PIP telephone review

I recently had a phone review of my PIP award. I receive higher rate mobility and standard rate for daily living. Prior to the call I’d completed and returned the paper review form. This is feedback for anyone facing this process. I used the guides and information on this site to shape my response to each question. They’re invaluable. I took my time completing the paper form and was hopeful I’d covered everything. I received a letter about four weeks after submitting the firm saying I would receive a phone call fir a telephone review and a time and date..

Prior to the call I went through every question again and made written bullet points for each stating what I wanted to make clear. Basically how everything affected my day to day life and the difficulties I encountered doing what used to be simple tasks…chopping food, grip to hold a knife, danger pans filled with hot water, problems getting into and out of bath to use overhead shower, inability to have a bath as unable to get down or up etc etc. I had a copy of my completed form and my papers with points set out on a table along with a copy of my prescription. The call came at exactly the time stated and the caller introduced herself. She explained that she would be asking questions about my health, medication and how I was affected. She asked firstly about my living arrangements, type of property, was I alone, who did I live with ( my partner is also in receipt of pip at higher rate for both elements and I’m currently largely responsible for day to day care). She asked where I was in the home. I said I was at table in the kitchen diner area and my partner was in a nearby sitting room. The caller was direct and efficient. She asked about my medical conditions and then went through each of the items on my prescription and what they were for. I have pain killers, steroids and anticoagulant along with BP med, B12 supplement, diuretic and cholesterol tabs. Long term steroid use has caused health problems which I explained. She then went through each of the questions on the form and asked for detail around the problems. By this time, about 30 minutes had gone by and I was in pain and uncomfortable. To be fair, she said at the beginning that if I experienced any problem to let her know. We moved on to mobility and for reasons I don’t understand, I lost focus completely. I had the detail around limitations but she asked how far I could walk. I think in feet, not metres and said my garden is about 100 feet in length and I can’t walk to the end without stopping. I also struggle with the step up into the garden. She asked how far I could walk without needing to stoop and why did I stop. I said pain and shortage of breath. She then asked how many door lengths I could walk. My brain was shutting down by now and whilst I could envisage a door, I couldn’t imagine, as she suggested, how many laid end to end in my garden I could walk. I confirmed I have a motability vehicle and living in an area where there’s no public transport was totally reliant on this for shopping, medical appointments etc. I said most shopping was delivered from online order and if I went to a supermarket I used a trolley to support me as I shopped.

The interview was now at 55 minutes and she did she had covered everything she wanted to know. Did I have any questions or want to add anything. I said no and it ended. I was exhausted. I’m normally articulate, focussed and organised and I realised I’d totally lost control of the points I wanted to make and as I glanced over my notes, I realised I’d barely looked at them through the discussion and had missed a number of things,

So, the lesson I learned from this is not only be prepared, but if possible have someone alongside you who can check that you’re on track. My partner could hear what I was saying and called through a couple of times, but I found those interventions distracting, although I should have listened. The Dwp agent was polite but had total control throughout and this is her bread and butter. It was one of the most gruelling, mentally and physically, hour of my life only because I felt bamboozled and for whatever reason list the ability to ask her to slow down and give me a break. That wasn’t her fault. It’s not an easy ride and the pressure is enormous with the agent being totally empowered. I began to feel like a gibbering idiot especially when I realised all my written prep was wasted as I hadn’t followed it.

I hope an outline of my experience will help forewarn others about the process. I was concerned that I’d lose the higher mobility element as the distances have changed since my original application. I’d hoped to qualify for enhanced daily living. After about three weeks I received a letter saying there would be no change and an ‘ongoing’ award. I’ve decided to accept that and not appeal the daily living aspect as I can’t face the thought of the appeal process.