PIP assesment -transport and emergency worries.

Have been losing sleep getting more and more anxious and suicidal about the whole ordeal so decided to ring DWP this morning.

Spoke to a nice guy that said if a gp recommends a home assessment rather than an assessment centre, then that would be granted. So I rung my gp, she was away which is unfortunate as she knows me and my conditions really well, but GP that took my call was really kind & understood all my concerns.

She said not to take ATOS at all personally and that they were just government minions lol. She is going to write to them today requesting I have a home assessment based on all my health conditions that I have been seeing them about. She said that ATOS hadn't even contacted them asking for a report from my gp which i thought was bad when I requested a home assessment based on mental health grounds (as well as others) - especially as included with my paper work is a letter from my psychologist which explains I am a risk to myself: "towards the end of therapy Helen was beginning to research ways to end her life, she remains a risk to herself as she does not share these plans with professionals"

Not sure atos even bothered looking through the paperwork!!

Feel slightly more at ease although i know it has absolutely no affect on the end result, at least I am not going to end up lost or stuck in the middle of London having a panic attack and then ending up fatigued for days as a result!!!

Hi,

Just an update.

Had my home assessment. Lasted just under an hour. Woman wasn't overly friendly like some I've read about on here but was pleasant enough. Didn't feel the assessment was massively thorough in all honesty but this is what she did cover from what I can remember. (Bare in mind I suffer from BPD, CFS, Anxiety, Depression and Chronic Migraines.)

Went through:

My conditions (a lot of her opinion on my conditions and that my memory loss is apparently linked to depression and BPD not my CFS) - news to me. and how they affect me.

My symptoms

Any medication changes since my PIP 2 was sent in - there were none.

Who diagnosed all your medical conditions? Mainly GP/ CMHT and consultants.

Have you been referred to the hospital for these conditions?

How effective has the medication/therapy been in treating you?

How many good days and bad days do you have? I said 5 bad days and 2 good days in an average 'good' week.

Do you have friends and family near by? I replied yes a few.

Do they come to visit you? I replied my ex partner comes to visit me and often helps look after our son and care for me.

How do you manage your medications? I mentioned accidental overdosing when I have forgotten if I have taken tablets. I also mentioned using alarm clocks on my phone to remember to take medication

How these conditions affect me. Problems again due to the fact I suffer from multiple conditions including CFS and migraines. I said I suffer fatigue after migraines as well as generally suffering from CFS in general. She said that because she couldn't differentiate between the two conditions and where the fatigue was coming from she would put it down to CFS.

Side affects from medications - again not sure why she asked this as she said she couldn't pin point what medication was causing which side affect or if it was one of the medical conditions that I am suffering from - so bit of a pointless question.

I was asked if I could peel and chop a vegetable to prepare a simple meal. I said no based on the fact I couldn't do it reliably - she wanted me to elaborate on this.

Can I plan a journey - she kept twisting this question and changing the criteria. I said I made local journeys using my car - mainly taking my son to school and going to appointments. I said I don't go anywhere I don't know. She said what if it was an appointment in the town you live in but somewhere you had never been before. I said it would depend on where exactly it was and I would need to look it up on google maps. So I wouldn't be able to do this reliably imo but who knows what shes actually written.

What kind of car I drive - manual or automatic.

Have you ever worked? Yes.

For how long at that job. 2.5yrs.

What work did you do? Customer assistant

When did you give up work? Feb last year.

Who I lived with. Son.

How many times a week do I wash/Shower? I answered two or three times so be interesting to see what she's written on the form.

Can I wash myself once in the shower or do I need assistance?

Any toileting needs. -no.

What do you do in your spare time - sleep.

Can you get yourself dressed? Yes

How often do you change your clothes - generally every other day. Often leave PJ top on.

Any problems with swallowing - No.

How long can you walk for without a break - 15 to 20 min. but heavily fatigued afterwards.

Do I have any pets. - no

Do you have any aids or adaptations - No.

Info on where I lived - obvious as she was in my flat. But she wanted to know info like did I have a shower over the bath etc and how many bedrooms.

I was asked to spell world backwards. I am pretty sure after a few attempts I still didn't manage this but still I got congratulated and told that this was how you train your brain to get better? Again news to me? Maybe ATOS should be training GPS?!

