To be delighted PIP assessments are to be face to face?

do you normally get reimbursed for attending medical appointments? If no then I doubt this be any different. I don’t see why anyone would be reimbursed by the government for taking time off work to look after my non-disabled children or for my own appointments. You might find there is a charity who could help you with transport, although I don’t think you will have any luck regarding your loss of income.

My friend has just had to claim PIP and was successful as she has been waiting for years for a hip replacement. It is taking so long, her hip socket/ball is ruined. She really struggles to walk. She is in her 60s and still works- when she is well enough. This is one reason why claims may be rocketing…

Must be different in different areas. Our GP definitely had paperwork to fill in because he phoned me up and told me exactly what he wrote.

People lie

Let’s hope they hold them in accessible venues…

You can ask for them to be recorded. I went from nothing to high rate for both on mandatory reconsideration all the information was the same the only difference was mandatory reconsideration was recorded

@propertyD
Ffs!
Thats not only not the point of this (boring benefits bashing) thread,
There are multiple reasons - aging population who are not reaching pension age because pension age keeps rising.
Long covid.
Mental health services being almost non-existent on the NHS.
NHS having enormous and lengthy waiting lists for treatment- causing rises in preventable permanent disability.
Covid experience impacting teenagers I suppose.
Medical science being better so people don’t die from conditions as early as they would have.
Lots and lots of reasons. More than I know I expect.

Because we have a failing nhs, pension age has increased and we've just been through a pandemic its hardly surprising that more people are disabled

Provided they still do home visits for some people, I think it’s a good idea.

They really do. They ask you a question, and then record something different to what you actually said. My friend accompanied me to one of mine and then read the response paperwork which denied my claim, and she was horrified at the difference between what I’d said and what the assessor had written down.

Recording these sessions would catch a lot of these assessors out. I’m going to secretly record my next one.

So you're son submitted no medical evidence, refused to give his drs details and they just took his word for it. Sure

I don't really understand your point.... If you are claiming based in not being able to walk and you walk even short distances then yes you should be assessed as able to walk and be given points based on this. By your logic how does a wheelchair bound person answer a door?

Then why are the claims going through the roof?

@BrownTroutBluesAgain
Sorry if I’m being short with you (it’s not personal) - this OP appears to have made up a news story that was NOT announced today.
Face to face (f2f abbreviated) assessments have always been standard unless it’s evident from a first f2f assessment that the condition is lifelong (and medical records submitted align with this).
So this is a “click bait” type thread.
People like me who have disabled family members are a) addressing this upthread already and b) utterly fed up trying to explain how disability affects people and how benefits actually are awarded etc etc etc

Absolute rubbish! My ds claims pip for a medical condition and they have never accessed his medical records or contacted his doctor! He has never provided any evidence other than the form to apply! Benefit fraud is not minuscule, its a massive problem with only tiny amounts of it being detected. I literally know lots of people who commit benefit fraud and have done for years!

Its not even true the op made it up just to benefit bash a bit more

Face to face assessments are not better. I had three face to face, each time the assessor ignored medical evidence, wrote down fictional answers that I didn’t give, misrepresented my condition and abilities, resulting in me not scoring high enough to qualify for PIP. It took three applications and three court tribunals, a huge waste of public money, to get me £400 a month and a blue parking badge. I have chronic, clearly diagnosed and easily proved life long conditions, with pages and pages of medical evidence, including occupational health reports and recommendations from my NHS job, but each time the assessor ignored everything. PIP assessors can currently choose to ignore medical evidence, face to face doesn’t guarantee more accurate results.

There are many things that need to change to make PIP fairer, but this isn’t one of them.

They do whether its intentional or lack of medical knowledge in the specific area they are accessing im not sure but one of my accessors went against what my neurosurgeon who has known me for 20+ years said and then stated something that was scientifically and medically impossible. I had to make so many calls to get it corrected, thankfully it was but I never got an apology and I've heard so many stories of the most ridiculous things so I know mine wasn't a one of mistake

??

Well I certainly hope they'll be offering home visits in that case. My assessment was over the phone as I'm not able to attend an assessment centre. Attending would wipe me out for several days afterwards and it wouldn't 'prove' anything as my disabilities are invisible, you can't see them in person any more than you can over the phone.

I'm so sick of the benefits bashing on here. I wish people could experience my health conditions for a few months, they'd soon change their tune.

@BrownTroutBluesAgain
Do you think this (made up news story) is new?
Did you not know most at least initial PIP assessments are f2f?
Just so you are prepared and don’t choke on your tea - under 16s don’t get assessed f2f.
They have extensive records from birth usually and often don’t have speech or mental capacity to lie.

Guessing there’s a passport / Hmrc link up

When I helped a friend in her PIP assessment, the assessor turned up without the claim form (it was against regulations apparently), refused my offer of a couple of printed spares ("one for you and one for your boss" I said) as also being "get me sacked" and totally missed the fact my friend was partially sighted.

"Does she have a certificate ?" the assessor asked.

"It was with the claim form" I said.

My son would enjoy a face to face assessment for DLA too. I'm not sure I'd say the same about the assessor 😂

This is a good move
All those who require benefits need to be proved it

They’ll have to employ more people though