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Pip assessment horrendous

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7 years 5 months ago #171589 by Liz julian
Pip assessment horrendous was created by Liz julian
Hi I had a really awful assessment not on my own I know. I cried throughout, the assessor was very abrupt when reading back what she was writing I continually had to correct what she was writing as she twisted everything I said. She questioned why I had not had my morphine levels uped if the pain was so bad, USAID I was on the max as stated by my gp and pain consultant. She said the levels could go much higher, I am on 2x60mg. I asked her what capacity she had to make this comment she said I am not trying to catch you out I am here to help you. She was an x cancer nurse. When asked about my depression she asked how often did I think of commuting suicide, once a day once a week once a month!! Very upset at such a comment I said it does not work like that.
This is only part of what went on, I decided to complain but felt it useless to complain to asos or DWP as they are only interested in getting us of the benefits, so wrote to my mp.ln the meantime I requested a copy of the report. The other day DWP phoned to say my complaint was being passed to the DWP executive who would write to me and my mp.
My decision came yesterday and was shocked to find a whole section written about a physical exam which never happened. I must say she did tell me that she was going to do it but at the time I was very distressed and did not believe anything she said. She also marked down my discriptors, even so I got enhanced care and standard mobility. I was hoping for both enhanced as I am mostly house bound she wrote that I had to depend on my husband, taps charity drivers or taxis.
Sorry to go on but the crux is do I tell DWP the physical exam medical never happened and question the descriptors and risk my benefits being reduced as seems to happen if you make a fuss.

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7 years 5 months ago #171653 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Pip assessment horrendous
LJ

The key question to ask yourself is whether you meet the criteria for Enhanced Mobility? You don't mention any problems with walking so I assume you only scored points for Going Out. To meet the criteria for an Enhanced award on just this activity you will need to show that you "Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid." The DWP see this as an issue of navigation and that only those with cognitive or mental health issues will score points.

You also need to be aware that there is a risk to your existing award if you ask for an MR where your existing points could be reduced, it doesn't happen very often but it does happen.

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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