Help with PIP Face to Face assesment

poppy12345

caprichos wrote: »

Hello,

Finally we went for assessment and we can tell you it was a very uncomfortable experience that has left us both feeling stremely anxious.

The "interview" started and she quickly said we have to be brief as we did not have a lot of time.
Then she went on to ask general questions about medication and disabilities and how this affected my husband.
after this she started asking some of the question we have already answered in the form. What we noticed was that she was that when she was asking the questions she was not giving us options. for example, she ask if my husband could plan a route to "familiar places" which we said yes, he can plan to go to the shops that are round the corner for exmple. she quickly noted this. that will score him ) points. Why didnt she ask if he could do the same with unfamiliar places????? Of course I added that even thought he could plan that familiar route it was not a journey he would do on his own as he stumbles when he walks and sudden noises make his anxious and jumpy. I continue to say he could not do it with unfamiliar places and his is overwhelmed with fatigue most days and his concentration is therefore poor as well as his walking and fatigue gets worse throughout the day.
I cannot tell you for sure if this was typed into the computer???

By this point my husband was getting tired and frustrated and he was feeling sweaty. he asked if the door could be opened but she said it could not as it was a private meeting. my husband had already taken his jumper off at this point.

Then the last question was how far he could walk in minutes??We dont know? maybe a minute? I asked my husband. At this point she was obsessed with this figure. MY husband was trying to concentrate and got even more frustrated and he apologised for that. He agreed to one minute which again she quickly noted down but we added that his walking was very slow and that not two days were the same, some walking 10 metres sometime 10 steps again this at a very low pace as he has drop foot as well as swelling of ankle and knee joint and fatigues caused by both the stroke and COPD. Again We dont think she took this on board?

We are anxious now waiting for the results. It was an very unpleasant experience for both and we did not get much sleep last night.

Any advice on this or information that can put my husband's mind to rest would be very appreciated.

My husband was on indefinite standard car and enhanced mobility on DLA


Many thanks.

I'm glad it's over for you. There's isnt much anyone else can add or tell you now. You just have to wait for a decision. Being on an indefinate award with DLA doesn't mean anything with PIP. Results time vary depending on where you are in the country. Good luck.

caprichos

Is anyone able to tell me why she was so obsessed wit "1 minute" different people can walk different distance in one minute. We are anxious that number could score him low?

poppy12345

caprichos wrote: »

Is anyone able to tell me why she was so obsessed wit "1 minute" different people can walk different distance in one minute. We are anxious that number could score him low?

PIP is about being able to do something repeatedly, reliably, in a timely manner. The mobility part of PIP has a different criteria to DLA. DLA was 50 metres or less where as PIP is 20 metres or less. NOt forgetting the reliability etc part too. The assessor would have watched the way your husband walks, how fast and how far etc even before you arrive in the assessment centre. Hopefully it'll be good news. There's always the MR if it's bad news. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Mojisola

caprichos wrote: »

Finally we went for assessment and we can tell you it was a very uncomfortable experience that has left us both feeling stremely anxious.

Any advice on this or information that can put my husband's mind to rest would be very appreciated.

There's a FB group which you'd find helpful -
M.E. & Chronic Illness Benefits Advice Group

There's some very useful documents to guide you through the processes of claiming and what to do if the benefit is refused.

caprichos

poppy12345 wrote: »

PIP is about being able to do something repeatedly, reliably, in a timely manner. The mobility part of PIP has a different criteria to DLA. DLA was 50 metres or less where as PIP is 20 metres or less. NOt forgetting the reliability etc part too. The assessor would have watched the way your husband walks, how fast and how far etc even before you arrive in the assessment centre. Hopefully it'll be good news. There's always the MR if it's bad news. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Do they have cameras outside the buildings? really? Well in that case they can see in 10 meters my husband stopped twice. is that really allowed? apologies for my ignorance and naivety,,,,,

caprichos

Mojisola wrote: »

There's a FB group which you'd find helpful -
M.E. & Chronic Illness Benefits Advice Group

There's some very useful documents to guide you through the processes of claiming and what to do if the benefit is refused.

Thank you I will look at it straight away.

rockingbilly

caprichos wrote: »

Is anyone able to tell me why she was so obsessed wit "1 minute" different people can walk different distance in one minute. We are anxious that number could score him low?

This is a ploy that has been devised to ensure that claimants do not get the enhanced rate for mobility. Instead of asking (which they should) - how far can you walk, they ask how long can you walk for. The answer to gain enhanced is in seconds not minutes! A very clever way of getting you to agree that you can walk for a minute.
20 metres at normal walking speed = 16 secs
20 metres at half walking speed = 32 secs

walking for 1 minute therefore at normal speed you would cover 75 metres and at half speed the answer should have been - no more than 37 metres!!!

caprichos

I also found this information....

List of conditions judged by the DWP and Atos Healthcare as suitable only for assessment by doctors:

Stroke
Head injury with neuro sequelae
Brain haemorrhage/Sub Arachnoid Haemorrhage
Brain tumour
Acoustic Neuroma
Multiple Sclerosis
Motor Neurone Disease
Parkinson’s disease
...

She was a nurse (with a very bad manner I must add) which surprised me when she constantly fail to match medication to conditions....at least some knowledge?

caprichos

rockingbilly wrote: »

This is a ploy that has been devised to ensure that claimants do not get the enhanced rate for mobility. Instead of asking (which they should) - how far can you walk, they ask how long can you walk for. The answer to gain enhanced is in seconds not minutes! A very clever way of getting you to agree that you can walk for a minute.
20 metres at normal walking speed = 16 secs
20 metres at half walking speed = 32 secs

walking for 1 minute therefore at normal speed you would cover 75 metres and at half speed the answer should have been - no more than 37 metres!!!

OH no!! but we did also say it very much varies and sometimes he can only take 10 steps....we emphasized the point he walks very slow with a gait and drop foot which is she was looking she obviously saw.

kingfisherblue

I believe that you can request a copy of the report that the assessor has written. This can be sent out before a decision is made.