PIP question - worsening condition

Rocketqueen79

Hoping someone can clear something up for me! 

My partner gets the care part of PIPS (he didn’t get enough points for mobility when he made the initial claim, we should have taken this further but he had found the entire process so stressful we didn’t.) 

His mobility has gotten significantly worse in the last 6 months and a consultant has confirmed this and that the fact it will now continue getting worse and there is little they can do. 

He would like to advise PIPS of this, with the hope of being awarded the mobility element. (His care needs have remained the same/worsened slightly since the initial award.) 

He will be 66 in January 2024, so can he be awarded the mobility part at 65? As some things I have read suggest he can’t do this after pension age, but some other things suggest you cannot make a new claim for mobility after 65? 

It’s all so confusing (I know he cannot make a new claim after he reaches pension age, but not sure if it is “too late” to also do this now? 

Thank you 

poppy12345

Rocketqueen79 said:

Hoping someone can clear something up for me! 

My partner gets the care part of PIPS (he didn’t get enough points for mobility when he made the initial claim, we should have taken this further but he had found the entire process so stressful we didn’t.) 

His mobility has gotten significantly worse in the last 6 months and a consultant has confirmed this and that the fact it will now continue getting worse and there is little they can do. 

He would like to advise PIPS of this, with the hope of being awarded the mobility element. (His care needs have remained the same/worsened slightly since the initial award.) 

He will be 66 in January 2024, so can he be awarded the mobility part at 65? As some things I have read suggest he can’t do this after pension age, but some other things suggest you cannot make a new claim for mobility after 65? 

It’s all so confusing (I know he cannot make a new claim after he reaches pension age, but not sure if it is “too late” to also do this now? 

Thank you 

He can be awarded mobility part providing he's under state pension age (which is 66) if he reports the changes before he reaches this age then he can be awarded.

If he reports changes then he will be sent more forms to fill in and return with all his evidence. He will likely need another assessment because most people have them. Once a decision is made his award could either remain the same, be increased, decreased or stop completely.

You should get some expert advice before doing anything else.

Spoonie_Turtle

poppy12345 said:

Rocketqueen79 said:

Hoping someone can clear something up for me! 

My partner gets the care part of PIPS (he didn’t get enough points for mobility when he made the initial claim, we should have taken this further but he had found the entire process so stressful we didn’t.) 

His mobility has gotten significantly worse in the last 6 months and a consultant has confirmed this and that the fact it will now continue getting worse and there is little they can do. 

He would like to advise PIPS of this, with the hope of being awarded the mobility element. (His care needs have remained the same/worsened slightly since the initial award.) 

He will be 66 in January 2024, so can he be awarded the mobility part at 65? As some things I have read suggest he can’t do this after pension age, but some other things suggest you cannot make a new claim for mobility after 65? 

It’s all so confusing (I know he cannot make a new claim after he reaches pension age, but not sure if it is “too late” to also do this now? 

Thank you 

If he reports changes then he will be sent more forms to fill in and return with all his evidence. He will likely need another assessment because most people have them. Once a decision is made his award could either remain the same, be increased, decreased or stop completely.

You should get some expert advice before doing anything else.

And if course if that happens you can definitely challenge it until you get an appropriate decision.

But yes, having a good understanding of the descriptors before going for the change of circumstances is advisable, whether that's through reading up yourselves or via expert advice.

Alice_Holt

How far (in metres) can he walk before he needs to stop because of severe discomfort ?

Does he experience psychological distress when out, and following a journey ?

What points were awarded for Daily Living, and for which PIP activities ?

As poppy says see if your local advice charity can help.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

Rocketqueen79

Thank you all (and sorry for the post title - I can’t seem to edit it!) 

Walking wise he cannot walk anywhere the majority of the time without severe pain even around the house, along with the fact he is now unsteady and stumbling a lot too and requires something to support him - a stick, trolley or me! But he can physically walk, which I think is where the difficulty is when he was assessed last time. 

His condition has no real treatment and won’t get better. He is prescribed tramadol and other pain meds.  

I will dig out the last set of paperwork and see exactly what he was awarded last time round. 

Thanks again. 

peteuk

Have you thought about evidence from other sources.  Is he under the care of a specialist, or has there been an occupational or physiotherapist assessment.   

Spoonie_Turtle

Needing an aid, by itself, won't score any points if it helps to steady him and prevents potential falls.  What will score is severe pain or any other severe discomfort like breathlessness or fatigue, and the effects afterwards.

So the underlying question for PIP is, how far can he go without needing to stop because of severe discomfort AND can be repeated after a rest.  Being able to walk a distance only counts if it can be done repeatedly, whenever needed, and without impacting other activities of daily living.  So if for instance he could walk 50m if he really really had to, but was then in too much pain to move or be able to interact with people or cook / wash / get dressed / whatever then he would not be classed as being able to walk that far.  Also reliably - if for instance he could walk 50m one day but not again for several days due to pain etc. then he would not be able to do so reliably. 

Substitute any distance to find out how far he can actually walk (even with an aid) repeatedly/reliably/without severe discomfort.  Even if that's 1m or none at all.

Rocketqueen79

Thank you, he is currently waiting for a new physio assessment. (He had one a couple of years ago but things have considerably worsened.) But he has input from a consultant and various scans and X-rays etc that show the extent of the issue. 

He does have severe pain after any amount of walking (literally walking across the room can set the pain off) and then he has to sit and wait for the pain to fade before he’s able to walk any further. He takes tramadol for the pain. 

It’s so difficult to explain as it’s involving his legs vascular system (not the bones/muscles as PIP seem to expect with mobility issues)  He also has other diagnosed conditions such as COPD and asthma that cause him to get breathless when walking any distance. 

Thank you all.