Hi all,
I have a video PIP assessment in a few weeks time and was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice for this?
I do not have issues with mobility but suffer with chronic fatigue and pain due to my illness and am signed off work for the foreseeable. Waiting for a multi organ transplant. It has impacted all areas of my life so have been encouraged to request PIP but I’ve heard they decline lots of people.
Thank you!!
Hi Gemma, I take it you have already submitted a 'How your disability affects you form' with all the descriptors for daily living activities and you detailed how you struggled with each one. Hopefully, you kept a copy and can refresh your memory of exactly what was written because you don't want to contradict yourself. Really explain why you struggle with the various descriptors and what help you need or get from others.
There are a couple of other members having a video PIP assessment this coming week so hopefully they'll come back and report on how it went.
Having accompanied my hubby to two physical face to face assessments which were both totally different - one where he scored zero in all areas (& subsequently went to appeal tribunal getting an enhanced daily living award) and one where the assessor actually went looking for points for him (giving him sufficient for a basic rate mobility award too). Each assessment and assessor is different.
Rather than being on your side some of these assessors seem to be outright looking for tricks to catch you out and turn you down so be prepared. Do not fall for the traps, don't say you feel ok today, don't answer questions with yes or no - make sure you remember the word BUT - I can read BUT sometimes my fatigue means I can't take in the information, I can sometimes make a meal BUT often I am just so exhausted blah, blah, blah.
The Benefits and Work member guides for PIP are excellent as they take you through the process step by step. benefitsandwork.co.uk
When you say you arn't struggling with mobility - are you able to make journeys unaided? my hubby gets basic rate mobility because he can't plan and make journeys on his own, he can't figure out timetables, buying tickets, navigating himself round strange places, falls asleep on transport so could be at potential risk of missing stops, potential be vulnerable. He can walk miles but can't stay awake when travelling. Not saying you are the same but effects of chronic fatigue could make you vulnerable when travelling so in effect you could potentially gain a basic rate mobility award.
Wish you all the best for it, it's a great pity when someone in such a health predicament as yours has to jump through these bl**dy hoops to get the help you so obviously need.
Katie
Thank you so much for your helpful response!
I’ve tried to access my ‘How disability affects you’ form I completed online but it seems I can’t. Unfortunately I don’t have a copy 😞
I will go through all the questions they may ask and make notes before hand using your advice.
Yes I’ve heard they try catching you out which is why I’m rather nervous!
Glad your husband is receiving support but like you say it’s such a shame it’s so challenging to receive, as the health conditions we are facing are enough stress without anything extra on top of that!
Wishing you all the best and thank you again 😊
Hi there,
Another useful tip which is what I did for my late husband is ask for a copy of the assessor’s report. Ring them after 7 days and ask for it.
It will come in handy if you have to do a mandatory reconsideration, (looking at the claim again).
You then can go through the report highlighting anything which is wrong, and challenge it.
Good luck.
Take care x
Who should I ask for an Assessor’ report? DWP or Capita?
Thanks
it’s DWP you contact around 7 days after the assessment, then wait for your decision from DWP, if you feel it’s incorrect then challenge them on it, ask for a MR ( mandatory reconsideration) highlight what’s wrong within the assessors report and why and if you can back it up with evidence even better.
If it’s incorrect also raise complaints both with the assessor’s and DWP, this helps if it goes to tribunal for appealing the decision.
Get CAB to help you with it, invaluable support I got from them even up to getting a DS1500 form compled by my GP with support from my consultant, the form alone allowed me to get PIP
I had my assessment already and was lucky enough to be accepted 😀 thank you for advice though I’m sure others will find it super useful! Glad you got what you are entitled to.
