PIP and mental health

gazzmg wrote: Do you have to be suffering from symptoms or is it based on your care needs such as needing the care, what would happen if you have been in remission for years.

With alot of people who are on medication they improve such as not psychotic anymore and symptoms either go in remission or improve significantly, will they be unlikely to qualify for pip due to this or is it based on your care needs.

regards

PIP does not assess Care needs in the same way that DLA does/did, rather it looks at specific aspects of a claimants abilities, for example; preparing food, taking nutrition, washing and bathing, etc., and scores them as to their needs or capabilities in each area.

PIP also takes into account the effects of any medicine or treatment that the claimant is having, so if someone has a mental health condition but as the result of the medication they are taking are fully functional, then I would not expect them to score any points for the PIP Descriptors.

Have a look at our PIP Claim guide for a more detailed explanation of how the benefit works.

Gordon