My PIP assessment
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi,
I had my PIP assessment on 23rd June and thankfully it wasn't as bad as I expected after reading so many horror stories online. So if you have one coming up please try to think positively and believe they are not all bad!
I travelled by taxi to my assessment and had a friend with me for support. The taxi dropped us off right at the entrance of the waiting room, which had glass windows so the secretary could see right through. She was nice though - she came and opened the door for us and then asked us to sit down whist she registered my arrival. She came over and asked me for my ID, which she took to her desk, checked and then returned to me along with a travel expenses form - so no having to get up and down to stand at her desk. I got into my appointment on time and it was less than 10 metres from the waiting room.
I was assessed by a female physiotherapist who basically just asked me questions based on the PIP assessment criteria and I just told her really what I had written on my PIP application form. She just typed as I talked.
At the end of her questioning she said 'I usually carry out a physical examination but I am not going to carry this out because it wouldn't be of any benefit to you and we have all the evidence we need to assess you'
So what do you think she meant? She did see me struggle to walk in and I obviously talked about my mobility issues during our q&a session, so do you think she it went in my favour or not?
My assessment lasted aprox 35 minutes and the nurse told me that she would be completing her report that day and sending it straight over to the DWP. She also said that there is an aprox 6 week wait until decisions are made in my area at this time.
Anyway, she must have sent her report straight in because I received a text message from the DWP stating that they now had all the info required to make their decision and would let me know as soon as it is made.
I was just relieved to have it all over and done with!
Oh and I just received a letter from the DWP yesterday stating I am staying in the support group for ESA. I sent in my ESA claim form in March so they obviously felt they didn't need to send me for a medical! I am really pleased as I have been worrying that I may have to attend yet another medical.
2 likes, 24 replies
TCup
Posted
I meant to say that 'the very next day' I received a text message from the DWP stating that they now had all the info required to make their decision and would let me know as soon as it is made. (pretty quick!)
erykah71 TCup
Posted
Good for you TCake, glad it went well for you. Your experience of PIP sounds like my ESA assessment which resulted in me being put in the support group.
My PIP assessment however was awful. I reported a change in circs as my condition has gotten worse since I first applied and I put on my form that I would need to be near a toilet and that I could not use stairs. I was sent upstairs and although there was a lift, the toilet was on staggered floors. Anyway, I was called in 20 mins late, had to listen to an assesor on the phone moaning that she had already done 2 assessments and that the rest should be cancelled for that day, sending me into a panic that I would now be sent home.
The assessor I saw was a nurse, who didn't tell me this until I asked. She admitted she had never heard of my condition, and had no idea how it affected sufferers. I explained how it affects me and she could see how much pain I was in, not least because i was in tears throughout most of the assessment. She continued to examine me despite me saying it hurt, my daughter had to eventually tell her to back off.
She lied on her report and I had points deducted even though she reported I needed additional support (i.e marked descriptor a for dressing and undressing but said that I need help with everything)
She totally disregarded what I had said about my condition (I have Joint Hypermobility Syndrome and my joints move way beyond what they are meant to, but I suffer constant excrutiating pain) and reported it wrong.
Anyway, I ended up spending 4 days in bed after this appointment because she pushed my boundaries and I lost my award and am now waiting for MR.
The physio who examined me for ESA was knowledgeable of my condition, knew what to look for and how to treat me.
The nurse who examined me for PIP did not have a clue
Just goes to show how far a little bit of knowledge goes.
Anyway rant over, well done, hope you get all the support you need x
TCup erykah71
Posted
erykah71 TCup
Posted
anthony97723 TCup
Posted
Hi TCake
The ultimate decision is taken by someone at the DWP.
However, 99% of the time they go with the assessment report. The assessor is not allowed to tell you the outcome of the assessment. I have been present at assessments which were successful and everyone of them included the subtle hint that the assessor had all s/he needed and didn't need to examine further.
So on the famous balance of probabilities it would appear you will receive a positive outcome, Fingers crossed of course.
