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Atos home assessment

hi if you were granted a home assessment from atos on the grounds that being around too many people gives you extreme anxiety which worsens my agoraphobia, does it work in your favour if u are granted a home assessment.

i was fortunate enough to get a home assessment on those grounds however i do go to visit my pyscologist twice a month and my gp once every 3 months, will this go against me? i do always go via taxi and back and always take someone with me and only enter the waiting room if there is one or two people there. any ideas?

my sister is also a carer to me, she gets no carer allowance for me but is the one who solely does everything for me in the house (yes she will be present during the home assessment to say this) will this work do u think?
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Comments

  • Alice_Holt
    Alice_Holt Posts: 6,094 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 19 February 2017 at 11:27PM
    Is it an assessment for PIP?

    Are you currently in receipt of DLA or PIP?

    The PIP activities / descriptors / points are here:
    http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-self-test

    Bear in mind that the descriptors should be assessed on what you can do reliably for the majority of the time.
    Planning and following journeys - 1e. Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 10 points.
    The occasional trip in a taxi to a medical professional, should not indicate that you can do this activity safely and reliably.

    This is what the PIP assessors guide says about this descriptor:
    "Applies to claimants who cannot undertake any journey on the
    majority of days, even with prompting or assistance, owing to
    overwhelming psychological distress.
    ‘Prompting’ means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another
    person. ‘Prompting’ can take place either before or during a journey.
    ‘Any journey’ means any single journey on the majority of days.
    ‘Overwhelming psychological distress’ means distress related to an
    enduring mental health condition or intellectual or cognitive
    impairment which results in a severe anxiety state in which the
    symptoms are so severe that the person is unable to function.
    This descriptor is likely to apply to claimants with severe mental
    health conditions (typically severe agoraphobia or panic disorder) or
    cognitive impairments (typically a person with dementia who may
    become very agitated and distressed when leaving home to the
    extent that journeys outside the home can no longer be made either
    at all, or on the majority of days).
    If the claimant cannot go out even with prompting on most days, so
    despite encouragement or support, they still fail to make any journey
    on most days then this descriptor will apply.
    For example, a claimant who only manages to go out once a week
    to the 24hour supermarket at 2am. They choose this time because it
    is quiet and they do not usually see anyone they know there. The
    rest of the week they remain at home due to their agoraphobia and
    anxiety. They have friends and family visit them at home, but even
    with encouragement and offers of support, the claimant is too
    anxious to go out at any other time during the week. Therefore, on
    the majority of days, they cannot make any journey even with prompting"
    From:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547146/pip-assessment-guide.pdf Page 130
    Alice Holt Forest situated some 4 miles south of Farnham forms the most northerly gateway to the South Downs National Park.
  • paragon909
    paragon909 Posts: 1,498 Forumite
    Hectory wrote: »
    hi if you were granted a home assessment from atos on the grounds that being around too many people gives you extreme anxiety which worsens my agoraphobia, does it work in your favour if u are granted a home assessment.

    i was fortunate enough to get a home assessment on those grounds however i do go to visit my pyscologist twice a month and my gp once every 3 months, will this go against me? i do always go via taxi and back and always take someone with me and only enter the waiting room if there is one or two people there. any ideas?

    my sister is also a carer to me, she gets no carer allowance for me but is the one who solely does everything for me in the house (yes she will be present during the home assessment to say this) will this work do u think?

    Normally to get home visits or taxi to appointments you need to get a letter from your GP supporting your claim to why you need what you request.

    Sometimes it can be beneficial to get a taxi or home visit if your disability is surrounding anxiety. If you were to make it to the test centre, sign in and wait in the waiting room. This does actually go against you.... As they will say you can actually leave the house and sit with other people where you will hear all sorts of noises and voices etc
  • thanks for the replies, its an home assessment for ESA..

    i'm already in the esa support group but now its a reassessment after my three years are up

    hmm so seems like i might not be able to pass the undertaking journey ones but i do not cook due to it being a health hazard, don't leave the house without someone and often self harm too.
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 18,213 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper PPI Party Pooper
    Having a home assessment won't make any difference to the outcome. You will be assessed against a number of descriptors, and these are the same wherever the assessment is done.
    If there was a noticeable 'benefit' from having home assessments every man and his dog would be demanding it.
  • TELLIT01 wrote: »
    Having a home assessment won't make any difference to the outcome. You will be assessed against a number of descriptors, and these are the same wherever the assessment is done.
    If there was a noticeable 'benefit' from having home assessments every man and his dog would be demanding it.


    what if i invite a health professional to be with me during the assessment? does that help at all?
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 18,906 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hectory wrote: »
    what if i invite a health professional to be with me during the assessment? does that help at all?
    It's always better to have someone with you during these assessments but you'll still be assessed under a number of descriptors.
  • paragon909 wrote: »
    . If you were to make it to the test centre, sign in and wait in the waiting room. This does actually go against you.... As they will say you can actually leave the house and sit with other people where you will hear all sorts of noises and voices etc

    I can vouch for that. I had to go on my own so used the map and instructions that ATOS sent me with the appointment letter.
    Two buses totalling 1 hour 20 mins then a half mile walk from the bus stop to the centre.
    When I was sked how I got to the centre I told the assessor that I followed the instructions that they had sent me.
    The report said that I could use public transport, had no problem in travelling alone and could walk more than 200 metres!
  • poppy12345 wrote: »
    It's always better to have someone with you during these assessments but you'll still be assessed under a number of descriptors.

    Why should that make any difference? It's not as though they are able to talk on your behalf and if they attempt to disrupt the assessment in any way they can be told to leave.
    I only took someone once (my wife) which was a waste of time. When she got up to follow me to the assessment room, the assessor told her that she could not come as there was no room and only one chair.
    Since then I always go on my own either by my wife driving me there or getting on a bus on my own.
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 18,906 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Why should that make any difference? It's not as though they are able to talk on your behalf and if they attempt to disrupt the assessment in any way they can be told to leave.
    I only took someone once (my wife) which was a waste of time. When she got up to follow me to the assessment room, the assessor told her that she could not come as there was no room and only one chair.
    Since then I always go on my own either by my wife driving me there or getting on a bus on my own.
    Of course it would if the claimant has anxiety issues talking to someone they've never met before is most likey their worst nightmare. Just because you choose NOT to take/have someone with you doesn't mean others want the same thing.
  • poppy is spot on! You take someone with you to the assessment because you need the support, not to score points with the assessor.

    The same is true of having a home assessment, taking a taxi to the assessment centre etc. It is about what you need to get through that assessment and get the correct entitlement.

    Your insistence on labouring the same points on almost every thread is not helping anyone. You !!!!ed up your own claim, get over it and move on.
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