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Question about PIP appeal submission

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7 years 3 weeks ago #182445 by stefaniel2001
Question about PIP appeal submission was created by stefaniel2001
Hi - I've downloaded the PIP guides and with the help of my other half I'm beginning to get my head around what I will need to say in my appeal submission. I've had the letter from the Tribunal to say that they have accepted I can have an appeal so partly waiting to see what DWP put in their submission.

Since my F2F in Nov/Dec and the MR at beginning of Jan - I've seen that there has been an update regarding the going out in regards mental health - can I refer to this in my submission? I've explained all the way though how anxious the thought of going out makes me - that I can't go alone and that I often cancel anyway due to my anxiety and depression.

Also the DWP have just responded to an online petition stating that the decision cannot solely be made using a snapshot of you on the day - I feel that even in the MR letter most weight was given to the assessment report (not unusual I'm sure) but hardly any regard given to my explanations of how I am the majority of the time. The assessor did acknowledge my fatigue and pain - also mobility issues but seemed to gloss over them a little - he also did not report what I told him about self-harm with scissors.

As I received an email of the DWP response directly (I had signed the petition re invisible illnesses and PIP) can I quote the response in my submission? I think it is highly relevant.

Thanks for any thoughts
Stefanie

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7 years 3 weeks ago #182459 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Question about PIP appeal submission
Steffi

Yes you can refer to the new Decision but from your post you are assessing yourself as

e. Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 10 points.

so the new Decision would not be relevant.

Descriptor (d) and (f) are concerned with your ability to follow (navigate) a route so you would need to show that your mental health issues affect you so significantly that your cognitive ability is reduced to the point where you cannot navigate.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: stefaniel2001

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7 years 3 weeks ago #182463 by stefaniel2001
Replied by stefaniel2001 on topic Question about PIP appeal submission
Thanks Gordon

At the moment I haven't been awarded any points under Planning and Following a Journey, and only 4 under Moving around.

This is what I have said in my request for appeal (hope it's not to lengthy to post here) :

Planning and following a journey I have not been awarded any points for this and descriptor a. has been applied; descriptor b. more accurately meets my circumstances. In his medical report the assessor agrees that I do experience symptoms of low mood and anxiety and confirms that I am prescribed medication for this. In the questionnaire I clearly state how highly my anxiety impacts on my ability to undertake journeys alone; that I become clammy and sweaty and that this anxiety can begin days before any such journey is like to take place. I state that I have had to cancel journeys because I simply cannot cope with the thought of going out. I have explained that I panic about the effect of overwhelming fatigue that comes on suddenly and without warning, and also the effect of my continence issues when in unfamiliar places where I do not know if there will be toilet facilities available.

Moving around I have been awarded 4 points for this activity; but although I can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres I cannot move as far as 50 metres. Although in his assessment report the assessor confirms that I do have difficulty with mobility; and would have difficulty undertaking this activity repeatedly, in a safe and timely manner, and to an acceptable standard; he has stated on page 22 of his report that he feels I can move more than 50 metres reliably; however on page 7 he states that I can only walk as far as to the end of the garden, 20 metres. In my questionnaire answers I have clearly stated that although I can walk for short distances, it is not with any reliability, and is most definitely not repeatable as the resulting pain and the fatigue that affects me for a day or sometimes two. I have also stated that in order to do so I will use a variety of aids, ranging from a walking stick, to a wheeled walker and when I am unable to use these I have to rely on a wheelchair or mobility scooter. All of which were available at the assessment for the assessor to see. In the mandatory reconsideration decision letter, the decision maker has stated that I use aids that have not been prescribed; I would like to clarify that I was prescribed my walking stick by physiotherapy, my crutches are NHS issue, the other aids I have funded myself using my DLA payments.

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7 years 3 weeks ago #182468 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Question about PIP appeal submission
Steffi

Your submission is definitely orientated towards (e) rather than (d) or (f).

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: stefaniel2001

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7 years 3 weeks ago #182474 by stefaniel2001
Replied by stefaniel2001 on topic Question about PIP appeal submission
Thanks again Gordon

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6 years 11 months ago #185282 by stefaniel2001
Replied by stefaniel2001 on topic Question about PIP appeal submission
hi - so I'm back with another question (!)

I've now received the DWP bundle - they don't say anything new in it - basically that I have only said in my request for an appeal what I had already said in my request for an MR and that they therefore stand by their decision.

I agree that my appeal request was basically the same (quite lengthy though) as I thought I would now be able to submit more info before the actual tribunal? I am attending a pain clinic appt on 5th April (after 7 or more years of badgering my GP) and I am hoping that I will have time after that to get them to do a letter of support.

Part of me has been wanting to go to my GP for the last 4/5 months but it is so hard to get an appt now and they always pass you to be seen by a practice nurse who will then only look at one specific issue rather than the whole picture. I feel like I have been basically shoved in a corner and forgotten - just left to get on with it really and I am really low about the whole thing. Whenever I start talking to anyone I end up in floods. If I did finally get to my GP and ask them for the support I need would it look like I was just 'staging' how I am - I feel paranoid about all of this and how it will look to the powers that be but I am genuinely losing a grip fast.

Just not sure what to do for the best.

Thanks and sorry for the moan

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