PIP SUCCESS

Hi,

It took me a while to find your comment in this huge thread that was created more than 1 year ago. It would have been better if you had started your own post with the question because it could have been missed.

My advice, be honest and tell them exactly how your conditions affect you. Avoid answering with just a yes or no. Watch out for the trick questions because there could be some thrown in. Questions will be based on the PIP descriptors, your PIP form and how your conditions affect you.

Be yourself and don't dress down, this means if you usually wear make-up then wear it, if you usually use a stick or walker then use it, if you don't use any aids to walk then dont use one on the day of the assessment.

Remember PIP is about how your conditions affect you and not about a diagnosis. Take someone with you if you can just for support. it can help with nerves. They won't be able to answer any questions unless they're your appointee though.

Decision times vary depending on backlog in your area. Good luck.

My husband is going to come with me.

Thanks for your help 

The questions will be based on the PIP descriptors and how your conditions affect you daily. PIP isn't about a diagnosis so be aware of that. They will be watching you from the minute you arrive to the minute you leave. Answer all those questions with as much detail as possible and avoid answering with just a yes or no. If they ask you to do anything that causes you pain then you should tell them you can't do it and the reasons why.

Your husband will not be able to answer any of the questions unless he's your appointee. Some assessment providers will let the person with you prompt you but it's rare they let them do that.

Did you send evidence to support your claim? They very rarely contact anyone for this and the onus is always on you to make sure it's sent to support your claim. If you didn't, you can try to hand it in during your assessment but be aware that a lot of the time they will refuse to accept it on the day. It happened to me twice.

If you live in the UK about a week after the assessment you can ring DWP and ask for a copy of the assessment report to be sent to you, this will give you an idea what the decision will be because they mostly go with the report. IF you live in Northern Ireland they won't send the report until after a decision is made.

Decision times vary depending on where you are in the country. It can be anything from 2-8 weeks but really there's no timescales.

You don't say if this a a transfer from DLA to PIP, a PIP review or a first time claim?

Good luck.

I sent in letters of all my appointments and a note of all my medication. 

What other supporting evidence would they be looking for?

Do they write to the consultants/GP?

I was diagnosed over a year ago and it’s not controlled at all. 

Thanks for your help 

Hi,

Future appointment dates/times are not classed as evidence because it proves nothing and doesn't tell them anything at all about your condition. Prescription print out of all current medication is fine but you'll need more than this. What you need is evidence that states how your conditions affect you. Do you see any Consultants for hospital appointments? do you have a social worker? Letters from past appointments is something you can give as evidence. Usually the Consultant will write to your GP telling them what happened during the appointment and what's going to happen next. When i've had appointments like this in the past i always receive a copy of the letter that's sent to my GP.

As i stated they very rarely contact GPs/Consultants for any evidence, the onus is always on the claimant to prove how their condition affects them, rather than the health assessments providers proving how you're affected. If you see what i mean. Like i said you can take some evidence with you but don't be surprised if they refuse to accept during the assessment. It happens to a lot of people. If you sent it to the DWP then it most likely won't be used when making a decision. It needs to be sent to the health assessment providers because it will be used when writing the assessment report. The decision maker will be relying heavily on the assessment report to make a decision, this why they mostly go with the report and the recommendations in it.

A diagnosis makes no difference to PIP because it's how that condition affects you. Have you taken a look at the PIP descriptors to see what it's all about? Having some knowledge always helps. Each descriptors means something. There's lot of advice about PIP on the internet. Citzens advice have a great website full of advice. Just google as links can't be used here, sorry.

I’ve got a letter from my consultant that outline my previous DAS score my diagnosis and where the RA effects me . It says that I have seropositive RA and that I continue to struggle with pain and stiffness in multiple joints. It then outlines my medication. 

I contacted my GP for a letter but they have said that they don’t give them out to anyone 

It seems to be very difficult to get anyone to give me supporting evidence of how RA affects me day to day 

GPs very often refuse to write support letters for benefits purposes. Those that will agree will charge for the letter.

As i said you can take it with you but they may well refuse to accept it off you on the day. It will be the assessment provider you need to give it to, if they take it.  Make sure you put your NI number on the top of the letter, incase they do accept it from you.

You could have written a diary detailing how your conditions affect you, or you could have asked someone that knows you well to write a letter of support by looking at the PIP descriptors and detailing how your conditions affect you in line with the descriptors. It does state on the front of the PIP form what to send with your form and evidence is one of them.

Doing some research will help those currently going through a PIP claim because there's more to the descriptors that there looks. If you don't understand them then you may struggle to know what points you could be awarded because the descriptors won't apply to everyone. There's a lot of advice on the internet detailing what PIP is all about, you just have to search for PIP descriptors, assessments that sort of thing.