Gemma
Hi GEMMA, I was also a victim of "thats not what you wrote on the form" question. I was advised to always to take a photo of all my quesquestionnaire with my phone and then email the pic to myself.By doing this i can always easily check any details.I have also found it helpfull to keep a sort of diary,I put in anything that I feel I struggle with that i wouldn't if I was healthy,it was a bit of an eye-opener as to how much doesn't register as an "affect" of your condition because you just have to get on with things and don't give it a second thought. Hope this helps
Thanks. I’m gutted I didn’t do this now! I have gone through each point and tried to remember what I put and made a note of it all. It’s tomorrow morning and been changed from video call to telephone call so slightly less nerve racking!!
Gemma, I’ve copied my post from last week and pasted it below-I had the assessment last week. Not heard anything back as yet, other than I now have another assessment next week -a work capability assessment-which when I queried what it was and why I had to have a second assessment within 2 weeks,was told by DWP that it was a different type of assessment to see if they will pay my NI.
Anyway, I hope the post below helps you and good luck tomorrow,
”I had an assessment today. It was supposed to be by video but 10 mins before it was due, I got a call saying that the health professional wasn’t available for a video call and that I was to wait for a telephone call to conduct the assessment at some point this afternoon. About 50 mins later I received a call with a nurse which lasted just short of 2 hours.The nurse was actually very patient, human, but very thorough. It’s done in sections so my advice to anyone else is to go with the flow of the questions. Take your time and try not to lose your train of thought.My anxiety levels were difficult to control this morning and following the call I’ve vomited a few times. I developed a hell of a headache going through everything but as it was by phone, I closed my eyes and took my time trying to explain how I felt and how I approached my daily life.I’ve no idea what the outcome will be but I have to be honest and say that I really don’t feel like the nurse was trying to catch me out. I completed the PIP form in June 2022, I’ve been waiting all this time for the assessment, thinking of how to truthfully answer questions but also describe how difficult I’m finding recovery from second surgery in which I lost a bit of my bowel as a stent had migrated and lodged in the bowel. I think the wait for the assessment to come through was more stressful than the actual call itself. I’ll let you know what the outcome of the assessment is once I hear back from DWP. If anyone has any specific questions about the assessment, let me know and I’ll try to answer them. Take care all.”
Thanks for your response. Oh no you have to have another assessment after all that stress that is awful!
2 hours is such a long time! Did the nurse ask questions you was expecting? I’ve been told a manager will be observing the phone call which has only added to my nerves but very grateful it’s telephone and not video/ face to face!
Did she ask questions in the order that you find them online?
I really hope you get the best outcome from your assessment.
Gemma
Hi, she never mentioned a manager sitting/listening in so I assume there wasn’t one on my call. She started with social things first, then went onto medications, then activities then hospitalisations/mental health. Those were the 4areas as she described them to me. She also said “I always start with question 11 as it can take the longest”. Then the questions were ordered to match the 4 areas above.
Things I remember specifically: in terms of preparing food, I said I couldn’t hold a full kettle as I have pain in my wrist joints. Her reply was preparing food isn’t about holding a kettle I’d put that more in mobility, what I mean by preparing food is can you peel potatoes, chop up carrots and can you do it repeatedly.
In terms of showering, I told her I need help to steady myself in the shower, my husband does that and can’t stand for more than a few mins. Her reply was well you can’t be properly washing yourself each time. I told her I’m exhausted after showering and have to sit with a towel round me to let myself air dry rather than rub myself dry as it’s too tiring. She said well you can’t be drying yourself properly then.
I think you need to be honest but you also need to explain how you feel undertaking tasks, so if you’re knackered after showering, tell her.
Walking distances: I can walk between chairs unaided and make my way to the toilet like that. But I seem to collapse in the middle as I have no structural strength. She said well you can’t be walking more than 50m then.
I may be proved really wrong but I honestly didn’t get the impression she was trying to trip me up/catch me out.
