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Preparing food and Standing
- Waxwing
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2 years 4 months ago #273186 by Waxwing
Preparing food and Standing was created by Waxwing
Hello
I would like some advice. I am helping my brother with a claim for PIP and we are having great trouble with the activity of Preparing food. We have explained that he uses some aids that help him to prepare food and why he uses those aids and what would happen if he did not have the use of the aids. Because of his severe spinal osteoporosis and spinal fracture he is unable to sit on a perching stool (even with padding or a cushion because of the height of the stools puts pressure on his spinal curvature and fracture in the middle of his back) and he can only stand in one position for a few minutes before the pain in his back gets to a point where he is unable to continue with preparing the food. He also has pain after a few minutus sitting on his bed and we have mentioned that in the dressing and undressing activity. We understand that the legislation says that a task in a activity for PIP does not have to be done pain free but what we are trying to work out is how to tackle this problem because the DWP and tribunal could argue that the amount of time that would be needed for him to sit on the perching stool to complete the task of preparing food would be enough for him to be able to do the task relaibly so meaning 2 points or Zero points if he said that he could not use the stool or stand.
How would we tackle this problem. I know there is not 100% fool proof way of going about this but we looking to put forward a claim that is as accurate as possible and we do not want to talk about his problems with sitting and standing because that is not the puropse of the activity of preparing food and we want to stay focused on the descriptors and the activity.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Waxwing
I would like some advice. I am helping my brother with a claim for PIP and we are having great trouble with the activity of Preparing food. We have explained that he uses some aids that help him to prepare food and why he uses those aids and what would happen if he did not have the use of the aids. Because of his severe spinal osteoporosis and spinal fracture he is unable to sit on a perching stool (even with padding or a cushion because of the height of the stools puts pressure on his spinal curvature and fracture in the middle of his back) and he can only stand in one position for a few minutes before the pain in his back gets to a point where he is unable to continue with preparing the food. He also has pain after a few minutus sitting on his bed and we have mentioned that in the dressing and undressing activity. We understand that the legislation says that a task in a activity for PIP does not have to be done pain free but what we are trying to work out is how to tackle this problem because the DWP and tribunal could argue that the amount of time that would be needed for him to sit on the perching stool to complete the task of preparing food would be enough for him to be able to do the task relaibly so meaning 2 points or Zero points if he said that he could not use the stool or stand.
How would we tackle this problem. I know there is not 100% fool proof way of going about this but we looking to put forward a claim that is as accurate as possible and we do not want to talk about his problems with sitting and standing because that is not the puropse of the activity of preparing food and we want to stay focused on the descriptors and the activity.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Waxwing
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- LL26
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2 years 4 months ago - 2 years 4 months ago #273190 by LL26
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by LL26 on topic Preparing food and Standing
Hi Waxwing,
Maybe there is a different way of looking at preparing food.
The legal test is to prepare and cook a simple meal for one person with fresh ingredients.
Firstly consider whether if your brother needs to rest or change position in order to complete peeling then he may fall outside the time limit. (No more than twice a non disabled person time.) If your brother can't sit or stand long enough to eg stir food or to check food isn't burning then he will need assistance. Or maybe food is undercooked because he can't wait. If the pain is so great that he has to move away then clearly he may not be able to perform to an acceptable standard, through pain, or through the possibility of having burnt food or saucepans and there must be safety issues about having to leave the stove unattended.
Can he do cooking tasks repeatedly across the day? Don't worry about confusing standing and the ability to cook.
The Descriptor activities represent the sort of tasks needed for independent living. Being able to cook food is an important function for independent living. All that rules say is that by virtue of mental or physical health problems your ability to do any Descriptor is limited. It could be due to arthritis, hallucinations, steam causing severe crippling headaches, or blindness, to name a very few conditions that might preclude cooking to all the required standards.
If your health condition limits cooking ability it should give rise to points. Don’t worry whether it is a mainstream illness where it is obvious you would have limitations, argue your case, high levels of pain will never be acceptable they indicate a need for help! Also pain is distracting so might give rise to other safety issues.
Consider how much of the cooking process your brother can actually achieve. There is caselaw that states if an assistant does the most part of the cooking, he is the chef, and brother should achieve 8 points as he legally can't cook. Analyse exactly what your brother does. How long to peel a potato, how long to stand at the stove etc. ? On a scale of one to ten how much is the pain, what is the rest time afterwards, can he cook breakfast, lunch and supper?He needs to be able to do all three!
I hope this helps.
Good luck.
LL26
Maybe there is a different way of looking at preparing food.
The legal test is to prepare and cook a simple meal for one person with fresh ingredients.
Firstly consider whether if your brother needs to rest or change position in order to complete peeling then he may fall outside the time limit. (No more than twice a non disabled person time.) If your brother can't sit or stand long enough to eg stir food or to check food isn't burning then he will need assistance. Or maybe food is undercooked because he can't wait. If the pain is so great that he has to move away then clearly he may not be able to perform to an acceptable standard, through pain, or through the possibility of having burnt food or saucepans and there must be safety issues about having to leave the stove unattended.
Can he do cooking tasks repeatedly across the day? Don't worry about confusing standing and the ability to cook.
The Descriptor activities represent the sort of tasks needed for independent living. Being able to cook food is an important function for independent living. All that rules say is that by virtue of mental or physical health problems your ability to do any Descriptor is limited. It could be due to arthritis, hallucinations, steam causing severe crippling headaches, or blindness, to name a very few conditions that might preclude cooking to all the required standards.
If your health condition limits cooking ability it should give rise to points. Don’t worry whether it is a mainstream illness where it is obvious you would have limitations, argue your case, high levels of pain will never be acceptable they indicate a need for help! Also pain is distracting so might give rise to other safety issues.
Consider how much of the cooking process your brother can actually achieve. There is caselaw that states if an assistant does the most part of the cooking, he is the chef, and brother should achieve 8 points as he legally can't cook. Analyse exactly what your brother does. How long to peel a potato, how long to stand at the stove etc. ? On a scale of one to ten how much is the pain, what is the rest time afterwards, can he cook breakfast, lunch and supper?He needs to be able to do all three!
I hope this helps.
Good luck.
LL26
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 2 years 4 months ago by LL26. Reason: Spelling
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