

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