The best advice I can give you, and others have said it too, is to not rush into your answer. Explain how you tackle the task/activity that she’s asking about. If she asks how far, how long can you walk, think about how you feel doing that, then answer. “Im knackered walking, tired, need to sit down so I can’t walk for long”. Also, think about if you could walk again within 5 mins/20 mins - when would you feel able to walk again. Could you repeat the activity?
Gemma, I don’t know if any of that helps, I hope it does. I can only repeat, take your time, don’t try to outthink the question, just ask yourself how would I feel doing that and how would I tackle it and how many times could I do it/how much time would it take me to recover after doing it.
Do you avoid socialising? If so explain why. Currently personally, I don’t like being with people I don’t know. She asked me how I get on attending clinic or hospital appointments, do I talk to other patients? I thought about it and realised for the first time ever that I don’t engage with anyone as I don’t want to talk about my condition/the fact that I resent the transplant. So I told her that her question had made me realise why I don’t engage with anybody at all and why it made me feel like such a bad person that I’m not grateful for the organ donation. Her reply was, I hope that you remember to tell your doctor that as it might help with your treatment. So the answer to her question was no I don’t socialise but she wrote down my entire reply. So please don’t just answer yes/no. Think about her question, how it relates to you and not what you think the answer needs to be to score higher points. I reckon she’d have been able to suss out any embellishments or lies.
So sorry for lengthy reply!
Thank you so much honestly that’s so helpful. I will be honest I was looking at the questions and thinking of answers to get more points but that was making me more stressed and honestly is always the best policy isn’t it! It’s just frustrating trying to prove yourself. I would do anything to be able to work and do the job I used to enjoy so much not need to apply for this!
I really hope things stand to improve for your soon and you get the support you need.
Sending you lots of love,
Gemma
thanks for your detailed answer, it’s been helpful for my phone assessment coming up next week. I was wondering if a review assessment is as long as an initial pip application assessment? Do you know?
if you mean a PiP Review, you are already in receipt of PIP & having a review after 1/2/3 yrs then yes it’s exactly same as original review. Maybe more detailed actually as they want to know what’s changed/how it’s change & how you are coping with the change.
Hope that helps you but there are maybe others who’ve got more details.
Hi Gemma, if you can,explain at the begining of the call that yoy are extremely anxious about the call. This may give you a bit more time to explain yourself and try to not rush the conversation. I found on m,y phone interinterview that writing the answer down before saying it helped(and the person on the other end was very understanding) .Good luck
I had the telephone assessment!
It was an hour and 20 minutes. The nurse I spoke to was very nice but very thorough!
She didn’t seem like she was trying to catch me out at any point or like any of the horror stories you hear.
The nerves eased as the assessment went on but I would definitely say think about time frames and the exact steps you need to do or struggles you face in every day task. She asked me to talk through how I would go to a clinic appointment or the steps I take to get in and out a bath etc. I found this quite challenging as she wanted to know exactly how long things take and with me it’s so variable.
Good luck everyone with your outcomes/ assessments!
glad it’s over. Fingers crossed you’ll get a swift reply. I’ll let you know when I hear outcome of my PIP assessment. I’m now getting ready for this work capability appointment next Tuesday.
Could you please ,tell what is the work capability assessment 😯?
It’s pretty much same as PiP assessment. The nurse who interviewed me was actually very helpful.
Well done, hope you you get a pospositive outcome. Just as a reminder keep (or take a pic with your mobile and email the pics to yourself so you always have access to them!) any documents or notes tas a referance for the future,as you do have a 2 year rereview and it is good to have a rereference.👍
Thanks for the update Gemma, there are others on here going through the same thing who will find you post helpful
Just wanted to thank you all for your helpful comments. I got a text to say I will be being awarded with PIP earlier today 😊
I am very pleased for you. I hope it helps you positively.
I’ve still not heard back from my assessment as yet.
Fingers crossed for you!
That’s fantastic news! Thank you for letting us know 😊
Assessment 
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Outpatient's Assessment
Transplant assessment 
PIP and decompensated cirrhosis 
