Benefits and Allowances

I have to keep going to hospital and I was admitted because I ended up with septic knee

PIP is based on how your conditions affect you 50% of the time and has nothing to do with good or bad days. You seem to have got confused by this. It's also about being able to do something regularly, reliably, without pain and discomfort.

You've already got your MR letter in but did you give evidence to support your claim? If so what evidence did you send?  Without evidence you're chances are always going to be very slim. Unfortunately PIP isn't about not being able to work or drive either.

Only 20% of MR decisions are successful, so be prepared to take it to Tribunal. If you do end up taking it this far then appearing in person will give you a 70% chance of a decision in your favour. The only problem is, is that backlogs for Tribunals are huge and some area are waiting almost 1 year.

It's a long process but fight for what you think you're entitled to. Good luck.

I'm confused. You said you received your PIP award letter today and then you say you've already sent the letter for the MR request? That was extremely quick. Did you send the MR letter before you received the decision letter?

Sorry I received the letter and wrote back straight away

I'm a little confused as well, but saying on a good day you can walk and on a bad you can't will definitely have hindered your chances of being awarded PIP, my partner has gout quite bad over 30 years and this can create problems on a long term and daily basis but he takes allopurinol daily now and that does help but because it can be controlled very well he wouldn't be entitled to PIP but I'm not sure if I have seen anyone on here claim it for those reasons.

We will wait and see how you get on with your MR

I must admit that, that was extremely quick. You still haven't answered my question about the evidence, did you send this to support your claim? So many people think that DWP/assessment providers will contact people for evidence, this very rarely happens. The onus is on you to make sure it's sent.

Before you sent the MR request letter did you look again at the PIP descriptors to see where you could gain those extra points needed for an award? Did you point out the things you disagree with and where you think you rshould have scored those points?

I agree with Alexandria that what you said about your walking will not have done you any favours. Like i said PIP is all about how you are 50% of time. Saying that you can walk to the end of the road on a good day most certainly went against you.

Scoring 2 points for using a perching stool is correct. Then you state that on a bad day you can't use the kitchen at all. You can't score points twice in any descriptor. You then say you scored 2 for using an aid for the bath, which again is correct. Then you say on a bad day you can't use the bath at all BUT again you can't score the points twice. What you should have focused on is what you couldn't do 50% of the time, instead of that it seems like you focused on the aids you use. This doesn't sound good for the MR or the Tribunal because you could have shot yourself in the foot, so to speak.

My biggest question is did you send evidence to support your claim?

No i did not send evidence, I did say I can walk to the end of the road what is about 6 terraced houses but I would be walking through pain and it would take a while to the assessor, I do find explaining hard because I do have good days, but the good days are still painful bad days are my flare ups that take longer and longer to recover from. I also have photographic evidence of how bad my condition gets and I'm happy to send that. She concentrated on what aids I used around the home.

You'll need evidence to support  a claim, without this then you don't stand a lot of chance, i'm afraid. Evidence can be letters from GP/Consultant, Occupational Therapist letters, letter from someone that knows you well, a diary written by yourself, a recent printed copy of all current medication.

What do you mean by photographic evidence? of what? Do you mean internet photos? It depends what photos it is whether they will accept that as evidence.

The assessment provider would have concentrated on the aids in your home, if that's what you wrote on the claim form. She wouldn't have concentrated on anything else.

The gout has eroded the bone and cartilage in the foot, my gout was treated but not correctly I was put on too low a dose of alipurinol, 100mg but I still suffered for years now I'm on 400mg and that's under review but the damage has already been done. I've had it in both feet all over my feet not just in the big toe, but I also have osteoarthritis in my ankles one because of a fall when I was a postman and the other has just wore away due to my bad foot and the transfer of weight over the years. My x-rays of my feet look like my feet have been eaten away by mice, I have growth spurs in my heels too. I use pain killers every day 500mg naproxen twice a day and 30/500 cocodomol x2 upto 4 times aday. Doctor was going to put me on stronger pain killers but I declined for now because they were highly addictable 

You didn't send a recent prescription print out either? Did you mention the arthritis on your claim form, or at the assessment? Or did you just focus on the gout? If you didn't mention the arthritis symptoms then you won't be able to mention them for the Tribunal and they won't accept evidence relating to this either.

Your MR has an 80% chance of the decision remaining the same. I think you should start to prepare for a Tribunal request and start to gather evidence now. There's lots of info on the internet on the Citizens advice website that will help you know what evidence is accepted. You're going to have a very difficult time arguing your case to score higher in the descriptors you've scored for using the aids. Is there anywhere else that you could possibly score points in that you haven't already scored? I also advice you to get some help with the Tribunal from your local CAB, age UK depending on your age of course, or any other disability advice centre in your area. You need to understand what PIP is about and to me i don't think you do.

Photos are of how much my feet swell up and ankles I took them, my feet are always painful but on other days the pain is so server inflammatory arthritis. I did not send evidence, I thought they would have had my gps and medical records. If my assessment had been a month before when I was on hands and knees I may of got a different result.

I'm sorry your struggling to put across how your illness effects you but to be honest it sounds like you didn't fill out your forms correctly, first of do you see anyone other than your GP do you have a rheumatologist,OT, physiotherapist etc, putting medical evidence in retrospectivly want help as it should have been gathered before your application went in.

