My NHS records (worried)

dp267p
dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
in PIP, DLA, ADP and AA
So my worry is this:

I checked my medical records and I was prescribed an anti depressants in 2020 for low mood and anxiety. 

So then 6 months later I applied for PIP with my healthy minds letter which stated I was suffering with low mood and anxiety. 

Anyway I was awarded PIP in August 2021 for depression and anxiety as a diagnosis. 

But I’ve checked my medical records and my doctors haven’t even wrote I have been diagnosed with depression & anxiety?

But yet they’ve been giving me fit notes for a year that say depression & anxiety on them. 

But now my NHS records say mixed depressive and anxiety disorder 

so is this classed as like unintentional fraud or something?

the wording of my condition is different to that of my PIP. 

Depression / low mood are the same thing I guess. 

Can anyone help me
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Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    It makes no difference at all because PIP or the work capability assessment has nothing at all to do with any diagnosis. It's not fraud at all.
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    Hello @dp267p

    Thank you for making this post, i hope you are okay besides worrying about this.

    I understand why it has caused you concern, the last thing you would want is somebody to get the wrong idea, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. it can be very normal for things to be worded differently across various platforms, and as you say low moods and depression could indicate the same thing. Low moods in fact are a symptom of depression.

    Besides, PIP won't have been awarded based on a diagnosis, instead it will have been awarded based on how you scored against the relevant descriptors. 

    How are you managing with your mental health at the moment? 
  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    poppy123456 said:
    It makes no difference at all because PIP or the work capability assessment has nothing at all to do with any diagnosis. It's not fraud at all.

    I mean I referred myself to Healthy Minds for depression & anxiety. They then did an assessment of my needs, wrote me a letter and I provided that letter as evidence. 

    I think I saw a post where you managed to get PIP for your daughter without a diagnosis. Am I right in thinking this?
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    dp267p said:
    poppy123456 said:
    It makes no difference at all because PIP or the work capability assessment has nothing at all to do with any diagnosis. It's not fraud at all.


    I think I saw a post where you managed to get PIP for your daughter without a diagnosis. Am I right in thinking this?

    Yes, that's correct because as i advised, you don't need a diagnosis to claim PIP. Lots of people claim it without a diagnosis.
  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    Yeah. I said I had self care issues etc and getting about due to low mood and anxiety. But as I said, there’s no official diagnosis at that point. 
  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    What about ESA. For ESA I didn’t provide any medical evidence before my WCA. I just did the WCA and told them the appointments I was having. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    dp267p said:
    What about ESA. For ESA I didn’t provide any medical evidence before my WCA. I just did the WCA and told them the appointments I was having. 

    Medical evidence isn't needed. Same rules apply for ESA as advised above, you don't need any diagnosis.
  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    They said I have a diagnosis of depression & anxiety based on a letter from Healthy Minds. But Healthy Minds don’t diagnose. 

    I read somewhere that you should provide medical evidence including names, numbers of professionals etc 
  • Girl_No1
    Girl_No1 Online Community Member Posts: 324 Pioneering
    I was awarded PIP without a specific diagnosis. 
    The assessment was based on how I function (or don't) on a daily basis.
    Subsequent to the PIP assessment I received a formal diagnosis. 
    Having that formal diagnosis made absolutely no difference to how I function (or don't) and, therefore, would have made absolutely no difference to the award. 

    All you can do is say how it is for you on a daily basis, the impact on your life and ability to function. 

    As others have said, the actual diagnosis is immaterial as to whether or not a person is entitled to the benefit.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    dp267p said:

    I read somewhere that you should provide medical evidence including names, numbers of professionals etc 

    Yes you can provide evidenced if you want to. This can be anecdotal or medical but medical evidence is only useful if it states exactly how your conditions affect you.
    You said yourself that you didn't provide evidence for your ESA claim, so that's proof it's not needed.
    Names and phone numbers of medical professionals can be provided but it's not essential because they very rarely contact anyone for any evidence anyway.

  • Jo_2022
    Jo_2022 Online Community Member Posts: 295 Empowering
    Hi @dp267p!  :) I hope you have found all the above advice helpful? 

    Yes, I think I agree with everybody else. Sometimes people claim PIP or ESA without a diagnosis based on how their health conditions affect them daily. Also, I would not worry too much about the wording of your health issues, as some professionals use different words interchangeably to describe the same thing. 
  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    But on my PIP claim it says

    diagnosis
    Depression 1 year ago
    Anxiety 1 year ago etc 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    dp267p said:
    But on my PIP claim it says

    diagnosis
    Depression 1 year ago
    Anxiety 1 year ago etc 

    It doesn't make any difference. PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis. You're worrying needlessly.
  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    But I said I was diagnosed with both and then noticed my records didn’t show this. 

    Yet the docs did give me a prescription for citalopram in 2020. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    As advised a few times, it doesn't make any difference because PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis. As you would have noticed that others have also commented saying exactly the same thing.

  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    The assessor literally said I had been diagnosed with it based on my Healthy Minds letter. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    As advised here.
    poppy123456 said:
     it doesn't make any difference because PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis.
    and here.
    Ross_Scope said:


    PIP won't have been awarded based on a diagnosis, instead it will have been awarded based on how you scored against the relevant descriptors. 



  • cv85
    cv85 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
    I understand the original poster's concern about unintentional fraud. My PIP was awarded without me having filled in a application form, based on evidence provided by my NHS mental health team. Additionally, I had not given consent either for PIP to collect my details, or for the NHS to provide my details.

    (My PIP case manager insists that I made a telephone call on 1st July to give consent, however this was the first day I arrived back in the UK following a short vacation - I categorically remember not having made any telephone calls on that day).

    Dealing with the ICO to resolve the issue seems like a lot of hassle. Letting the matter slide feels like a potentially unwise course of action, considering the sensitivity of the information. Not sure what to do...


  • dp267p
    dp267p Online Community Member Posts: 69 Connected
    Have I committed unintentional fraud?

    I have the diagnosis now. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    dp267p said:
    Have I committed unintentional fraud?

    I have the diagnosis now. 

    No and i'm really not sure why you think this. As advised a few times here, PIP is not about a diagnosis. What matters is how your conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors. Lots of people successfully claim PIP with no diagnosis. As you know my daughter was one of those when i first claimed for her.

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