PIP

Its taken months to go through so much distress and now more to come with the PIP..
My partner has been on DLA Indefinite awards of high rate mobility and care for a number of years. We have just had the dreaded envelope after completing PIP forms and finally attending Atos assessment after some difficulties of not being able to attend other dates due to serious health changes in my partners conditions and hospital appointments.

We know the Atos appointment took longer as by the time I had explained all the medications and changes to them, plus consultants letters and further cardio, there was very little time for the person who said she was a nurse to go through the computer questions, in fact she told us she did not want to take any more time (we had been in the room nearly two hours) it was obvious my partner was in a state and in pain and breathlessness and she was aware he had changes on his heart condition diagnosed only the day before at cardio hospital appointment. I gave her proof and also increase in meds and further appointment/tests due and unsure at this stage if faced with further heart surgery. What I was desperately concerned with is with being my partners carer she did not seem to take much notice in what I was telling her, especially also he is diagnosed with uncontrollable diabetes and on three different types of injection pens seven times a day the appointment now ran over lunch time and past his medication and injection times, I had to give him dextrose to get him through, she just said do what you have to do , I pointed out we was not expected to be kept this long and I needed to get him home as he was rambling about things that happened years ago and getting confused, even to the point he thought we was back at the hospital appointment the day before and she was a cardio nurse! I told her this but I do not believe she wrote it down or the fact he was in tears and shaking and had breathlessness. I was pleading with her it was not right I needed to get him home.

I am struggling with the whole process as sadly I have no energy left for all this with being my partners full-time carer and my own disabilities I have asked for the help through our GP practice and we will see a CAB outreach worker. My partner conditions have worsened since the beginning of this year which DLA are aware of and have all the evidence which was copied to the new PIP claim but I cannot believe they have reduced his awards which will obviously take away the carer premium to.. We have a fight on our hands and know we must see it through like so many on here affected with all these changes. I will look through the new PIP guides that you kindly put together on your site as I think they will be really be useful challenging this decision and hopefully with the help of CAB advisor also.

Do you think we should ask for the ATOS medical report or leave it up to CAB to request it and do we go down the route of reconsideration first before tribunal?

Thankyou