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Advice regarding PIP appeal mental health grounds

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7 years 4 months ago #173508 by Jennet
I am currently attempting to write out an appeal form for my PIP claim.

Its all been rather a saga.
I received a letter dated January 6th stating that in my pip review i had only received 2 points and therefore my PIP would be stopped. 18th January, my mother phoned them to request a mandatory reconsideration and a copy of the assessors report (I really struggle with phone calls due to anxiety) they said it would probably take quite a while before i heard back. In June as it had been so long without hearing anything she phoned again and was told they had no record of my previous call and nothing had been done. This time about a week later i received a text message saying they were looking at my claim again and i didn't need to contact them again. A few days later a copy of PA4 report arrived in the post. After hearing nothing more she phoned up again 6 weeks later and was told they had closed my case because i hadn't responded to the reconsideration notice. They said they would resend it. 2 weeks later i received in the post a copy of the letter from 6th January. So she phoned again, they said they would resend the correct letter. 2 weeks later, still nothing so she phoned again and was told nothing had been done yet as it was with the URGENT team, they said it would be with us soon. 2 weeks later they tried to phone me, leaving me extremely anxious and worked up, but i was unable to take the call. My mother phoned up again, apparently they had been calling to find out what they were supposed to be sending me. This time, the person she spoke to managed to find the problem. The letter had been written (apparently) but had not been loaded into the system and therefore could not be sent. She said someone higher up would call to discuss the situation, we advised i couldn't take the call due to the amount of distress it would cause me. So they said they would call my mother instead. the following week, (on the day my mother was due to come round after work) i received several calls from them. the final call i was able to get a friend to answer, but was made to talk to them to give permission for them to speak to my mum. the 2 copies of the letter finally turned up 2 days later!

Anyway, the date on the letters is 26th October so i should have already done something about it, but i'm struggling.

I suffer from Anxiety & Depression and am in the support group for ESA.

the reasons given for refusing to award points were pretty much the same for every activity
1 she takes moderate to low levels of medication for her mental health and she has no ongoing mental health input
2 She showed adequate concentration at the assessment today and has no diagnosed cognitively limiting condition
3 She attended university and this would indicate adequate cognition for the task

In response to this, my beliefs are
1 the maximum allowable dosage of Fluoxetine is 60mg and at the time I was taking 40mg, in no way can this be considered a low dosage, therefore I believe this point to be invalid. In addition to this i have over time taken various different medications, none of which have worked well for long, in the time since my claim, my dosage was raised to 60mg, and since then i have been moved to a different medication entirely.
2 depression is itself recognised as being a cognitively limiting condition.
3 I started university 16 years ago and finished after 4 years. During this time i was not suffering from this condition, so i don't see how it is relevant

I'm really struggling with trying to figure out how and what i should put on my appeal, i don't want to be too critical of the HP (although it seems silly to use a physiotherapist to assess a mental health case)

An additional point which might be relavent (but might not be) is that i am on the waiting list for an assessment for Aspergers Syndrome. Both my dad and my maternal uncle are diagnosed with it and i score highly on the autism spectrum quotient test

Sorry for the wall of text above.

Thanks in advance for any advice

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7 years 4 months ago #173558 by Gordon
Jennet

Just to be clear, you have now received a Mandatory Reconsideration Notice and the Decision remains unchanged?

If this is the case then your next option is to appeal the Decision.

The PIP MR & Appeal guide has links to the SSCS1 that you will need to complete and instructions on how to complete the form, at this stage you do not have to go into detail about why you are appealing.

I would recommend that you go back through your PIP, the assessment report (if you do not have this then it will be sent as part of the appeal) and the PIP Claim guide to ensure that you have shown that you meet the criteria to score points.

Be aware some of the Descriptors have multiple elements and you need to meet all of them to score points.

Finally make sure you have made use of "reliably" and "on the majority of days" wherever appropriate.

