home visit

my home visit from independant assesors is on tues 17th i would be grateful for any thoughts from the forum about anything i should do before hand...... i am so stressed just thinking about it.
thanks in advance

When you do attend the assessment you may take a companion for support.

Make no special effort, be yourself

Take your medication as prescribed

Most people with long term conditions have learned to manage and conceal their condition. On the day you must become "disabled" for the assessor to see the real you, otherwise an incorrect assessment is likely.
I am in no way suggesting that anyone should put on an act and pretend to be worse than they are, many people are already stressed, but at the same time it will not help if the claimant " Puts on a brave face" as my gran used to say

If you have a home visit, the assessor is just the same as any visitor , they do not have the right to look around your home.

If possible have a companion with you

Keep to your normal routine. If at the appointed time you are normaly still in bed or not dressed, then, if you are comfortable, there is no reason to alter that.

You decide which room the assessment takes place in
Assessors may arrive early or late so be ready. Have your ID and medication list to hand.

The assessor will be observing everything you do from the start, how you sit, stand, walk, handle items such as bags and coats.

Don't expect them to answer many questions, they have an agenda and will want to stick to it.

If you have a companion they can take notes.

After the assessment you should ring the DWP and ask for a copy of the report, but wait for 3-4 days for them to receive it. Do not be fobbed off, you are entitled to it no matter what the phone jockey tells you.

Forums are full of tales of injustice, of HCP's that lie, that make stupid assumptions. HCP's are taught how to ask question, much like sales people, to gain a specific answer. No it isn't right and often a false result is recorded.

We are all conditioned to reply in the positive. " how are you " "I am fine thanks " .

When asked can "you do x" we will reply automatically "yes but " that is to late the assessor has closed the window at yes

Try and reply "no but " the assessor then has to explore further

Try it in every day life.

Yes the deck is stacked against many people but with a little knowledge and understanding of what is going on we can achieve what we deserve

Yes there are HCP's with an agenda, yes there are HCP's that will fail even a corpse. The system is far from perfect, because of cuts there is little in the way of help

Well i had my home visit (not requesred) this morning i was absolutely terrified but tried to be myself and answer the questions truthfully as if i was on one of my worst days. The assessor was pleasant enough i got a little suspicious of him when the first thing he asked was "can i use the bathroom"i felt sure he was checking that i had all the adaptions i had told of in the PIP form. All seemed to go ok but he said that`s all i need and left after only 45 minutes and told me it would be 6 to 8 weeks before i get the decision. My question is how unusual is a 45 minute assessment because reading a lot of comments on here that have said their assessments have lasted 2 hours and more im not sure whether a short assessment is a good or bad thing! Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Hi
can i request a copy of the assessment report after 3 or 4 days or do i have to wait until i receive a decision?