Medical evidence validity period for PIP

officechick · November 2021

Is there a validity period for medical evidence? i.e. if I have private consultant evidence of a lifelong congenital condition but the letter is more than 3 years old

woodbine · November 2021

You can send whatever you think is relevant and might help your application, so the answer is yes, however I would also caution about sending too much as it might not all get read.
Make sure you put your full name and national insurance number on anything you do send.

poppy123456 · November 2021

Hi,
Also to add that medical evidence is only useful if it states exactly how your conditions affect you, most doesn’t. Usually it only states the basics like medication, diagnosis etc. Unless it’s relevant you need to ask yourself if it’s worth sending.

calcotti · November 2021

I would say that a letter about a life long congenital condition is relevant - if that is a factor in whatever difficulties you have. Apart from anything else it may contribute to the case for a longer award.

mikehughescq · November 2021

Has anyone ever disputed that you have a lifelong congenital condition in connection with your benefit entitlements? If not then I would say that a letter offering a diagnosis would be utterly pointless. Even the DWP know hear what “congenital” means. Benefits do not require a diagnosis. If you state the diagnosis then that should suffice 99.999% of the time.

chiarieds · November 2021

With my first PIP assessment, after saying I had, as I'd mentioned on my claim form, a genetic disorder, I was asked how long I'd had it?!! A case manager rang the following week, & as a result of that I had a 2nd assessment a couple of weeks later. To this assessment I took a letter, I think about 8 years old, from a Professor that I'd seen that specialised in my disorder. This identified that I was likely to get worse as far as mobility went. The result of the 2nd assessment was that I only got a short award as my condition 'could worsen.'

So, a letter about a congenital disorder may be helpful, altho as mentioned PIP isn't about any diagnoses you have, but be careful to see what exactly it says, whether it just offers a diagnosis, & again as mentioned above, if it's relevant.

officechick · November 2021

Mike, I haven’t claimed any benefits yet but I’m contemplating a claim for PIP /blue badge, too.

I find the whole process quite daunting. I’m going to ask my doctor if they will support an application.

I just wish there was a charity service where someone, perhaps a former assessor, who knows the system can assist with applications.

The diagnosis is clear. The medical imaging is indisputable to. Healthcare professional who understands x-rays and mri scans. It’s gone on for years but I’m at crisis point now. My issue is the pain and humiliation and my lack of independence. I have to rely on my son for help getting about but he’s not there all the time. I feel especially desperate going to work because he can’t hold my hand everywhere I go. He can’t take me there and back because he works full time and the congestion charge puts a stop to that when he’s off work. It’s the loss of balance on tube station stairs and how frightening that is. The lack of respite on my journey to/from work on public transport. Not being able to stand and trying to squeeze into a seat that hurts my hips on a busy train and being stared at. It’s humiliating. I’m in a lot of pain with the first 5 minutes of my hour long journey. I’ve adapted my journey to go to work early, and leave early when it’s less busy but it makes no difference. I often have to ring my son when I get to my home station to pick me up because I struggle with muscle tiredness at the end of the day - my legs tremble and I rely on him when I go shopping, helping me out of the car and holding on to him etc. My son helps me up when I’m on the floor, trying to reach things. He raised my sofa so I don’t struggle getting out of my seat. He helps with carrying anything and stands behind me on stairs to make sure I don’t fall.

mikehughescq said:

Has anyone ever disputed that you have a lifelong congenital condition in connection with your benefit entitlements? If not then I would say that a letter offering a diagnosis would be utterly pointless. Even the DWP know hear what “congenital” means. Benefits do not require a diagnosis. If you state the diagnosis then that should suffice 99.999% of the time.

mikehughescq · November 2021

Little point in your doctor supporting the application. What they will know about PIP will be negligible. What they will know about your ability perform most of the daily living activities will be even less. Have they seen you cook, read, budget, toilet, form new relationships etc?

There are lots of advice services who can help with form filling. Start with https://advicelocal.uk.

The very mast thing you would want is an ex assessor. They know only their kart of the system; have zero knowledge of the decision making process and their focus is on the face to face assessment rather than the critical form filling which precedes it.

Medical evidence is not your friend here. PIP is not a medical benefit. It’s about your ability to perform specific activities reliably. The best evidence for that is your win anecdotal evidence.

Medical evidence validity period for PIP

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