I was asked to remember 3 words and then later on in the session told to repeat those words. I remembered 2 and then was pushed for the third which I couldn't remember. I was then told the third wasn't given with an action which was why I couldn't remember it and was again given some tips on how to help my memory - thanks ATOS.

Hope this is helpful to someone about to go through the assessment process.

I hope to god the decision maker looks at some of the evidence my psychologist and other professionals have sent in rather than looking at whatever she has written. I am convinced after today that I am heading down the MR and Appeal route.

Before she left she also gave me a load of waffle about happiness and implied that I control my own destiny and need to block bad people out of my life and let good people in to help me with my depression? Not sure this is ATOS's job. Seriously unprofessional.

Time for sleep.

sparkles5 wrote: Hi,

Just an update.

Had my home assessment. Lasted just under an hour. Woman wasn't overly friendly like some I've read about on here but was pleasant enough. Didn't feel the assessment was massively thorough in all honesty but this is what she did cover from what I can remember. (Bare in mind I suffer from BPD, CFS, Anxiety, Depression and Chronic Migraines.)

Went through:

My conditions (a lot of her opinion on my conditions and that my memory loss is apparently linked to depression and BPD not my CFS) - news to me. and how they affect me.

My symptoms

Any medication changes since my PIP 2 was sent in - there were none.

Who diagnosed all your medical conditions? Mainly GP/ CMHT and consultants.

Have you been referred to the hospital for these conditions?

How effective has the medication/therapy been in treating you?

How many good days and bad days do you have? I said 5 bad days and 2 good days in an average 'good' week.

Do you have friends and family near by? I replied yes a few.

Do they come to visit you? I replied my ex partner comes to visit me and often helps look after our son and care for me.

How do you manage your medications? I mentioned accidental overdosing when I have forgotten if I have taken tablets. I also mentioned using alarm clocks on my phone to remember to take medication

How these conditions affect me. Problems again due to the fact I suffer from multiple conditions including CFS and migraines. I said I suffer fatigue after migraines as well as generally suffering from CFS in general. She said that because she couldn't differentiate between the two conditions and where the fatigue was coming from she would put it down to CFS.

Side affects from medications - again not sure why she asked this as she said she couldn't pin point what medication was causing which side affect or if it was one of the medical conditions that I am suffering from - so bit of a pointless question.

I was asked if I could peel and chop a vegetable to prepare a simple meal. I said no based on the fact I couldn't do it reliably - she wanted me to elaborate on this.

Can I plan a journey - she kept twisting this question and changing the criteria. I said I made local journeys using my car - mainly taking my son to school and going to appointments. I said I don't go anywhere I don't know. She said what if it was an appointment in the town you live in but somewhere you had never been before. I said it would depend on where exactly it was and I would need to look it up on google maps. So I wouldn't be able to do this reliably imo but who knows what shes actually written.

What kind of car I drive - manual or automatic.

Have you ever worked? Yes.

For how long at that job. 2.5yrs.

What work did you do? Customer assistant

When did you give up work? Feb last year.

Who I lived with. Son.

How many times a week do I wash/Shower? I answered two or three times so be interesting to see what she's written on the form.

Can I wash myself once in the shower or do I need assistance?

Any toileting needs. -no.

What do you do in your spare time - sleep.

Can you get yourself dressed? Yes

How often do you change your clothes - generally every other day. Often leave PJ top on.

Any problems with swallowing - No.

How long can you walk for without a break - 15 to 20 min. but heavily fatigued afterwards.

Do I have any pets. - no

Do you have any aids or adaptations - No.

Info on where I lived - obvious as she was in my flat. But she wanted to know info like did I have a shower over the bath etc and how many bedrooms.

I was asked to spell world backwards. I am pretty sure after a few attempts I still didn't manage this but still I got congratulated and told that this was how you train your brain to get better? Again news to me? Maybe ATOS should be training GPS?!

I was asked to remember 3 words and then later on in the session told to repeat those words. I remembered 2 and then was pushed for the third which I couldn't remember. I was then told the third wasn't given with an action which was why I couldn't remember it and was again given some tips on how to help my memory - thanks ATOS.

