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Functional history (FH)
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5 years 1 month ago #228304 by Gay
Functional history (FH) was created by Gay
Having received, read and already helped my son to respond to his medical assessment, I am still very confused as to the status of Functional History, even though I have read everything on this site and elsewhere.
I will try to explain:
On three occasions, in the FH section, the assessor herself provided the statement and claimed that my son had said this. (In fact they were her words, asked as closed questions at the interview, to which he answered "Yes", not realising that the Yes would supersede everything he wrote). Her statement replaced anything that he had included in the CQ and was the only FH for that activity.
e.g FH: He states he is compliant with medication as he knows the importance of taking it." (which he agreed and agrees with)
whereas he wrote a long statement explaining that his vision (20/78 with contact lens - + one artificial eye - needs font 18 or larger) means that he cannot read instructions, prescriptions etc without a powerful magnifier. It also means that, when cleaning his lens, he is virtually blind and has sometimes mixed up the solutions he needs and has caused his eye pain and had to leave the lens out all day as a result.
This should have achieved 1 point, which I realise is pretty useless, but it demonstrates her cavalier attitude to my son and the facts.
My question is: should FH be demonstrably the words of the claimant,since they are phrased as coming from him? I can't prove that he did not say these things but she can't prove that he did!
What she said in this (and every other) case was: "Would it be true to say that you are compliant with medication as you know the importance of taking it?"
I will try to explain:
On three occasions, in the FH section, the assessor herself provided the statement and claimed that my son had said this. (In fact they were her words, asked as closed questions at the interview, to which he answered "Yes", not realising that the Yes would supersede everything he wrote). Her statement replaced anything that he had included in the CQ and was the only FH for that activity.
e.g FH: He states he is compliant with medication as he knows the importance of taking it." (which he agreed and agrees with)
whereas he wrote a long statement explaining that his vision (20/78 with contact lens - + one artificial eye - needs font 18 or larger) means that he cannot read instructions, prescriptions etc without a powerful magnifier. It also means that, when cleaning his lens, he is virtually blind and has sometimes mixed up the solutions he needs and has caused his eye pain and had to leave the lens out all day as a result.
This should have achieved 1 point, which I realise is pretty useless, but it demonstrates her cavalier attitude to my son and the facts.
My question is: should FH be demonstrably the words of the claimant,since they are phrased as coming from him? I can't prove that he did not say these things but she can't prove that he did!
What she said in this (and every other) case was: "Would it be true to say that you are compliant with medication as you know the importance of taking it?"
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5 years 1 month ago #228328 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Functional history (FH)
Gay
Have you had the Decision yet?
I'll be honest and say that you are wasting your time worrying about what the report should say, deal with what it does say, so the example you include sounds as if it something you should highlight to the Decision Maker if the point for Managing Medication has not been awarded.
Point out that you identified in your son's claim form at least one example where he needs reasonable assistance to help him manage the medications associated with his contact lenses and that this help goes beyond what would be needed by a healthy person who uses contact lenses.
Gordon
Have you had the Decision yet?
I'll be honest and say that you are wasting your time worrying about what the report should say, deal with what it does say, so the example you include sounds as if it something you should highlight to the Decision Maker if the point for Managing Medication has not been awarded.
Point out that you identified in your son's claim form at least one example where he needs reasonable assistance to help him manage the medications associated with his contact lenses and that this help goes beyond what would be needed by a healthy person who uses contact lenses.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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5 years 1 month ago #228344 by Gay
Replied by Gay on topic Functional history (FH)
We have already put in for a MR and have queried the point I mentioned in my posting as well as various other issues from the report .
What I am getting at is to wonder if it was negligent of the assessor to ignore the CQ evidence and unethical for her to manipulate my son in this way. Or is it perfectly ok for the FH to be skewed by her like this and up to the claimant to challenge it, if they can be bothered, which Capita and the DWP hope won't happen.
In other words, could this be grounds for a complaint to Capita as well as an MR or is this just an example of the tactics they are allowed to use, to refuse as many claims as possible?
What I am getting at is to wonder if it was negligent of the assessor to ignore the CQ evidence and unethical for her to manipulate my son in this way. Or is it perfectly ok for the FH to be skewed by her like this and up to the claimant to challenge it, if they can be bothered, which Capita and the DWP hope won't happen.
In other words, could this be grounds for a complaint to Capita as well as an MR or is this just an example of the tactics they are allowed to use, to refuse as many claims as possible?
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5 years 1 month ago #228348 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Functional history (FH)
Gay
I can only offer practical advice. Did the assessor manipulate the questions, quite probably, is a complaint on this basis likely to be successful, no!
Will a complaint that they failed to take account of limitations documented in the claim form that materially affected the claimant scoring points, possibly.
Capita Complaints
www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/complaints.html
ATOS (IAS)
www.mypipassessment.co.uk/feedback/
Gordon
I can only offer practical advice. Did the assessor manipulate the questions, quite probably, is a complaint on this basis likely to be successful, no!
Will a complaint that they failed to take account of limitations documented in the claim form that materially affected the claimant scoring points, possibly.
Capita Complaints
www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/complaints.html
ATOS (IAS)
www.mypipassessment.co.uk/feedback/
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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5 years 1 month ago #228350 by Gay
Replied by Gay on topic Functional history (FH)
Many thanks for your feedback and for those links.
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