HCP at my GP wants to sit in.

Hi all,

.........A bit of a twist to my current PIP renewal.

As you will be aware I am pushing 100% for a paper-based review. The assessment provider said it would have to be a telephone assessment as they couldn't do it paper-based for no apparent reason as nothing has changed since my last review.

I have contested it and quoted from the letter from my GP surgery which endorses the fact that they should do a PBA as I am unfit to go through with a telephone assessment along with names and contact telephone numbers from my CPN Clinical Psychologist and details of the SPA (suicide prevention awareness group) I have recently started attending.

My GP surgery has got back to me and the ANP is so infuriated that their letter has been overlooked that they have offered to sit in with me for support if they refuse a PBA and it comes to s telephone assessment.

I firstly wondered, is this acceptable and legal to have a HCP sit in with a claimant through a telephone interview and lastly would this increase my chances of being successful?

Hopefully the letter I have just sent will be enough to prevent this happening ( as yet the assessment provider haven't been in touch with the surgery despite saying that they would be phoning ) but it would make me feel a lot better if they still insist as any misreporting or untruths would be professiony picked up on.

As a last resort I suppose I could ring the DWP and tell them of the offer from my my GP surgery and hope this might deter them.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Phrank.

Hi Gary,

Thanks for getting back to me.

The GP letter doesn't actually say the phrase OPD. The key phrase on the letter says that 'his disability remains the same since his last assessment' which is why I'm arguing against a telephone assessment as there seems little point in doing one from their perspective.

From my perspective; yes I do suffer from OPD according to the descriptor on mobility where I scored 12 points, and that also happens in in my life in general. (I hate writing publicly about my conditions, it makes me feel worse, so sorry).

When you say if my ANP accompanies me I need to say why (I don't really want to subject my friend/carer/helper this time as she fell very ill last year with heart failure and don't really want to exasperate it more) so the offer of my ANP to accompany me sounded good, if I tell them I have no-one else who is familiar with my difficulties surely that is enough.

Do you mean to ask the assessment provider to record the interview or to record it myself? I need to get this right.

For now, since I phoned IAS and wrote to them over a week ago, I've heard nothing. No news is good news, I am just hoping my latest letter and phone call is enough to settle the issue.

The ANP has confirmed no-one from the DWP has contacted her as yet.

I'm still hoping for a paper based assessment for now.

I'm sorry for going on but this whole business is really impacting my life and I'm having to push myself to reluctantly carry on as it's beginning to open up new health issues.

Regards,

Phrank.

Hi Phrank, as Gary says if your super ANP is called on to carry out her threat, do make sure she/he speaks to the assessor to tell them who they are and just why they are there. But in any case, have you told the assessment provider that if they insist on a telephone assessment you want them to record it? Doing so will to some extent kick it into the long grass as few a's are willing to talk on the record. Who knows whether this to-them obstacle would help get them to back down and go paper based? But you should have it anyway if it is phone.
best wishes, Denby

Hi Gary and Denby,

First of all the third party would not contribute anything during the interview just be there for me so to speak.

I wouldn't just spring it upon them but ask permission and if refused the third party would take no part.

Lastly, I have always had a plan B which is to request that my assessment be recorded if it did come to that regardless of the delay.

It really is getting complicated, I know but I've heard nothing just yet so will try to forget about it but hat's easier said than done.

If my last assessment's outcome had not driven me to the brink due to the blatant lies and misreporting I wouldn't be so paranoid about this one. I've not been the same since.

I won't do anything silly to jeopardise my claim that's for sure it's a case of keeping options open at this point.

Thanks to both of you for your support and valuable imput it teally is appreciated.

Kind regards,

Phrank.