PIP result....laughable!

Oh Denise, you are not alone mate. My report and letter explaining the Decision Maker's reasons for awarding me the enhanced rate for daily living but only standard rate for mobility, are also works of fiction According to the report, my husband wasn't even there when he clearly was as he was doing a lot of the answering on my behalf.

Like you, the physiotherapist who was my assessor, clearly had no knowledge of some of my conditions either. As for the Sjogren's, he had to ask ME what this was but quickly moved on to another question, obviously not wanting to hear ALL of the symptoms and how this can affect me on a daily basis. Didn't notice how my hands were shaking taking frequent drinks from my water bottle that my husband had to keep opening for me so for the Mental State Examination, (which he did not do), he's stated that I had a 'normal manner, was not tense, agitated or withdrawn! Don't know what shaking's called then! Or how much I was fidgeting trying to sit more comfortably, which I couldn't.

He'd said from the offset that he would only be concentrating on my conditions that could cause me pain so no interest in the Sjogren's, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue all of which affect my cognitive ability! The fact that my husband was having to prompt me to answer several questions that only I could answer went totally unrecorded! But then the assessor also failed to even mention that my husband was THERE sitting beside for the entire assessment! No name or relationship written in the appropriate boxes on page 2 of the report either, which may be why the Decision Maker, decided, (wrongly), that I 'can plan and follow a journey unaided'!!!!! I cannot and cannot understand the satnav even if there's somebody with me in the car, they have to tell me where I'm meant to be going when the satnav's obviously getting the hump because I haven't done what it said Then I take it literally and take the wrong exit or get in the wrong lane, and have family and friends who can confirm this having been my co-pilot when I've tried to go to an unfamiliar place I prefer not to even try anymore as it makes me feel even more inadequate.

The one thing this physio seemed to focus on, purely because it is something he'd be familiar with, was the Reflex Sympathetic Disorder in my right hand that I suffered way back in 1996 but after 18 months of physio and 2 procedures in theatre to try and restart my nerves, I still lost 50% of flexibility in that hand. But the physio has implied in his report that the reason I was referred for my current hand physio THIS time was nothing to do with that but because of the arthritis which, once again, he's totally ignored!

I can totally understand why you're so angry Denise because both me and my husband were too when we read the Decision Makers reasons for awarding me the rate he has and got even more riled up when the assessor's report arrived 3 days later. We were fuming!!! I know that you and I are also not alone feeling this way when we know what actually occurred on the day only to find it's totally different from what's been recorded on the computer, which by the way, the assessor was doing for 90% of my assessment and apologising for his slow typing, the 2 finger method of typing where you have to look at the keyboard the entire time, so not looking at me!

We've decided to try for the MR and that letter went off on Friday needing signed for after my husband rang them to let them know this is what we wanted and to check the address before he sent it off that same day. I'm not holding out much hope of getting a positive outcome from the MR because it sounds as though they're as rare as hen's teeth but we're prepared to go to appeal if we can/have to and have already printed off the SSC1 form, (think that's what it's called), and started to prepare the points we'd want to be brought up at a tribunal. The stress from all this isn't helping, especially with the Fibro, but we feel it's a principal at stake here irrespective of the risk of losing points too. Sometimes we just have to take a stand....providing the stand isn't too long and I've got my walking stick to lean on

Good luck Denise.