TCup anthony97723
Posted
maria_1963 TCup
Posted
Well done - you did what you had to do , had someone with you which i always feels benefits a assessment , you told the truth which i feel is also important , at the end of the day i feel it is down to who is doing the assessment , some do care , others just cannot be bothered to understand the person they see - the difficulties that person experiences just going to a assessment , the anxiety , etc of it all , a Social Worker told me early last year that i should apply for PIP on a home visit ( he was doing a home assessment for my local CMHT ) as he said i could do with it , i didn't know anything about the benefit but i rang the number anyway and spoke to a lovely sounding young man who patiently talked through the form at his end then i had the form sent to me , the Social Worker filled it out for me , then i was sent a letter telling me they were doing a home assessment ( i hadn't asked for it to be home ) , so a lady came out and we talked , she asked for me to lift my legs etc for the physical but i could barely do that so she told me to stop , she went away , the next thing i knew was that i had passed the assessment - was totally amazed . The money has been a help in every day tasks like getting my windows cleaned , etc , so my experience was positive .
TCup maria_1963
Posted
maria_1963 TCup
Posted
I always say to people to make sure they have someone with them when they go for a assessment and if possible have it recorded and just be honest in your answers , i even offered to show the lady my bathroom - have a item to put across the bath for me to sit on but the lady didn't want to see it , like i said it was all new to me , i have physical and mental health illness so my anxiety does set in where professional people are concerned so it helped having a nice lady who put me at ease .
les59996 maria_1963
Posted
TCup les59996
Posted
I didn't record mine.
maria_1963 TCup
Posted
No - not sure about PIP assessment but the ESA assessment can be recorded if you attend it where they do the assessment as i was told at my ESA assessment that there was a problem with the recording equipment but as i had another Social Worker with me then i knew having him meant that answers i gave could not be altered also we were allowed to see what the Assessor wrote on the computer , you can ask for the assessment to be recorded - it says so in the leaflet that comes with the other paperwork however like i said i don't know about PIP assessment as i had mine at home .
les59996 maria_1963
Posted
As for PIP, unlike ESA, there are no regulations that the DWP will/can provide equipment for the recording of a PIP assessment. You can record a PIP assessment but only if you have first obtained the assessors permission and that you can provide two identical copies of that recording eiher on CD or tape.
maria_1963 les59996
Posted
Well like i said i had a Social Worker with me ( I suffer from Severe Depression and Anxiety ) , he asked that we look at the computer to say what the lady had typed therefore she could not refuse , i was pleased as i had heard from other people when i attended a Work Programme that this lady sometimes changed the answers given , she couldn't with having a SW taking notes , etc , i have always been very grateful to that gentleman as i am sure that is why i passed the assessment .
les59996 maria_1963
Posted
That must be the first case then that I have heard of.
I remember asking to have a look at the report after my last ESA assessment simply because he and I (how can I say this) did not get on well from the very start.He had such a strong Asian accent that I could not understand a word he was saying - after dozens of 'pardons' it descended into open 'warfare'.
I have never had anyone go into the room with me. I was told on one occassion that there were only two chairs 'so your wife can stay out'.
TCup les59996
Posted
maria_1963 TCup
Posted
Yes when i had my ESA assessment and the social worker was with me , there was also a friend in with me - she is no longer a friend now because i was there far more for her then she was for me , she had a colleague make a complaint about her early last year so that Fake Friend as i call her went off sick and i went with her to Occupational health app , CAB appointment , job interviews , etc , i went to the Pawn Brokers where she had pawned some sentimental rings , she was doing temp work so couldn't get to the Pawn shop at the closing date for the recovery rings , etc i was there about 6+ times , she was there for me one time , when my physical health took a turn for the worst last July and i needed my friends more then ever she was the one friend who wasn't there for me , this year she wanted my help to rehome one of her cats , a stray she took in who didn't get on with her other 2 cats , i couldn't help her as i had issues of my own to deal with , she dropped me as a friend , blocked me on facebook , I felt relief as she kept on putting me down / belittling me , etc - not proper friend , only cared about herself . I think these assessments vary from town , county to other towns , counties , some assessors may be kind , others not but i am sure it said in the leaflet i got it said you could have someone with me .
les59996 maria_1963
Posted
It does also take into account each assessing centre.
In the building that I have been in countless dozens of times over the past 21 years (started with DLA in 1995 with the last one being ESA) all of the 'interview rooms' are so small that with the desk and two chairs + a couch there isn't enough room for another chair.
It is simply a consession that you are allowed to take someone in (as told to me by the DWP when I complained).
So yes it must be different all over the country.