I had my home visit pip assessment on the 15th of March and the assessor (who was a paramedic) said I should get a decision in about four weeks. A week later I got a text saying that they had received my assessment and I would hear in six weeks. I got a letter yesterday saying they've now got all the information that they need and would assess it to see if they could award me benefit. Would they have contacted all my consultants and gp?
I just want to get a decision (preferably positive) I worry that my medication which is dispensed in a dosset box doesn't include pain killers except amitripytiline as my hepatologist told me that I mustn't take painkillers. This ongoing wait is really stressful and I don't know if I will have the energy or strength to take it further if I'm refused pip.
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GrandmaDylan
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Hi Debs. When you fill in the forms and you are asked to give the name and address of the doctor or specialist they can contact to confirm what you are saying. I think that the very fact that you have done that assures them that you aren't going to be making any claims that aren't true because it can be easily checked up on. You will find that in most cases they take your word and they then make their decision (rightly or wrongly) from the facts in front of them. Hope you hear soon. Being ill is stressful enough without any extra stress! Best wishes. Alf
I can't recall where I read that you can request a copy of the report before it is adjudicated on.This way you can look for the fibs and massive fat lies! It will also give you time to prepare for the next level if they say no. You have a very smart family who will help you, so don't feel ground down by them. Store up some energy and chocks away! Every single one of us is behind you. Hazelx
I really hope you get the right decision soon, we are all behind you. If you have to appeal then please do so. Did you say your daughter is a pharmacist? She will definitely be the best one to accompany you. She was with you last time wasn't she? It must be really hard to manage without pain killers. I thought mine did nothing but forgot to take them out with me one day, boy did I know about it!! I wouldn't be able to get out of bed without mine!! I have pain all the time which I'm sure all of you do too. Love and hugs Lynne xxxx
I requested a copy of my report and received it. The problem would appear to be that I actually made it to the assessment in clean clothes and walked from the waiting room to the assessment. I asked to get an early appointment to avoid infection risk from sitting close to others.
Due to the fact that I have no neurological long term damage, I actually answered the questions set to me. To actually be able to sit at home and read an intelligent book is a major drawback. I should have been watching Kyle.
My brother has Transverse Myelitis, it is diagnosed in only 300 people a year. Like you he takes a pride in his appearance, this is a disgustingly one of the things they note. However he is usually very placid. They kept him waiting for over an hour and he was in a lot of pain. He then had to walk down a very long corridor. My sister in law was with him, he had to stop several times. He got in there and gave them get it ,got it , good! My s in l said this is not how he used to be, but severe pain can do this! He was awarded lower level PIP. On the hygiene side he said many of the people waiting were dirty, smelly &scruffy beyond belief. There should be drama classes for people who have worked all their lives, intelligent and no longer able to work. As you say Kyle guests are experts! Hazelx
That's appalling Hazel. There doesn't seem to be any clearcut reason why they deny some people and others with exactly the same conditions they award benefit. It feels like its just on the whim of the pen pusher if it's ye or ney. My assessor said I don't have muscle wastage, I go out shopping with my family, I have no memory issues and can plan and follow a complex route. I can do complex budgeting and maintained eye contact and didn't seem tired. What a pack of lies!!!! If I don't have muscle wastage why do I have a grab rail next to the loo? I'm going to write to them tomorrow and take issue with the lies on my report. ☹️
Oh they have a policy alright, refuse everyone and let them fight it out!!!! I suppose they think sleeping 15 hours is fine too. I went to bed at midnight, I woke twice for a wee and had a brew. Since my op I have muscle wastage big time. For physical conditions, what the hell has your planning ability got to do with anything. ? Like you I have so many appointments with specialists I dont have the energy to battle with them at all. My last BF was told to apply. Cancer. They were more focused on his hands, due to how Dupuytrens had disfigured them. His really was caustic!'Look love I won't die from my hands being like this', Cancer is a killer! He was refused. His was a very rare form and was a killer. Fortunately he ad a surgeon who was determined . She created a massive hole under his tongue but he was a very luck man. She got it all. 2% success rate.Keep battling, you can do it. Having a strong caring family is your biggest asset. Hazelx
you are lucky that they came out to you for a home visit,they prefer to watch people struggle in and then cameras watch you how you sit, stand, walk, you name it even before you get in the room. I am afraid i got refused at the first assessment, did a mandatory appeal, went to the tribunal (the day after having a procedure at hospital and anaesthetic, they wouldn't let my partner speak, i was talking rubbish. They then asked me to sign to give them permission to access my gp notes (which i assumed was for the period in question), then gave me a new date for a hearing, which they refused again, quoting my health and abilities before the date of my claim for PIP. The whole system stinks. If you find yourself in this type of situation please don't give up on it, that's what they want. I am as determined as ever. And to boot, they still havent paid my travel expenses dating back to November. This is a great reward for working all my life and paying my taxes and never claiming any benefit. I am so angry, which is what is fuelling me. I am now hoping to get legal aid to take it to the first tier tribunal, these people are playing with our lives. I hope you are luckier than me, and shall be thinking of you. Kx
So hope you get a positive decision. The form and evidence you send is more about how your illness/condition affects you in your daily activities/life, how it makes you feel how difficult to do these activities safely, appropriately and in an appropriate time. Once you get a decision,hopefully it will be positive, if negative ring them straight for an assessors report. Use this to assist to do the initial mandatory reconsideration, which needs to be received by DWP one month from date of decision. Really hope you get a positive decision and wish you all the very best
Deb,
The mantra of the timing is “Six weeks”, the texts are automated updates.