Gordon

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

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7 years 4 months ago #173582 by alison
hi jennet,.
sorry to hear your going through such a stressfull time regarding your pip claim,. just want to give you bit of advice as i myself suffer MH , and was also refused pip in both activities didnt score enough for a award , like you sent in a MR but come back unchanged,. ,dont take up all your energy looking at the assesment report,. i hd nothing but lies in mine ,,and the same as you stating the medication i take was a low dose which infact wasnt ,, if you look on the pip guides to appeal,it will give you example letters to give you a idea of what to write ,you dont have to go into great detail on the actual appeal form u send off,, , i didnt have a welfare right assistance with mine i did it myself , was very stressfull and time consuming gathering evidence etc but i wanted to make sure i had everything to fight my case, there are submission examples in the pip guide to appeal ,read through them ,they will give you a idea on how to write your submissions for your case,. also if you havnt much evidence ,write to your surgery requestng to see your medical records and see if there is anything in there that might help you ,any leters from MH ,will all be in your records so you could get copies ,there is a charge but it worth it if it helps your case, i had my tribunal last week and was succesfull was awarded standard daily and mobility , so dont think you your fighting a losing battle , if theres anything i can do to help and advise you along the way please do ask,i know how feeling ,,but please dont give up ,fight your corner hin,.
warm wishes ,
alison,

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7 years 4 months ago #173583 by Jennet
Hello Gordon, thank you for your response.

Yes the letters i received dated 26th October are the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice and the Decision remains largely unchanged. The only change that has been made is that the decision maker has awarded me 4 points for activity 11 planning and following journeys. this is based on the fact that most of the time i am unable to leave the house without a trusted person accompanying me (I believe that descriptor 11f applies).

I have printed out the SSCS1 form and have been using the PIP MR & Appeal guide for guidance in appealing, but am slightly confused regarding this comment "at this stage you do not have to go into detail about why you are appealing." as the appeal guide appears to show that i should be responding to the specific points? Maybe I have misunderstood it, but in that case, what should i be putting in the large box in section 5 "Grounds for appeal" (i was planning to attach extra sheets for this part)

What i have been attempting to do is write out a document refuting the decision in the individual activities (all of them with the exception of activity 5, activity 8 and activity 12, which i do not believe apply to me) I have done this by varying the sample responses given in the PIP MR & Appeal guide so they more accurately reflect my personal situation to explain why i think the alternate descriptors apply. Would it be better for me to not do so at this stage?

Is the assessment report the PA4 document (Consultation report form) or will i receive an additional report?
The front of the form Lists the date, location & start time of the consultation and the name of professional carrying out the consultation and type of professional he was. Inside, it has history of conditions, current medication and treatment, social and occupational history, functional history, general observations, mental state observations, musculoskeletal system (not examined) and other relevant systems (not examined). Then lists the HP's opinion (choice of descriptor and justification for choice) for each activity individually.

I believe i did not adequately explain all of my issues in my initial claim form, as i find the process extremely difficult, but also that the HP has misrepresented the information given to him verbally at the consultation.

Thank you

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7 years 4 months ago #173602 by Gordon
Jennet

You need to explain why you are requesting the appeal but this does not need to be a detailed response, once your appeal has been accepted you will receive the DWP's submission for the appeal this will contain their detailed reasons for the refusal and all of the documents used in the making in the appeal, once you have this then you can create your own detailed response although I would not wait for this "bundle" to arrive before you start your own submission.

The Assessment report is the PA4.

Gordon

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

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7 years 4 months ago #173660 by Chris77
Jennet

So Jennet I am replying to your post as i suffer from mental health issues and some of the things you mentioned are standard replies they give in their efforts to stop benefits.

Don't take it personally though of course we all do. BUT thats very standard as to answers they gave me. In other words trivialising things and our condition in their attempt to get mentally ill people off benefit that clearly should be on them like yourself.

SO .........Do not get involved in discussing their reasons for not giving you the benefit, this is what i do and it just wasted time.

CONCENTRATE on proving the prescript ors the tick boxes that apply to you along with an explanation to back up your claims. Medical evidence geared only about the questions and dealing with those will get you the points.

Don't get bogged down with dealing with their silly assessments and concentrate on backing up the individual points.

Try and get help from Mental Health worker or psychiatrist if possible. I am sorry your having to go through this. I am awaiting an appeal myself

Best Wishes
The following user(s) said Thank You: alison

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