New PIP claim submitted ... advice please

Hi All, I've today sent off my PIP claim (already on DLA) and I've included as evidence the report from the DWP GP who came (unannounced) to my house 3 years ago.

He was quite specific about significant impacts of osteoarthritis, living conditions, effects, support etc.

His visit followed an appeal after rejected previously. I was awarded High Rate Mobility & Low Rate Care as a result of this.

Since the original claim my health has deteriorated further with COPD (ex-smoker) and angina (also being tested for psoriatic arthritis).

What I don't think I understand is, given that osteoarthritis is a degenerative illness so will only get worse, will they still want a face-to-face?

Thanks for any advice

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There are several points in answer to your question -

Each benefit application should be viewed as a 'stand alone' document. Although DWP might well hold some information about you, there is no guarantee that they will refer to this while assessing the new claim.

Both DLA and PIP are awarded due to the care/mobility needs arising due to your medical condition rather than the condition itself. 2 people with the same degree of damage on X-Ray could well have very different levels of symptoms. It is also possible that people could have adjusted to their limitations or undergone treatment that reduces their symptoms since the previous application, even though the disease has progressed. This could result in a reduced award.

The whole point of PIP is to reduce the cost of welfare. It is entirely possible that people who were, quite correctly, in receipt of DLA will not be entitled to PIP at all.

As to whether you will need a face2face assessment, it is impossible to know. Some of our members have been awarded PIP without a f2f, it depends whether the assessing healthcare professional feels that they have enough information to make a recommendation without seeing the claimant.

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one bit of advice I would give is make sure your medical evidence is up to date. I submitted 3 year old evidence for ESA and it got ignored as it was over 2 years. I didnt make the same mistake with my PIP application though all my evidence is no more than 5 months old

The medical report is 5 years old but issued by a DWP GP, hence I included it - as it was issued by a DWP representative then any lack of impartiality would be in their favour!
They also have details of (too many) recent hospital appointments, on-going test and upcoming treatments.

Many thanks for the advice