They do not contact your medical staff and the information is the DWP receiving the ATOS report.
You were assessed at home, that is a good bonus.
After several “6 weeks” due to their incompetence, I got to the assessment 5 months after my transplant.
I was actually able to stand up, with a stick, and walk from the waiting room to the assessment room. About 10 yards. I then had the temerity to answer the questions about my condition. I foolishly assumed that the person that I was talking to actually knew about a liver transplant.
I now have a letter from the Royal Free, sent at my request, to use at the court appeal.
I really hope that you do not find yourself in a similar situation and I am hoping that you will get the award that you clearly need.
Thanks for all your support and replies. I got my letter today saying I am awarded standard care but nothing for mobility. It states that I go shopping with my family.. I told the assessor that I occasionally go out to an out of town Marks and Spencer and use a mobility scooter but I will be exhausted and in pain for several days after. I also said that I can't plan and make a long journey. The assessor said that I can. I also told her that I have poor concentration and memory which again she said I don't. I've rang the dwp and reiterated these points. Apparently it's about 12 weeks to tell me if they will change the decision. Deb
Sorry to hear of the decision, DWP strikes again against a 100% genuine claim. Go to CAB or your local council welfare rights department to fight the decision. Is your phone call classed as the request for mandatory reconsideration if not them make sure you write to ask for MR including any and all new details, point out where you feel the report is incorrect. CAB or Welfare Rights will help you with this plus will source any supporting evidence from your medical teams - you asked earlier about whether DWP / ATOS / Capita call in your medical evidence. The answer is NO they don't, it is up to you to prove your claim, they won't ask for medical evidence as they know it will support your claim and they obviously are in the business of giving as little as possible.
Best wishes with the MR, don't be beaten down by them (that's what they want!). Take it all the way to tribunal if need be. Most folks get an increased award at tribunal. Hubby went from zero points at Face-to-Face based on a report that was a pack of lies, still zero at reconsideration then wham Enhanced Daily Living and even points for mobility at tribunal. Next time round - Enhanced Daily Living and Basic Rate Mobility based on his inability to plan and undertake journeys unaided.
The point is don't give up. Many do which is just what they wanted. It's hard playing the waiting game but the system is built on that. It's a cruel way of doing things. Go to CAB and they can certainly help with your appeal. In the meantime gird your lions (don't let them out of they cage) and enjoy the best bits.
The point is don't give up. Many do which is just what they wanted. It's hard playing the waiting game but the system is built on that. It's a cruel way of doing things. Go to CAB and they can certainly help with your appeal. In the meantime gird your lions (don't let them out of they cage) and enjoy the best bits.
It's annoying that the assessor deliberately left out that I can't plan or follow a route. I only drive very short distances and only if absolutely necessary. I have already been given a blue badge permanently with no need to reapply because of my mobility. Apparently I can take my medication without help despite having to have them in a dosset box and even then I often forget them. Gggrrr
It's an annoying situation I had my pip assessment 3 days after you it's definitely been a lot quicker than it was a few years ago but I still nervous as hell but like yourself won't give up the fight I won first time around 😉
I just got the letter on Saturday saying they had all the information they needed
I was given a DS1500 by the Doctor and receive Universal Credit with Limited Capability to work and Enhanced PIP and Mobility without any assessment.
I do have Decompensated Cirrhosis, HE (cannot watch a programme longer than 30 minutes and forget what happened an hour ago). The slightest scratch and I bleed heavily, nosebleeds every night and if I can go to the shop, I am laid up for a couple of days thereafter with dreadful aching all over.
I was told that if I made last Christmas then I would be very lucky, I am still here thankfully.
Looking forward to being told they will accept me on the transplant list.
Hubby got standard rate and zero mobility post transplant, I was so angry! I wrote a few angry letters telling them how very I’ll he was, then I requested another form and filled it in. He was half was into the face to face before the assessor knew he had a transplant by this time, she said he would prob get something for a year, he got higher rate and mobility 2nd time round, and for 3 years, yet truth said, he was iller pre transplant!!! And he got 3 grand backdated to when he first got the standard rate!!! It a farce, they should be ashamed of themselves! Ps. hubby wasn’t in any painkillers.
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