We're asking people living with the effects of brain injury to share their experiences of applying for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and/or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) by completing our new survey.
Click the link to find out about our campaign and take the survey:
I wanted to complete this with comments that actually completing applications with brain illness/injury is extremely difficult. And could have been the reason I failed to get it. But since I don't receive benefits I couldn't take part in yr survey. Circular problems!?
Thought that myself, unless one had help a lot of people aren’t going to manage it, sadly not sure that’s in the brief of this survey?
Hi Roger,
Absolutely - we know it's a big survey and appreciate the difficulty many people will face in completing it.
We are happy for people to complete it on someone's behalf, so you can seek support from friends, family, your local Headway etc.
We can also send a printed version on request - the details are in the introduction to the survey, but please email my colleague Tamsin on publications@headway.org.uk if you'd like us to send one out.
Best wishes,
Andrew
I still think we are saying that actually applying for PIP /ESA etc too complicated at the time of illness/injury.
Can't comment on the survey as it didn't want to know about me because I wasn't able to claim
Ah sorry rather clumsy worded of me! It was more that for some they would struggle or fail to apply for a PIP/ESA as it appears to require quite a lot of work.
I'm fairly sure that due to my injury being fairly minor I'd not qualify for either, but equally i'm fairly sure that i'd at best struggle with such forms, and i'm high functioning apparently!
Hi moo196,
Many thanks for your interest in our survey.
We are seeking the views of anyone who is currently receiving the benefits, or who has made any application within the last 2 years (regardless of the result). This will include a number of people who were not awarded ESA or PIP.
We have chosen the 2 year period to ensure we are getting an up-to-date picture of how the assessments are currently working. There have been independent reviews of both benefits over the last few years, so we want to make sure our findings are directly relevant to the DWP and the current Work and Pensions Committee inquiry.
We are however very interested in any comments and feedback you have about your experiences, even if the application was older or you didn't make an application because of the length of the process. Please don't hesitate to post on here, or you can email my colleague Tamsin on publications@headway.org.uk to share your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Andrew
Hi,
My main point is that its actually too complex for us to apply at the time of illness. And possibly why I wasn't awarded it .
Hi moo196 and Roger,
Thank you for following up with your replies. What you say does make a lot of sense, there are clearly issues with even applying for ESA and PIP that are difficult for many people with brain injury.
I've added a new question on the last page of our survey, which appears even if you haven't applied for PIP or ESA. It asks for general comments on the benefits system.
It'd be great to have your feedback, so if you get chance please do click the link and go through it again.
Best wishes and thanks again,
Andrew
I have PIP and ESA ..... aphasia after stroke
It was hard work but they in the Job Centre helping me
Good luck
I’m a mother of a man with a thi I’m his appointee it took 2 years to get pip for him , he’s in a care home had no money at all that time , terrible we have to go down the same path as everybody else
ATOS DWP
PIP
am broken
ESA 
