PIP Face-to-Face Assessments & Suicidal Behaviour

Dear Barney Rubble,
My MP (despite having voted for the Welfare Reform Act) contacted the DWP initially & DWP instructed ATOS/ IAS. I had to give permission for access to GP records.
There is a bit in the Guides about contacting your MP. I would let the MP know you are also being pressured about the appointee review.
The MP's office said They 'cannot interfere in the legal process' but the additional scrutiny should make sure they follow protocol for a Vulnerable person requiring additional support to comply. I would quote the DWP's own statistics for deaths related to benefits.
I would follow Gordon's previous posts asking 'what further evidence they need for a paper based assessment'. Some people have had success when the psychiatrist has actually phoned ( 40 mins on hold!). Seems you have to be persistent but polite.

With the additional stress of the appointee reassessment I really feel you need some external help to reschedule this or fill the form in over the phone. There is no need for your son to be present especially if he doesn't have MENTAL CAPACITY at this time. He'll only need to sign the form. Can DIAL not help? Or the MIND legal line?

I feel outraged that you are having to endure this. I'm so sorry.

Dear Terrified,
I have now been in contact with my MP's Senior Case Officer. He is also outraged at my treatment by the DWP over the so called Appointee Review.. He and my MP have good experience of helping other PIP claimants who have suffered at the hands of the DWP.
His reaction is the same as yours. Outrageous.
I am emailing a briefing to my MP as to what's gone on so far. I have a meeting with him and my MP next Friday.
DWP have admitted they are using a meeting with myself and my son ostensibly to review Appointee arrangements but also to determine whether or not my son is capable of attending a face to face assessment. Initial reaction from my MP's Case Officer it is a trap and they will determine he is capable of attending a face to face assessment and I should tell them by all means I will attend an Appointee meeting but not for any other purpose and my son will not be present for the same reasons he should not attend a face to face assessment.
I've tried to keep this post as brief as possible to give the gist of what has gone on. There is much more.

Barney

My PIP assessment report was clearly written without even glancing at my forms or evidence, as he got so many enormous things wrong. The original and MR decisions were clearly done the same way. It happens.

I won at tribunal 11 months later, though.

Hello Barney,
Good news on the MP front- well done! Big guns on your side! Hope that doesn't come over as patronising. If you can put the outrage & worry to one side (I do hope your son is somehow managing), I'd keep plugging Gordon's advice about" what further evidence do you require for a paper based review ?"
The MH records (psychiatrist/psychologist) should have a GRIST analysis of suicide risk if you ask to see the records but this is really upsetting stuff for you to read. It would be better if it was in the last 12 months. Has there been any crisis team involvement recently?
Obviously the assessor has no mental health training/ suicide awareness training & you need a better qualified one to carry out the assessment competently & SAFELY. (Scary that they think they do. He/she has obviously no idea.) There is a report in B&W news section from a psychologist about triggering/ lasting harm caused by non MH qualified persons asking callous & insensitive questions about suicide. Also in Disability News.

Have you also looked at the MENTAL CAPACITY act ?. You son will be so distressed he won't be able to engage even with your help & will clearly not have MENTAL CAPACITY to understand or answer any questions or even attend. How can the assessment then be lawful?
How the hell are you going to have any kind of Christmas with all this? Some poor soul is too scared to put up a Christmas tree before a home assessment!

Anyway we are all behind you. Look after yourselves & let us know how you get on.
Best wishes from Terrified

I'm pleased to say this matter has now been concluded. IAS determined in the end they had sufficient information to carry out a paper based assessment. My son has been awarded PIP for 10 years with a light touch review at the end of this period.
However, even after the award, the DWP continued to insist on carrying out an Appointee Review with both myself and my son present which is not how their own guidance says Appointee reviews should be carried out.
The DWP Guidance ‘Agents, Appointees, Attorneys, Deputies and Third Parties: Staff Guide Appendix 19 Appointee Review Process’ stipulates that to review an Appointed person a Form BF57A will be sent to the Appointee. There appears to be no requirement in the guidance I can find for a visit to be made...
On advice from our excellent local Benefits and Welfare Rights Service to resolve the situation, I submitted a Lasting Power of Attorney which I already had to act and make decisions on my son's behalf. Once this was received by the DWP, they notified me to say I had now been set up has his Attorney which trumps Appointee arrangements and so they cancelled the need for an Appointee review.. Attorneys are not subject to review.
In the end I did not need my MP's support but what a struggle it has been.
Once again, the Benefits and Work Guidance and information on its website has proved to be absolutely invaluable. Thank you so much.
Barney