PIP Q13 "Going Out" question.

Hi.

I have applied for PIP for my partner who has severe anxiety and moderate/severe depression. He can't go out without me due to these conditions, it causes him too much distress to do so and he certainly can't interact with anyone (for example, get on a bus or go to the shops) without me there and doing all the talking.

Looking at Q13 "Going Out" in the mobility section, I was wondering if the question only applies to him doing the activity alone. Either way, he can't do the task...

- Safely (without causing intense distress to himself)

- Reliably (he feels mentally exhausted and withdraws socially after having to go out to say, a GP appointment and couldn't go out for a few days afterwards)

- Repeatedly (see above - he can only go out maybe once a week and then only if he has to)

And once again, he can only do this with me accompanying him, not alone at all.

What I'm wanting to know is, based on how DWP tend to act in such matters, is it likely the assessor and decision maker see it the same way and award descriptor E, or will they likely use the ability to go out occasionally with his carer/partner with him against him and use descriptor B? Descriptor B would certainly be appealed against, because he definitely can't go out alone if I prompt him to do so. I do realise nobody can say for sure, I'm just struggling to find historical examples of our situation and I'm really worried about it.

Thank you.

Gordon, thank you very much for replying!

Well he can only go out maybe once or twice a month with me accompanying him, I'd say that counts as more than 90% of the time. This is only to his own appointments too, I don't take him shopping or anything.

Regarding "showing" how distressed he is, how it manifests and that he never leaves the house alone, would a letter from myself be sufficient? We are going to the GP tomorrow to request a letter explaining how my partner is affected by his conditions, especially in regards to the various descriptors. Any advice on what the GP could write in support would be greatly appreciated!

Is there a definitive source on what "overwhelming psychological distress" entails? I know he shuts down and can't even speak to me, nor think straight when he has to go to appointments to the point where he can't think about things like where the car (mine) is parked, or when the bus is due or the way home if we were walking.

I can't leave him alone when we're out, I'm by his side the whole time. He would panic and feel vulnerable otherwise. The only exception is if we rarely go out to eat and I have to use the bathroom but we don't go anywhere that is crowded and sit in the most secluded section possible. Even so, I try to avoid needing to do this if I can as he still can't stand being left alone for any length of time.

While out, I'm monitoring him and the environment. If for example, we're walking towards a fork in the road, I'll make note of any crowding and go a different way for example. I prompt him to cross the road if the other side of the road looks more devoid of people. I keep an eye on him for any speech or behavioural changes, indicating a heightened state of distress than normal for him. If he seems to be getting worse, we go into a shop or other building that seems quieter to give him chance to calm down.

I can't prompt him to go out, he'll hide under the covers panicking repeatedly saying "I can't, please don't make me" if I tried.

Thanks again.

Thank you Gordon.

We've been to see his GP and thankfully he's changed the diagnosis name to "social phobia". It's the same thing as social anxiety disorder on the NHS website but hopefully DWP won't gloss over how bad his anxiety is. As it's related to the same PIP claim, I'll ask these two questions here:

1) We also got a print out of his medical history and it shows anxiety symptoms going back 6 years, would any of this be useful to include when I send the form off?

2) Finally, would it be wise to ask for a home assessment given that he struggles to leave the house, even with accompaniment? My partner tells me it won't affect how little he'll be able to speak to the assessor (He is only able to speak relatively normally with me). I guess what I'm asking is, would they use his attendance at the F2F assessment against him, even if he's accompanied?

I'm hoping they'll assess him on the papers, but I know how unlikely that is. Anything where he has to speak traumatises him and the effects of this last long beyond the assessment and it would prevent further deterioration of my partner's mental health if it could be avoided.

Thanks for your time.