PIP & Atos

JaneDoeJohnDoe

After completing her PIP form as comprehensively as possible & by providing as much medical support evidence etc it came as quite a surprise to my friend when the ‘Health Care Professional’ at the Atos medical/grilling said “there was too much information & he couldn’t see the wood for the trees!”
Which reading between the lines meant he could not be bothered to read it properly.
He then tried to summarise my friend’s medical conditions in just a few lines but she insisted that he did not. Indeed when he let slip that “unless he refers in his write up to a document supplied the Decision Maker won’t even look at the evidence provided”, it made it more important that everything she had put in the form was then effectively typed into his keyboard by him in the office. :eek:
Sticking to her guns of the new 3 “R’s” – reliably, repeatedly & risk of safety, :idea: it took nearly 2 & a half hours. By which time my friend was hurting a great deal because of her conditions.

Anyhow, almost 10 weeks later she got the brown envelope & I pleased to say that due to her persistence of not being fobbed off by a ‘drive-by’ interview she got enhanced rate for both Mobility & Care with an ongoing review date.:beer:
Even though one specific Atos score was way below the correct level in one care component category my friend still got over the magical 12 points level :dance: so no further action needed other than thinking “what a **** the HCP was”. :wall:

Hopefully others will not be put off trying for their case & will stick their ground. :T

paragon909

Seems more like a bitter rant than anything else.

Congrats to your friend getting what she is entitled to though...

JaneDoeJohnDoe

Appreciate the congrats but not intended to be bitter rant. :mad: If that were the case the thread would have been far longer mentioning car parking (lack of) & other Atos issues (appt miles away when local appt suite nearby). I could go on.:)
The idea of the thread was to let people know what they are up against when trying to get what they are entitled to & how the "assessment system" does not work properly.:(
Yes there were negative points but they highlight where people going through the process need to focus on sticking to their guns
& ensuring that their voice is taken into account as basically they are the one with the disability. (Make sure you do have medical evidence & it is looked at & make sure you explain all your issues at the interview & they are taken note of etc):money:
It is so easy on the day because of feeling rough to be steamrollered into a 'drive-by' appointment. Hence not giving complete answers to misleading questions posed & hence potentially losing points. The stress of having to go to MR &/or an appeal is even worse. We all know that DWP want people off benefits & Atos/Maximus or whoever are doing the assessments know that too.