PIP Assessment

beegee455 · 29 December 2017 at 11:56PM

Ive been a DLA claimant for 12 years and have now been summoned for a PIP face to face assessment.

So i gather my claim has not been good enough for a straight approval...

Not sure how to go about this as i am not good with appointments and talking face to face about my illness.

I have a severe psychosis which was not diagnosed in a good way. I was suicidal and committed to metal health hospital and while in hospital my psychiatric nurse suggested i get DLA...

So this is something I've never asked for no particularly wanted if I'm being honest...but in these 12 years my life has improved, I'm no longer suicidal and I have managed to cope. Ive never had to reapply face to face or anything like that.

But the fact that things have improved and I'm in less contact with mental heath professionals, is this going to affect my chances of getting the claim..

Ive read a few stories where mental health is being taken as serious with PIP..

Can anyone help with how i should approach this consultation, am i going to have to be open about my personal feelings and pretty much things i don't like to say to anyone or will i just have to answer what they ask...

[Deleted User] · 30 December 2017 at 7:18AM

beegee455 wrote: »

Ive been a DLA claimant for 12 years and have now been summoned for a PIP face to face assessment.

So i gather my claim has not been good enough for a straight approval...

Not sure how to go about this as i am not good with appointments and talking face to face about my illness.

I have a severe psychosis which was not diagnosed in a good way. I was suicidal and committed to metal health hospital and while in hospital my psychiatric nurse suggested i get DLA...

So this is something I've never asked for no particularly wanted if I'm being honest...but in these 12 years my life has improved, I'm no longer suicidal and I have managed to cope. Ive never had to reapply face to face or anything like that.

But the fact that things have improved and I'm in less contact with mental heath professionals, is this going to affect my chances of getting the claim..

Ive read a few stories where mental health is being taken as serious with PIP..

Can anyone help with how i should approach this consultation, am i going to have to be open about my personal feelings and pretty much things i don't like to say to anyone or will i just have to answer what they ask...

Your illness has improved?
You have no contact with health professionals?
Are you medicated?

poppy12345 · 30 December 2017 at 8:47AM

beegee455 wrote: »

Ive been a DLA claimant for 12 years and have now been summoned for a PIP face to face assessment.

So i gather my claim has not been good enough for a straight approval...

Not sure how to go about this as i am not good with appointments and talking face to face about my illness.

I have a severe psychosis which was not diagnosed in a good way. I was suicidal and committed to metal health hospital and while in hospital my psychiatric nurse suggested i get DLA...

So this is something I've never asked for no particularly wanted if I'm being honest...but in these 12 years my life has improved, I'm no longer suicidal and I have managed to cope. Ive never had to reapply face to face or anything like that.

But the fact that things have improved and I'm in less contact with mental heath professionals, is this going to affect my chances of getting the claim..

Ive read a few stories where mental health is being taken as serious with PIP..

Can anyone help with how i should approach this consultation, am i going to have to be open about my personal feelings and pretty much things i don't like to say to anyone or will i just have to answer what they ask...

PIP isn't about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you daily. Most people have to attend a face 2 face assessment, as it's rare to have a paper based decision.

During the assessment you'll be asked questions based on those PIP descriptors and yes you're going to have to tell them how your condition affects you daily, if you want any chance of an award. If you go and answer with just a yes or no then your chances of an award are slim, the more detail you give the better.

Did you send in evidence to support your claim when you sent the form in? You'll need evidence to prove those descriptors apply to you. This can be anything from letters from your GP, Consultant, Social worker, Support Worker, Medication print out list, letter from someone that knows you well, even a diary written by yourself.

Plenty of people with Mental health claim PIP, like i said it's how those conditions affect you daily. Everyone is different and you can't compare 2 people. There's a PIP self test that you can complete online, it doesn't mean you'll be awarded those points but it will give you some idea. Here's a link for that.
http://www.mybenefitsandwork.co.uk/pip/indexxx.php

You say in the last 12 years that you've improved. Did you not contact DLA and report that you'd improved? You're supposed to report those changes.

A few days after the assessment you can ring DWP and ask them to send you a copy of the report. This will give you some idea what the decision will be as mostly they go with that report.

beegee455 · 30 December 2017 at 9:24AM

My illness can be severe from hearing voices and feeling uncontrollably psychotic. But some days I feel normal and stop my medicication.

I’m prescribed my injection currently but will pip be able to see I come off it sporadically.

I do this because I hate the side effects, sickness and no sex drive being the worst.

poppy12345 · 30 December 2017 at 9:27AM

beegee455 wrote: »

My illness can be severe from hearing voices and feeling uncontrollably psychotic. But some days I feel normal and stop my medicication.

I’m prescribed my injection currently but will pip be able to see I come off it sporadically.

I do this because I hate the side effects, sickness and no sex drive being the worst.

You didn't answer the question above. Did you send in evidence to support your claim? This will be needed because they won't just take "your word for it" Did you complete the PIP self test in the link i posted above?

