Post assessment help

Hi

I recently had my telephone assessment. Unfortunately my mental health was not good on the day with poor cognition etc and I at times I didn’t understand them or communicate myself. I have a few questions:

1. I’m my form I stressed that I am a suicide risk which is relevant to some descriptors. I also have a recent strongly worded doctors letter which says I am a high suicide risk(but I haven’t sent this in it).

At the end of the telephone assessment they asked me about suicidal thoughts etc and I said ‘I have thoughts but it’s nothing serious’ which is contrary to my form and doctors letter. I said nothing serious because I recently had a welfare check by a social worker who came to my house which I didn’t like. due to this and my poor mental health on the day I got paranoid And thought they were asking on welfare grounds incase they had to notify anyone about me. As I didn’t want people turning up on my door I said ‘I do have thoughts but it’s nothing serious and I wouldn’t attempt anything as I am partly religous’ etc.

It’s only Later I realised they were asking me as part of the assessment and not any welfare check which I didn’t want part of.

I haven’t sent them the doctors letter which states I’m a high suicide risk yet.

Given that I’ve just had my assessment is it too late to send this letter In and would you recommend it? Would it cause issues considering I said I’m not a real risk on the day compared with what the doctors letter says and what I’ve wrote in my form? I hope you can see why I made nothing of it on the day.

2) on one question I extremely overestimated the time it takes me to do something like showering - again this was due to poor cognition and me not processing/communicating well due to poor cognition/mental health at the time. However I still expect to get sufficient points for not showering and other areas which I did communicate correctly so even if there was miscommunication on one or two areas I don’t think that should affect any award. It’s it important to go back and clarify what I meant or seeing that it won’t affect any award as I’m expecting should I just not waste energy on it?

Thanks

Hi.

Do they normally send the pa4 at the time of an appeal if you need to do it?

Wouldn’t it be better to request the pa4, wait for the decision(I’m told it’s 6-8 weeks away) then if needed do a mandatory reconsideration
Explaining what happened since the decision is a few weels away and time is short?

Are there any reasons why it’s better to do it now rather than a mandatory reconsideration besides that your trying to ensure the health issues get accounted for with the initial decision?

Thanks

Hi Chlorinated, as Gary says I would definitely say get the PA4 ASAP. Go thru with a highlighter and mark anything that is looking to not give you the right points for each bit.
Write in addressed to 'The Decision Maker' at the address on your most recent letter ASAP, coldly putting the report straight.

Doing this got our daughter's Enhanced x 2 renewed without an MR or Tribunal so hugely faster and less stressful. Previous claim and renewal had needed both, both times, and were very stressful and huge delay.
So it is really best NOT to just wait for the decision. DWP do not advertise you can do this writing in, but I learned it on here, so glad!
Best wishes and do keep us posted,
Denby

Hi Chlorinated,

If once you have the report it is detrimental and it does go against you saying that your suicidal thoughts are there but nothing serious, explain why you said it.

Your third paragraph does this perfectly as does the beginning of the fourth one.

Definitely send in that Doctor's letter. Backing this up with proof from your own GP would be difficult for them to argue against.

Also, you are bound to get thrown off course in a telephone assessment and I would think it perfectly reasonable for you to correct anything that didn't come accross as well as you intended, rather like correcting the first draft of a letter.

I wish you the best of luck.

Regards,

Phrank.