PIP award for anorexia?
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi, I'm new. I was wondering if anyone has claimed for pip when suffering from anorexia? I was claiming dla and am now in the process of claiming pip. I attended a medical assessment on 23rd June and now I am awaiting my result.
I have a question re my medical...I was seen by a physio nurse and she went through the questions on the pip application form which I answered truthfully as she typed. When it came to the physical, however, she asked me if I would just like to decline as she felt I would not gain anything from the physical tests. I just said yes and the assessment was ended. What I would like to know is why would she ask me to decline the physical tests? Could it be that she felt they were not needed because she had enough info for her assessment. I do admit that my weight is extremely low and I am fragile so do you think she expected me to not complete them successfully anyway? It is so hard to predict because she was nice but then I have heard so many horror stories of assessors lying and therefore am I too trusting? I would appreciate your thought or similar experiences.
So has anyone successfully claimed pip for anorexia, and if so what were you awarded thank you.
0 likes, 3 replies
pam02338 TCup
Posted
The physical exam – officially termed the musculoskeletal exam –is supposed to be carried out in all cases unless the examiner has good reason not to. Her reasons should have been discussed with you before you agreed, so that you knew exactly why you were being asked to decline. The reasons should also appear on the completed assessment form with clarification that this was the decision of the assessor and not the claimant. In a lot of cases this is not happening and it’s very worrying – these instances are appearing on the completed assessment form as a refusal to comply on the part of the claimant, and in some cases claimants are losing points as a result.
As an example, a few weeks ago a gentleman who suffers intractable pain as a result of multiple disability went for his assessment on migration from DLA to PIP. He was in so much pain after walking from the waiting area to the assessment room, that the assessor recognised his distress and decided the musculoskeletal exam would be inappropriate, to which he agreed. The wording on his assessment report stated that he had refused the examination – no explanation of why, or that it was the assessor’s decision, and his higher rate care and mobility award of DLA were reduced to standard rate – he lost entitlement to his motability car as a result. His support worker attended the assessment with him, and had been taking notes throughout. She lodged a complaint with the DWP, and among other things, submitted her notes as evidence. The DWP complaints adjudicator upheld the complaint and the award was increased.
At present the DWP will only allow an assessment to be recorded where a claimant gives advance warning, and the equipment has to be capable of producing a duplicate copy of the recording to the DWP immediately at the end of the assessment. They will, however, allow you or a companion to take notes. I would not advise anyone to attend an assessment alone – take a friend or relative, or preferably a professional of some kind – support worker etc.
All you can do now is await the result and if you’re not happy request a reconsideration. In any event, I would advise you to ask the DWP for a copy of the assessment report for your records – you can then check to see how that situation is worded. I would advise everyone reading this to ensure that you are physically examined as part of the assessment, and if an assessor asks you to decline for any reason, refuse and say you want to be examined. Theoretically an assessment has no time limit, but if an assessor is pushed for time they will inevitably try to bring the assessment to a close as soon as possible, but this should not be at the expense of being thorough. My own feeling is that I don’t know how any proper assessment can be made without physically examining a claimant – it’s the only way to assess things like limb deformity, muscle wasting and a whole host of other things. A physical examination is also the claimants’ opportunity to present the physical evidence, so a hands on examination should be welcomed, not wasted.
If you feel that the situation has been misrepresented in any way, let the DWP,know as soon as possible and if necessary make a complaint. Let me know when you get your results and I’ll be happy to help if I can.
les59996 pam02338
Posted
I was reading a posting on Rightsnet earlier today in which something very similar was reported.
The claimant had put on his claim form that he did not need help bathing. The assessor accepted that and used that statement on the PIP2 as evidence.
At the Tribunal it was argued that despite what he had put on the form the assessor should have carried out a thorough examination asking open questions to ascertain if indeed what he had put down was the truth. the assessor should also have tested the statement against time, safety etc.
In fact the claimant under questioning said that he had to be persuaded to bathe simply because it was too difficult - he had to build up his resolve to do it.So yes he could bathe but getting him to the point of having a bath was something else.
The point being is that the assessor couldn't be bothered to dig deeper and just accepted what was on the claim form.
pam02338 les59996
Posted
Yep, totally agree Les. I've seen a few examples of this myself. It's also very worrying that the assessors are not bothering to find out how long the activities are taking the claimants to complete. Given that time is a major factor in whether or not a claimant can complete an activity, very little attention is paid to this as part of the assessment. I have also seen at least one tribunal decision which overlooked the fact that the claimant took nearly 15 minutes to walk 20 metres. The claimant in this case did get higher rate mobility , scoring 14 points at the tribunal from the 10 awarded by the DWP, so it may have been that the tribunal did not feel it necessary to examine the time taken because the claimant had already qualified for the higher rate. Strictly speaking this is not correct, as they are supposed to look at all the evidence. The extra 4 points were by virtue of a cognitive problem which the DWP had not taken into consideration, and worryingly, they had also omitted that particular aspect of the disability from their submission to the tribunal. The CAB rep was informed of the omission by the claimants' family on the day of the tribunal and had to advise the panel of the omission, and that this was a long standing aspect of the disability which had been fully advised to the DWP on the original application form and backed up with diagnostic evidence.
Had the omission not been picked up before the tribunal took place, the original mobility decision would have remained the same because the condition was cognitive and was the sole reason the extra points were awarded. Pathetic or what ?