Mobility Aspect of PIP - changes in my health.

Hi Alison, and thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. I'm just so sorry you're having so many difficulties both healthwise (mental and physical) and getting the award you deserve. I really hope you succeed and hope you keep me up to date.

Yesterday I spent 24 minutes on the phone on the 0345 number for the DWP to request my assessment report. At the moment I'm waiting for social housing, strictly on the physical need for ground floor accommodation with some consideration for improving my emotional well-being too if I'm offered a more rural property as that is where I'm best suited. It was my GP who wrote to the housing team and I have requested a copy of her letter from my Housing Support Officer (who was too disinterested to contribute to my PIP form!) and I will take this to my next GP appointment next week where I hope I can discuss the situation with my doctor. I know she is supportive of my housing need, but need to clarify how she considers me from a strictly medical perspective regarding managing the stairs etc,. though expect she must think it serious enough for me to be granted the necessary housing points for ground floor only accommodation. I'm wondering if I can use this housing letter (when I get it) rather than pay for another one and risk the 'bribery' accusation. Am dreading the medical assessment report as no doubt I'll be seething for months before I can begin requesting a Mandatory Review.

In the meantime, I'm desperate to move, yet terrified of leaving the one sympathetic and helpful GP I've had in years. It's a Catch 22 but it's out of my hands. One thing's for sure. The DWP don't like you introducing NEW problems into an award they already think they are decided on. My assessor wasn't having any of my physical deterioration, asked me no questions about my ability to walk, my breathlessness, the stairs etc. Even when I tackled her at the end, she was dismissive. They arrive with an agenda and leave you feeling frustrated at best. I'm sure I suffered from not having someone there for support as they could've prompted the moving around stuff and together we might have been able to force the assessor into at least asking the questions. It's a disgrace.

But let's hope things work out for us. What gets me is I'm a middle-aged woman being assessed without any reference to my current health status, when my original DLA award was 14 years ago. But I'm not going to give up. It depends on what the decision is. Obviously, if my physical problems aren't addressed then I'll have to press on with an MR or it'll make a farce of my housing needs!

I just wish things were being dealt with more quickly. Each step seems to take forever. I could wait nearly another 4 months just for this decision alone. Goodness knows how long an MR and then possibly an Appeal would take. I doubt I'm up to an Appeal as I still have nightmares about the one I had to get DLA in the first place. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone and doubt I could put myself through it again.

Fingers crossed to everyone and here's to all our claims being viewed fairly and quickly (no harm in wishing!)

Hi Jul,

You can certainly use a copy of your GP's letter to the housing department if you think it will be relevant to your PIP claim (that will depend entirely on what the GP actually says!).

hiya,.
i waited about 8 weeks after my assessment so hopefully you will not have to wait any longer than that, if you havnt heard anything after 8 weeks it wouldnt do any harm in ringing the dwp to see if there any update into your claim being looked at yet , i hope you get awarded for both and dont have to go down the road like i have and so many others .. but ide most certainly ask for a manditory reassesment and send any evidence you have with that make sure you have a copy for yourself as they dont send them back to you well i didnt anyway ,,. do let us know how you get on ,,and hope it not to long waiting for you as i know it seems never ending going from step to step ,this year had just been extremely stressfull so far with all this buisness ife ide known back in feb what i know now i dont think ide of botherd trying for pip , never thought it would be so difficult .and be made out to feel like your putting it all on in order to get more money ,, it not the money i need ,,it the support and help ime in need of as i feel a burden to my daughter who already has a disabled child my grandson bless him and she has enough to do ,,at least i could pay someone to be able to do things for me then ,would make life alot less stressfull for my family ,and myself ,.,wishing all the luck ,,will keep my finger crossed for you that you have a good result ,. do keep us informed ,.
thanks,
alison, x

Thanks, Mrs Hurtyback and Alison.
Wise words and plenty of encouragement are all gratefully received. I'm so done in with it all I can barely move. Will clarify things with my GP on Thursday and my Housing Support Officer has finally photocopied the medical letter my GP sent in support of my housing needs.

Like a LOT of folk here, I'm feeling 'collapsed' now and the only thing I can do is wait. It's already a week since the dreaded home alone visit though I'm dreading the arrival of the assessor's report as I'll obsess about it compulsively.

Alison, you sound like you're really going through it and your family too. I so hope it all works out, I really do. If it weren't for this site I don't know what I'd do. One thing I've learned is I won't ever let any so called welfare benefits/rights person fill out a form for me. Her effort was plain crap and she didn't even ask me all the questions. She also flouted the law, no doubt due to time constraints, by not allowing me to read the form before signing, or having her read it to me. Talk about lazy, undetailed language used. So vague and barely legible. I really do think she's done me a disservice and I'll never let that happen again. Am going to make up an excuse for her not to do the MR form when that kicks off. If I lose, it's my problem.

Just the waiting now. Please keep me posted!

hi jul . ,
know excactly how you feel there with not putting enough evidence and answeing the question on the pip claim form i made a mess of mine didnt put half enough detail on it ,, had no idea about this site until after my decision come through a friend told me ablout it ,,and best thing ive ever done ,, i did manage to get in touch with a welfare rights worker but she has rang me once in the past 5 weeks , shes only back part time and i suffer agrophbia and shes unale to come to mine so looks like ime on my own with this appeal ,,my daughter has helped me do the submisions ans got evidence for me but it been nothing but stress , payed £25 for medical reports which were suppose to be a full report and half the thing i requested wernt even in it ,i had to ring my old surgery and ask them for all my xtray results etc as my new surgery couldnt find them ,!! ..they kindly did all this for me with no charge ,so i basicaly wasted £25 paying for info that was of no use to me , gutted wasnt the word money wasted realy ,, hope you have the result you hoping for as i dont wish anyone to go through all this stress , ,will keep my fingers crossed for you , .do let us no how you get on ,
thanks,
alison,.x

Hi Alison. That sounds really too much. Is there no way you can explain your situation fully to the welfare rights person? I'd have a go at the Mandatory Reassessment but I couldn't do an Appeal on my own. As I've mentioned, I was granted DLA only through Appeal and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I'm really not trying to add to your fears but hope you can find some help and support from somewhere. Yes, there's lots of help here on the Forum but we both are blighted by agoraphobia and so you really need as much help as you can get face to face.

Sadly, it is pot luck depending on where you live. In the scottish borders it's the pits but my Sis has had loads of help from the CAB and MIND in England. It sounds like you have so much on your plate. But so glad you got the more detailed letters and for free. In the end it's the stress, as you say. It's just too much and 'the system' doesn't give a hoot. But with all the knowledge and encouragement here, I feel far less alone, and hope you do too. Don't let the system grind you down and please keep me well posted.