It helps to understand what PIP is all about because it's different to DLA. As i said there's plenty of info on the internet, i suggest you do some research to see what it's all about. This will help a lot!

kingfisherblue · 30 December 2017 at 10:11AM

Beegee, please follow Poppy's advice - she is correct, virtually everyone needs a Face to Face assessment. I know of one person who didn't need one, but she has a severe learning disability and several physical disabilities and her mum sent in plenty of evidence, including medical and educational reports.

You need to detail how your life is affected on a daily basis, and show any variations - you say that some days you 'feel normal and stop medication', so you need to include that, and say how long you can stop your meds for before needing them again.

DLA did not require a Face to Face in most cases. It was almost completely paper based. However, PIP is a different benefit with different criteria, and one of the criteria is to attend a F2F in most cases.

If your mental health has improved, you should really have informed DLA, as you are supposed to report changes in circumstances. However, that's water under the bridge now. It could be that you don't qualify for PIP, or that you qualify for a lower or higher rate than you receive on DLA - nobody here knows. The fact that you have improved may affect your claim, but surely that is a good thing? I would love my son to improve to the extent that he did not need disability benefits, but unfortunately that is never going to happen. On the link that Poppy posted above, my son scores 42 for care and 24 for mobility. Did you try the test? Where did you score points?

You have to attend the F2F or you will lose your benefit completely. I understand that it is daunting and that you would have preferred a paper based assessment, but as explained, these are almost unheard of with PIP. Your best option is to familiarise yourself with the descriptors in Poppy's link, and show how they apply to you.

Please let us know how you get on.

poppy12345 · 30 December 2017 at 10:43AM

I totally agree with everything Kingfisher said above. I applied for PIP for my daughter a few months ago. She also has a learning disability, Social Anxiety disorder and ASD. She's 16 years old and has never been outside the front door alone. She wouldn't have the capacity to do so. I sent in masses of evidence, from Disabilities team, College reports, EHCP reports, CAMH's reports. When at college she has one 2 one support the whole time she's there. Each of those reports had in detail every single one of those descriptors that applied to her and why. On the PIP test she scored 12 on the mobility following and planning a journey and 30 on the Daily Living part. She still had to have an assessment.

Her PIP report was honest but after reading it again i noticed that there were condradictions and she didn't score what she should have scored. Her award was Enhanced for both so no point in challenging that decision but i'll certainly be watching out for that at review in 1 years time.

Some people have managed an award without evidence, so i've read. I've no idea how they did this. I can't tell you enough how important it is to send in that evidence.

Good luck and let us know what you scored on the PIP self test.

w06 · 30 December 2017 at 11:15AM

Begee as above it's not about the diagnosis but about how your illness affects you, with regard specific things, for the majority of the time.

It's normal to have a face to face assessment.

I agree with the others about sending evidence for the things you state on the form, but important to recognise that not everyone has that evidence. I didn't send any. My GP was contacted, I had a face to face assessment, and I was awarded enhanced rate for both parts for an ongoing period.

poppy12345 · 30 December 2017 at 11:52AM

It's also very rare for them to contact any medical professional, so please do rely on that.

Hoogle · 30 December 2017 at 1:50PM

Honestly the pip application does not favour mental health especially as it always states other than psychological distress..... I put in my application that i could not do a f2f at assessment center or home and they did the application based on paper evidence which had plenty of medical reports and evidence i scored 2 points and did not win an award. I did a mandatory reconsideration breaking down every single point they dismissed and was awarded 15 points for daily living and 10 points for mobility giving me enhanced daily living and standard mobility. However it took longer but worth it in the end. But if i was to do it again then i would opt for the f2f as the application form alone really is a weak application and they do not take the time to read all the evidence you supplied.

Yes there are cases where f2f interviews are completely fabricated in the reports and everything you say is dismissed pretty much but you only hear of the bad cases not all the good ones my friend who i do charity work with had his f2f and the woman (home visit) kept changing the wording of his answers to better support his claim and he also received it and in all honesty none of us expected him to get it. If they are offering a f2f then take it, there is a very good chance you will get turned down on application stage any way it is how you do your appeals that count.

poppy12345 · 30 December 2017 at 2:06PM

Hoogle wrote: »

Honestly the pip application does not favour mental health especially as it always states other than psychological distress..... I put in my application that i could not do a f2f at assessment center or home and they did the application based on paper evidence which had plenty of medical reports and evidence i scored 2 points and did not win an award. I did a mandatory reconsideration breaking down every single point they dismissed and was awarded 15 points for daily living and 10 points for mobility giving me enhanced daily living and standard mobility. However it took longer but worth it in the end. But if i was to do it again then i would opt for the f2f as the application form alone really is a weak application and they do not take the time to read all the evidence you supplied.

Yes there are cases where f2f interviews are completely fabricated in the reports and everything you say is dismissed pretty much but you only hear of the bad cases not all the good ones my friend who i do charity work with had his f2f and the woman (home visit) kept changing the wording of his answers to better support his claim and he also received it and in all honesty none of us expected him to get it. If they are offering a f2f then take it, there is a very good chance you will get turned down on application stage any way it is how you do your appeals that count.

I disagree with that. I've heard of a lot of people with Mental Health that have been awarded PIP. Remember it's not about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you daily.

I have no idea why anyone would refuse a face 2 face assessment. This is your chance to prove how your condtion affects you daily.

PIP Assessment

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