Multiple PIP face to face assessments

Hello
Has anyone else been forced into 3 f2f PIP assessments for their PIP review? I attended the first 1 on February 26 this year but the assessor decided I was too ill to be assessed. This was within 5 minutes of her starting the assessment. She rang to request a home visit for me. The home visit was on March 15th. This ( different) assessor didn't even try to start the assessment as in her opinion I was too ill. She phoned to say a paper review would be needed, and I had already supplied enough evidence, including the 13 pages of forms for GP evidence from this site, duly signed by my GP.

Both the Independent Assessment Services professionals opinions that I was too ill to be assessed, were completely ignored by IAS hierachy and they insisted a 3rd face to face assessment would be needed. At an assessment centre, again. Even though I was too ill for a home assessment (!). One of the pieces of evidence I had provided with my PIP review claim back in Dec 2018 was from my Mental Health Nurse, and it detailed my most serious mental health issues of PTSD, severe depression, severe anxiety and it also included a statement about me having suicidal thoughts, and it requested this be particularly noted in their approach.

By the time the 3rd assessment in 2 months came on April 23, my serious mental and physical health problems had deteriorated to the point where I was visibly in a terrible state, the worst I had been for 3 decades ( they were informed I am a survivor of extreme child abuse in all forms, and hadn't been in the state I found myself in since a teenage survivor of that.)

My friend had got permission to record the 3rd assessment as by now I had raging paranoia on top of everything else, unsurprisingly. The 3rd assessor was shocked to see this was my 3rd assessment in 2 months, my friend who accompanied me told him to take a few mins to read any notes available on his system....following this, they took only maybe 15 mins to complete the final assessment as he could see I was in no fit state at all. He was very understanding. Note they couldn't even stick to me always requiring a female assessor either, which could have finished me off right there in the assessment room, blue lights to hospital job, if I had been alone. I got the impression the assessor was under high pressure to assess me this 3rd time, no matter the consequences for my health. Do IAS only receive payment for completed assessments I wonder, and not any they decide the claimant is too ill to complete? The further repercussions for claimants if so ...

Won't go into all the detail, the fact that 2 DWP case managers rang IAS to try to find out why multiple assessment appointments were necessary, and why DWP hadn't received anything from them when I had already been forced into 2 f2f...etc...etc...the horror story went on.

Has anyone else had similar horrendous experiences, and could this be seen as a form of illegal harrassment / discrimination of disabled people, yet again ? I am very concerned for those who might be experiencing the same treatment I did. It is inhumane. And the death toll will go even higher.

Thank you Gordon.

I have contacted my MP, with little success, will try again. Have sent a written complaint to IAS as well.

Hi,
i'm not a regular on here but rather found myself here from adverse PIP experience and something you've mentioned struck a chord with me.

Yesterday an Independant Assessor concluded a phone call with me re my sons PIP application.

The summation of the phoe call was something that neglected to use the evidence supplied and clearly came from soneone who had a preconceived end point ( reuding the claim eligibility of y son to something less than it should be).Lots of other things happened which were alarming but thats the upshot- with the assessor claiming that it was all my fault that my son was going to subjected to a face to face (presents risks to wel being) while acknowledging that to do so put y son at risk.

Ive been livid since the call ended yesterday. Today I got up and called the Independant Assessors ( I already had the number form a wek back when PIP people provided it.

I think I was lucky straight off the bat because I got a call representative who was nice.

I went into this today blind- no idea whether I could complain and extremely concerend actually that if I did this was it then going to reult in retaliatory response from future Independant Assessor input.

But I also felt that in my sons case there literlly was nothing left to lose. So I went for it expecting actually to be told there's nothing we can do, put it in writing blah blah blah.

What actually happened was I was advised about the basic complaints process- we can send you out a complaints pack or you can write in yourself - stuff thats documented as being the process online in quite a few places- but I was also advised that the man I was then speaking to- who was a random Independant Assessor representative from going through the automated options pressing option 1 (speak to someone about your PIP claim with Independan Assessors option, basically the only option tey offer that is not advising you to go call the DWP instead).