Hope this is helpful to someone about to go through the assessment process.

I hope to god the decision maker looks at some of the evidence my psychologist and other professionals have sent in rather than looking at whatever she has written. I am convinced after today that I am heading down the MR and Appeal route.

Before she left she also gave me a load of waffle about happiness and implied that I control my own destiny and need to block bad people out of my life and let good people in to help me with my depression? Not sure this is ATOS's job. Seriously unprofessional.

Time for sleep.

Hi s55,

Thanks for taking the time to relate your experiences for other members !!

You can do little more now !!!

You could give it a week or so, then ring the PIP Helpline for an update.

PIP helpline :
Telephone: 0345 850 3322
Textphone: 0345 601 6677
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Whilst on the phone, you could request copy of your PA 4 Medical Report compiled by the Assessor at your F2F.

Some members have managed to obtain it before receiving a decision, some have had to wait until after.

Fingers crossed for a positive outcome !!!!

You should Bookmark/Favourite this page in your Internet Browser now. That way you can return to this topic easily to pose any further queries that you may have by replying to the topic.

See : This Topic also !

Thanks in anticipation of your future co-operation in keeping all your PIP related queries to this topic !

bro58

Feeling so so low. Got my HP report back. I scored 4 points on her observations and it includes lie upon lie and basically just her opinions of me so I stand absolutely no chance unless the case manager reads through psychologists reports etc.

Under taking nutrition she has scored me no points and has then written:

"Although mentioned difficulties in the questionnaire in functional history she manages with her nutrition unaided and is consistent with mental state examination. She looks overweight and doesn't need any prompting."

God, I don't want to wish ill health on any one but one day you really hope some of these people writing these reports have to be on the receiving end.

sparkles5 wrote: Feeling so so low. Got my HP report back. I scored 4 points on her observations and it includes lie upon lie and basically just her opinions of me so I stand absolutely no chance unless the case manager reads through psychologists reports etc.

Under taking nutrition she has scored me no points and has then written:

"Although mentioned difficulties in the questionnaire in functional history she manages with her nutrition unaided and is consistent with mental state examination. She looks overweight and doesn't need any prompting."

God, I don't want to wish ill health on any one but one day you really hope some of these people writing these reports have to be on the receiving end.

Hi s5,

I am sorry to hear that the PA4 was "inaccurate" !!

There is little that you can do now until you receive The Decision Notice letter.

In the mean time, you may wish to read through the following generic advice :

Once you have the Decision Notice, if the decision is adverse you will have one month from the date of the PIP Decision Notice letter to make a written request for a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) of the PIP decision.

Sending Documents to the DWP.

As you have The PA4, you can then pose any counter arguments to the PIP Assessors recommendations.

e.g. If they are stating that you can carry out a particular PIP Activity, has it been taken into account that to be classed as being able to carry out a PIP Activity, you must be able to do so Reliably and Safely for The Majority of Days

If the Assessor has stated that they witnessed you Walking a set distance have they taken into account the above, the time it took you to do so, and any pain, discomfort and breathless, etc that you may have suffered whilst doing so ? etc, etc, etc !!

You should be aware that when you request an MR, any current PIP Awards, Daily Living and/or Mobility, that you might have, can be increased, reduced or taken away altogether, as they will look at the whole PIP Awards afresh.

Obviously if you have no current PIP Award, there is no risk involved.

See : PIP MR/Appeals Guidance.

Disability Rights UK Factsheet - Appeals and Mandatory Reconsiderations.

Once you have gone through The MR Process, if you are still unsuccessful, you have one month from the date of The MR Decision Notice Letter to appeal directly to The Tribunal Service. (TS)

You should do this using one copy of The MR Notice letter (keep the othercopy) and the : SSCS 1 Form (Download Link)

All this is explained in our PIP Appeals Guidance

You should concentrate on reiterating where and why you should have scored the extra points with respect to the applicable PIP Activities and the appropriate scoring PIP Descriptor for that Activity, whilst cross-referencing to any medical evidence that you have, or may have already provided which indicates that you should have.

See also : PIP Self Test

PIP Points Scoring System

&

PIP Claims Guide. (2nd Link down the page)

Hopefully you will not need the above information, please keep us updated !!

bro58