0 points for washing and bathing because of "Musculoskeletal examination"
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hello, I have severe psoriasis on my hands that makes it too painful to wash myself, I wear gloves and apply a lot of cream to prevent water from touching my skin however actually washing myself other than standing in the shower and letting water flow over me is impossible. The claims people at dwp refuse to acknowledge anything other than the "Musculoskeletal examination" as evidence that I can wash myself despite the fact that around 6/7 days of the week i'm in too much pain to wash, I have to cover myself in cream to make it remotely bearable. I have psoriasis in other areas such as my head that it is extremely painful to get water on even with creams. Washing results in my entire body feeling extremely dry for days afterwards and worsens my condition (doctor advised I shouldn't even wash my hands after going to the toilet because of this). I DO require assistance however I don't get any. I can't do other forms of self care such as shaving however I know they don't care about things like that.
I got points because I can't put shoes and socks on even though the Musculoskeletal examination shows I can reach my feet, so why don't I get any points for this? Is there anything I can do? Given that I'm unable to wash at all 6/7 days I feel like I should get 8 points but they are refusing to budge.
Suspicious how stubborn they seem on the subject when all I need is those extra 2 points to get the 8 required.
Thanks in advance for your time.
0 likes, 17 replies
denise15811 czs17
Posted
Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about all your problems. The issue we have here is those PIP descriptors is all about needing prompting, having assistence and using aids to help. You say you can't wash yourself but you stand in the shower and let the water flow over you. Now i know this isn't going to help you but in the eyes of the descriptors you can still stand there and let that water flow over your body. When you filled out the PIP2 form how exactly did you tell them you wash yourself? If you told them that you "stand there and let the water flow over you" this is the reason why you didn't get any points. If you had said something like " i can not wash my entire body most of the time because of the severe pain in causes" then you may have got some points with evidence. I'll be interested to know what you stated on the form. You got the points because you CAN'T put socks and shoes on even though you can reach your feet. PIP is very crafty this way, this is why is so important the people get help with filling in those forms. You have to know the correct way of writing things down in the form.
Have you asked for a Mandatory Reconsideration? If you can answer these questions for me please then i can possibly help you further.
czs17 denise15811
Posted
Hello, yes I did recieve help filling in this form from citizens advice, they wrote it for me because I am unable to but also "gave them what they would want to hear". I did say I let the water flow over me however I went into much greater deal about what I cannot do. When phoning them they said it was mainly based on my face to face assessment making whatever I said in my form feel irrelevant to them. I reitterated it again over the phone saying exactly what I can't do but they kept telling me the musculoskeletal examination is all they can base it off and they seemed to have their ears plugged about anything else.
I am gathering whatever further evidence and getting as much help from citizens advice and doctors as I can in the 28 days that I have before I ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
denise15811 czs17
Posted
You're going down the right route. CAB are great people to assist you! Just so you know that 80% of Mandatory reconsideration decision remain the same so it's highly likely that you may just have to take it to Tribunal. The good thing about this is that the Tribunal are very fair, they let you speak, you can send them all your evidence and point out where DWP have treated you very unfairly. If you need to take the Tribunal route 65% of those who appear at their Tribunal have a decision in their favour. It's much less for those who ask for a paper based decision. Good luck and i hope you do get the right decision in the end! Also the MR request and the letter has to be recieved by DWP in the correct department within those 28 days. Letters can take anything up to 10 working days to arrive at the correct department, so please make sure you send everything you need to within plenty of time. Don't wait for just a few days before that deadline is up.
czs17 denise15811
Posted
Teadow czs17
Posted
damara czs17
Posted
Kind regards, Dee.
czs17 damara
Posted
I've never been diagnosed with it however sometimes my fingers do get swollen like a sausage and can't move and it makes my hands cramp and impossible to move without pain.
Teadow damara
Posted
I have arthritis from one of my body to the other with really bad back problems just waiting on a reply it's been 2 weeks now
Teadow
Posted
damara czs17
Posted
Dee.
damara Teadow
Posted
Dee.
denise15811 damara
Posted
When you say take photos of a flare up, when i had my PIP review last year with the review form was advice on the things they wanted to see and didn't want to see. Photos was one of the things on the list of "don't want to see" along with furture appointment dates/times and evidence they seen last time.
damara denise15811
Posted
I was advised by Citizens advice to take photos of my flare ups, take these to my consultant appointments so they could be documented. At my tribuneral I took the photos with me and showed them to the panel to show how severe my flare up swellings are.
And of course it was Sods law that on the tribunal day I had only had mild swellings.....
If it wasn't for the lovely lady from C/advice helping me with the forms, I really don't think I would have had the outcome is had.
I thought that because I was on DLA for 12 years high on both that changing to PIP would be the same. ..... people need to know that the PIP forms are so intricate and are totally different from DLA and to take advice before filling them in.
denise15811 damara
Posted
It's good to know that those pictures helped you, thanks for that. That's the problem with those transfering from DLA to PIP a lot of people just think that because they claim the DLA that PIP will be awarded. This is far from true because like you said PIP is totally different. Best advice i can give anyone when transfering or even claiming PIP without the transfer is please please do your research! Glad you got a decision in your favour.
damara czs17
Posted
Hi, I too have both these. I told and showed the PIP assessor all the aids that I need to use on a daily basis.
After the mandatory reconsideration there was no change in points, so had to go to tribuneral 6 months later.
I'm soon pleased that I waited, I took photos of all the aids I have at home, got a doctors letter (£32) and spoke about the pain when my toes flare up and crack and bleed. Oh and citizens advice were fantastic.
All the best, Dee.