But I was also advised there *is* something you can do and that is to complete over the phone with the representative a request for a paper based assessment.

I didnt know it existed and I suspect that this option could be contingent on what kind of person you get when you call them up too - someone less nice may simply tell you to complete the complaints process and not go any further for example.

So it has taken quite a long time for myself on the phone and the Independant Assessor call rep to complete this request for paper based assessment. What became clear was that he was working from a series of questions - like an online questionaire. I was expecting it to be along the lines of in yoru own words explain why you feel a paper based assessment is justified/what was wrong with your phone assessment etc etc.

What it actually was , was a series of questions entirely based around my child (whose PIP claim it is).

I had explained in as friendly manner as I could, that the phone assessment was just wrong- pointed out the assessor was refering to evidence that was marked "draft" which isnt legitimate documentation and that he summed up his sending my son for face 2 face as being something regretable that was my fault and he had tried his best to prevent my son from having a face to face.

It is out of order unprofessional behaviour- I presented it in as unoffensive, non ranting non angry manner as possible- deliberately so, because I didnt want the rep on the end of the phone to simply want to get me off the phone because I was being a rany angry mum at them.

S between us we completed these questions, which I suspect also were questions the medical assessor on the phone should have been working from (but didnt really). Can son go out, whats his routine daily, plus some xtras too.

The Independant Assessor pinted out I had only included three medical professionals as points of contact and for a paper based assessment it was best if I were able to provide more, so when the decision maker came to look at the request for a paper based assessment there were the professionals listed to contact by Independant Assessors to enable a paperbased assessment to be completed in the first place (thats why I say he was nice- because he didnt have to mention any of this at all).

It took a while- easily a lot longer than any phone call I had with the medical professional from Independant Assessors.

We did - or rather I did - touch upon the negatives surrounding the experience I had yesterday- I believe ( no facts to base it on) that because it wasnt a simple case of someone being a bit rude or ill mannered but that I had actual tangible points ( refering to a draft document for one) that supported my statement that it was a flawed inaccurate phone assessment- helped by showing off the bat that I wasnt trying it on or over dramatising things.That is just my impression. By sticking to facts which could be verified, it gave credence to my asking if it was possible for a different assessor to re-do the phone assessment because I was certain anyone else doing so would not conclude what that last assessor did.

So the form is completed- I was advised that is as uch as can be done and what happens now is that request ad all the medical info provided in it- goes in a que, will be picked up by a health professional who will decide if it will go to a paper based assessment.

And importantly- the submission of that form cancels out any pre existing arrangements for face to face assessments. I pointed out that yesterdays assessor advised to expect a letter in a few weeks with a home visit appointment on it- the man I was just speaking to said ignore it.The request for a paper based assessment trumps whats gone before.

He advised there would be a maximum of 2 atempts to contact me by phone from Independant Assessors to advise me of the result of my request for a paper based assessment- a failure to reach me after this would then result in a letter being sent out advising if its a yes or a no.

If its a yes- the process begins for contacting health professionals named as points of contact and the PIP process incorporates any evidece garnered that way into the final decision.

If its a no to a paper based assessment then the face to face continues and presumably an appointment fr a face t face would follow shortly after that decision is made and I am informed of it.

In the context of what you are experiencing- I just wonder if it is possible to halt the multiple assessments merrigoround youre on and instigate a request for a paper based assessment?

At very least if a request is submitted based on my experience today- that will temporarily halt all current appointments and shelve it until after a decision has been reached about proceeding with a paper based assessment for you and if selected for paper based assessment- would seem to completely halt face to face assessments for this PIP application.

I do think it depends on the person you speak to as to what happens tbh. I sent my daughter's DLA to PIP form in on Wednesday, was received yesterday and got call from IAS today wanting to clarify matters (fundamentally whether I was supervising or prompting, assessor stated supervising) and confirming when daughter last left the house. She then said there was no need for any face to face and she would send in report to DWP today.
They haven't contacted the three health professionals I put down as I asked for them to send me reports when I saw them yesterday. The reports I sent were from three different professionals who wrote reports for education tribunal nine months ago .
I'm pretty sure that it's the inconsistency that makes the process very unfair tbh.