HELP WITH MANDATORY RECONSIDERATION

Hello,
My Husband and I went for assessment and we can tell you it was a very uncomfortable experience that has left us both feeling streamely anxious.

The "interview" started and she quickly said we have to be brief as we did not have a lot of time.
Then she went on to ask general questions about medication and disabilities and how this affected my husband.
after this she started asking some of the question we have already answered in the form. What we noticed was that she was that when she was asking the questions she was not giving us options. for example, she ask if my husband could plan a route to "familiar places" which we said yes, he can plan to go to the shops that are round the corner for exmple. she quickly noted this. that will score him ) points. Why didnt she ask if he could do the same with unfamiliar places????? Of course I added that even thought he could plan that familiar route it was not a journey he would do on his own as he stumbles when he walks and sudden noises make his anxious and jumpy. I continue to say he could not do it with unfamiliar places and his is overwhelmed with fatigue most days and his concentration is therefore poor as well as his walking and fatigue gets worse throughout the day.
I cannot tell you for sure if this was typed into the computer???

By this point my husband was getting tired and frustrated and he was feeling sweaty. he asked if the door could be opened but she said it could not as it was a private meeting. my husband had already taken his jumper off at this point.

Then the last question was how far he could walk in minutes??We dont know? maybe a minute? I asked my husband. At this point she was obsessed with this figure. MY husband was trying to concentrate and got even more frustrated and he apologised for that. He agreed to one minute which again she quickly noted down but we added that his walking was very slow and that not two days were the same, some walking 10 metres sometime 10 steps again this at a very low pace as he has drop foot as well as swelling of ankle and knee joint and fatigues caused by both the stroke and COPD. Again We dont think she took this on board?

We have received the award and I can tell you that it has not come our way.
My husband was awarded enhance rate for living which we were expecting, but standard rate for mobility.
He was scored 10 points for being able to stand or walk more than 20m but less than 50. This is not correct as we did say he could maybe walk for a minute, maybe take 10 steps or sometime nothing at all. We also said that his walking deteriorated throughout the day.

For being able to plan a follow a route he was score 0 as they said he could do this. Now here is were our biggest problem was because the nurse that interviewed my husband asked him if he could do this to familiar places like the shops round the corner. we said yes but he could not do it on his own as it is not safe for him to go on his own and sudden noises make him anxious.. we also said that he could not do it to unfamiliar places. So how does this score him 0?

The award letter says he walked for 25 meters to the assessment room without problems. That is a lie as there was less than 20 meters to the door and he had to stop at least twice.

We have been in touch with GP and she has told us she will fully support us. Do we just give her the forms available here where she ticks the boxes and adds comments or would it be best for her to write a letter? We know they will look at the whole award but the bit we want to dispute is the mobility. My husband does not go out on his own as he gets very anxious and distressed. he gets anxious with sudden noises and get confused and lost in unfamiliar places. The award letter says they have seen he walks with a stick and a low pace and has an unsteady gait. My husband has had several falls and he is unable to help himself back up.
He also suffers from COPD, drop foot fatigue and HSP the latter one makes his ankles and knees swell up when standing for two long.

We also have a meeting with Mind on the 10th to help us with this. But is there anything in particular my GP can add weight to?

Any advice on how best handle the MR very much appreciated.

Many thanks!!

Thank you Gordon for your reply. We have asked for the copy of the report but not sure if we are going to get in in time for the meeting with MInd.

We know that my husband fits the criteria for enhanced rate. And as I said the GP wants to help. I have downloaded the guide for GP you offer here so she can tick the boxes for all descriptors as we know they will look at it all again , and for her to comment on the descriptors.

Should we also ask her to write a letter concentrating mainly on the mobility part as this is the one we need changing?


One main reason why we have failed is because the HCP said my husband was able to walk 25 metres at a slow pace with a walking stick and unsteady gait from the reception to the assessment room. And that we said he was ab;e to walk for 1 minute and then have a stop and rest before continuing.

About the 25 metres; this is not true! there are not 25 metres from the chair he was sitting to the room I can tell you there is no more that 15 or so. they says 20 metres is the distance covered by 2 busses. One bus inside that little building would have cover most of the distance but how can we prove this?

And even if there was my husband had to stop at least twice and she must have failed to mention this is the decision maker did not pick on this to make his decision.

About the minute, we were confused by the question itself and notice that we were being rushed through out my husband got agitated and angry because of the constant pressure from the HCP to answer quickly. under such pressure he said yet to it but we also added that he could not do so repeatedly and safely. About the familiar route we said yes he could plan the route but would nopt be able to follow it on his own and that he would not be able to do so either with unfamiliar places. Through out the assessment we mentiion how much fatigue affects him and that his walking deteriorated throughout the days and the anxiety caused by sudden noises when he is out .

These are the two issues we feel very strongly about. My husband should have been awarded at least 16 point on mobility but yet he was given 10.

What kind of support letter can our GP give us for the Decision maker understand fully how this two acitivities affect my husband in order to change their decision on the MR?

Many thanks!

Thank you Gordon. Yes he have given the GP a letter emphasising these points of reliably.
Unfortunately because of the enormous pressure and rush we were under we said yes simply because we thought a minute is not much, we have never thought of distance in time. But we did say he would not be able to do this safely and that he would not be able to do it again as his walking got worse through out he day as well as his pain and fatigue. We also say he would not do this most days.

Thank you for your information and will keep you up to date.

Hi Gordon,

Just wanted to say we have now received the copy of the report. The living descriptors are more or less accurate. However there are a few things that simply are not true and it it when it comes to moving around.

The HCP says we walked from the carpark and stopped for a minute. We did not walk from the carpark. we parked on the side road to the building and my husband stopped twice after about 10 steps or so. this was clearly said to her.

Of course again she said he walked 25 metres to the assessment room. Our argument to this is that there is less than 20 metres and she fail to note down he stopped at least twice.

For mental health the HCP says there is a long list that says

]Does not look tired - he could barely keep huis eyes opened at times.
Looks unwell - of course he does!
increased sweating was not apparent - he was sweaty and uncomfortable and asked her to please open the door but she said no because it was a private meeting.
Interaction normal, not restless or withdrawn - he kept moving on the chair because he was getting tired, frustrated and was sweaty.
Normal manner, not anxious, agitated or tense - He was so anxious and agitated he started scratching and made himself bleed. The HCP noticed this and asked if he had hurt himself. He was so agitated and stressed under so much pressure and rushed to answer questions that the HCP told him he had to give hi answers and my husband apologised.
Did not require prompting - He kept asking me to help him as he was struggling. I several times prompt him to answer some of the questions and reminded him of facts.
adequate rapport - again this is not very accurate at all based on the other points.


There are other bits and pieces in there but to us these are the most important one and the one we want to appeal against. The HCP added facts that are fiction and fail to comment on important facts that did happen and that could have help the DC to make a correct decision.

So how can we prove this happened or did not happen?

Apologies for the number of questions but we must do everything possible to get the MR successful as not only my husband suffers terrible with the result of this award but it affects the whole family (two young boys)