This is exactly what we try to explain to anyone applying for PIP or AA gather all your paper work first, this alone want get you the benefits your applying for because it's not about a diagnosis alone it's about how it creates problems for you in your day to day life.

Many people apply for these benefits and over 3 million get them but their not easy to get.

I hope we have been at least a little helpful

It's too late to send the evidence now because you've sent the MR request letter. You can send the photos with the Tribunal request BUT you'll need a lot more evidence to go with them. No, they very rarely contact anyone for evidence. It clearly states on the front of the PIP2 form what evidence is and isn't accepted. It doesn't state anywhere on there that they contact professionals for the evidence.

Did you mention the arthritis in the original claim form or at the assessment or did you just mention the gout?

Yes they know about the gout and arthritis I put it in my initial claim, I also have cortisone under x ray to help the swelling and pain. I thought pip was to help people who struggled to get around and do every day tasks to that I fit the description, I was housebound for 4 1/2 months can't get out in wet or cold weather. Life is s**te, cant even return to my job. Wish they would just chop my feet off

PIP is to help those those who struggle with daily life but you have to prove that those descriptors apply to you.  It's not just the description itself, there's 10 descriptors for Daily living and 2 for mobility. Those descriptors are very specific and they don't apply to everyone, even for some that do struggle.

You didn't send any evidence to support you're claim, therefore i'm not surprised you weren't awarded. They very rarely contact anyone for evidence.

As i advised previously you need to start to gather some evidence to support your Tribunal because you may well have to take it this far. If you have any letters from past appointments with Consultants, Occupational Therapists, you can write a diary stating how your condition affects you everyday and the struggle you have, do this for at least 1 week. When i have a hospital appointment my Consultant will write to my GP and CC me into the letter, do you have any of these? If not then you can ring your GP practice and ask for copies of any letters in your medical records. There could possibly be a charge for this and is most likely anything up to £50. If you haven't had any hospital appointments then you can try asking your GP for a supporting letter. Don't be surprised if you're refused this because a lot of GPs don't like writing letters for benefit support. If he/she does agree then again there maybe a charge for this. A print out from your GP of all current medication. Even a letter from someone that knows you well, stating exactly the struggles you have, and why. The more evidence you give, the better your chances.  Unfortunately, to be able to claim these benefits successfully then you have to have evidence.

Remember also that PIP isn't about not being able to work. People claim PIP and work.

I would urge you to get some help with the Tribunal side of it because it seems like to me that you don't fully understand what it's all about. Having a little understanding will help. For the Tribunal you'll need to write a submission letter and this letter is very important.

You said you can't work because of this. Do you claim any other benefits like ESA or are you claiming SSP? Do you live with a partner that works?

Thank you for your help, I should of gone to cab but was housebound so just filled in the form myself. I have kept a diary more when it wakes me up at night and not being able to get to the toilet from my bed until pain killers kick in. Then it’s like I have two broken ankles. I’m mainly effected by bad weather but trying to explain it is quite hard especially when on the day of assessment I may not be in so much pain on that day. She got me to do a few exercises which I could do except tip toe as I now walk flat footed as my feet no longer bend. I did send a letter from my rhumertist that I received from the hospital but I was able to walk when I saw her even though I walked through pain I’d had a cortisone 2 weeks prior that had received symptoms enough for me to walk a little on crutches all other times I’ve been in a wheelchair my uncle took me to my appointments he has seen how bad things get I could get him to write a letter for me. Well I will wait and see what happens. I was asked how I felt on that day so I answered that I wasn’t too bad today.

You're welcome. It's a lot to take in an understand. When writing that diary you'll need to write more than just when you're waking during the night. This proves to me just how much you don't understand PIP. PIP is all about how you're affected 50% of the time, it's not about good and bad days. You must try to remember that. You have the part "walking through pain" right but it's more than just the mobility part. There's 10 daily living descriptors but you can only score the points once in each descriptors. You did really well to score what you scored to be honest. You're just 2 points short of Standard Daily living but it's doubtful you'll get that from the MR decision.

You seem to be focusing more on the mobility part rather than the whole thing. There's huge amounts of advice available on the internet but i can't post links on here. CAB have a great website that will explain all about PIP and the descriptors, what they mean extra. Please do take some time to have a look. Sending a letter from your Rheumatologist when you're walking was better wouldn't have been the greatest evidence to send either. Answering with "i'm not too bad today" went against you too, it seems.

Ask your Uncle to write a letter for you but you'll need to ask him to write it with the PIP descriptors in mind. You will definitely need more evidence to go with that letter. You'll have plenty of time after the MR decision because for the Tribunal as long as you send it to arrive at least 10 days before the hearing, it's fine. All you'll need to to for the Tribunal request is fill the form in and attach the MR decision letter to it and send it within 28 days of the MR decision.

There's a online PIP self test that you can complete, this will give you a little understanding what all those descriptors are about. It won't let you tick more than 1 box for each descriptor and it's only a guide. I'll do some google searching and private message you some links for you to look at. I'll also add the PIP self test link in there as well. To access your message click on the envelope at the top of the page.