PA4 Report

After injuring my back and experiencing the sudden onset of mobility problems, I was diagnosed with several problems with my lumbar spine. An MRI showed my lumbar spine had lots of problems due to the injury and it also showed that I was born with a narrow lumbar spinal canal (congenital spinal stenosis); which basically magnifies the problems from the injury and problems with walking are described as a ‘hallmark’ of this condition.

My initial pip application went through an I got what I expected to be entitled to, including the enhanced rate for mobility.

In June this year I was reassessed and, I’m sure it will not come as a surprise, I was awarded the standard rate. Nothing has changed, I’ve had no surgery on my lumbar spine and there have been no miraculous curing of the narrow spine I was born with. A mandatory reconsideration supported the decision, again no surprise there. So I’m currently waiting for a tribunal date.

As the wonderful guidance on this site suggests, I asked DWP to send me everything they have about me. During the process of going through it all I came across my first PA4 report and began to compare it to the latest one. One difference that really stood out to me (apart from the crazy reasoning of the 2nd HCP on how long a supermarket aisle is) was on the last page. There is a box that’s marked ‘For office use only’ and on the latest report it says ‘musculoskeletal disease (regional)| Non-specific back pain’ but on the first one it says ‘musculoskeletal disease (regional)| Specific back pain | Lumbar disc lesion’.

They both fail to note my congenital problem, but what set my alarm bells ringing was that the second one said ‘non-specific back pain’. My back, leg and foot pain is very specific! When I read it for the first time something clicked, practically the first words that the 2nd HCP said to me was ‘I’ve got a bad back too’. I think that is reflected in what he’s put in the office use box and that it could hint toward an unfair assessment as he could have been comparing me to himself.

Does anyone know if the office use box is completed by the HCP or is it done by DWP? It’s not central to my tribunal but I could use it as another nail in the coffin of my farcical assessment report and decision. Is it worth pointing this out to the tribunal panel?