WIBU for DH to claim PIP?

[shouldwePIP]

NC for this.

DH has severe mental illness, when he is well he can work full time but struggles to sustain this long term. When he is poorly he barely functions at all and certainly can't work. Currently he is working part time which is sustainable health wise but tight financially. Prior to becominģ unwell the first time he was self employed and so was not entitled to ESA when he became unwell due to my earnings being above threshold. Despite me having a good wage the sudden drop in income meant than we ran up debt. We had almost paid that off when he became unwell again last year and not realising that this time he was entitled to ESA missed out on claiming that and again ended up in debt.

DHs CPN suggested he may be eligable for PIP and when we looked into it he seems to score in for the higher rate based on the criteria. If he got this it would allow him to continue working part time comfortably, but we are aware thats not really what its meant for. Its intended to be used to help him with his independance, but the things he needs help with are things like prompting him to eat, wash, take tablets and montioring his condition, all of which are easy enough for me to do for him and cost nothing. I suppose though if it allowed him to stay in work and not get too ill to work again that in its way would be helping him to stay independant.

I think my views are coloured as I work with serverly physically and mentally disabled people and DH is so much more able than any of them. We also worry what people would think if they knew he was claiming. I earn a desent wage, he works part time nmw, we both drive, have 2 (ancient) cars and rent a nice house in an okish area. If it wasn't for the debts from when DH was ill we would be comfortably off, and I think we both feel that there are others who are more deserving/in need than us.

Thanks so much for all the supportive replies, I was expecting at least a few negative ones. I understand that the fact we think he scores in might not match with what the assessors think, but we've been sitting on this for about 6 months and the support here has encoraged us to go for it, I supose the worst that can happen is we stay in our current situation.

He wouldn't be claiming the mobility component so hopefully the fact he drives wont affect things.

Most of the time he has mental capacity and the times he doesn't he wouldn't be working either. Its more things like forgetting to eat even if I've left a meal prepared and I'm not there to prompt. Regularly getting sores where he's not attended to personal hygeine. Not taking meds unless I prompt. I think the issue will be working out what %of the time he needs the support as it does vary. For instance last week he prepared 3 evening meals without prompting, but thats the first time in at least 6 months and yet I've just discovered nasty sores in an intimate area where he's not been washing properly and he hasnt eaten unprompted since at least Thursday, even if its been prepared and left for him to eat. And yet he goes to work, its just that takes all his energy and other things suffer.

I think the driving comment was made regarding being mentally able to drive rather than physically. All you can do is try, but you have to be careful when you go to assessment that you don't mention he prepped a meal - that will tick a box and anything you say after about him not being able to will be discounted. These PIP assessments are really harsh, I have had people who dared to make a joke lose their claim because it ticked a box. Welfare rights are normally very good for form filling

If you are entitled then you claim it. That's what it's for.

The driving thing they say is about 'cognitive function' something like that anyway. It's about how he is the majority of the time so if he only drives sometimes mention it if they ask otherwise they may assume it is all the time. It's just a word of caution really. HTH

The last who came to see me was good to be honest, you hear horror stories but most of the time they are just doing their job.

And yes, no joking! They do a MSE (mental state exam) which is about your state of mind and affect (mental state) memory tests that kind of thing.

Sadly the horror story side is more common than people think. PIP is incredibly hard to claim at the moment.

You can write a diary of those things, there are some examples online. (prompting to eat etc)

If you have recent evidence of MH team involvement that should make things easier. It is harder for people who don;t as then they just have the interview to go on. they were careful with me and did a home visit- unasked for, probably due to being in care of MH team and having home visits etc. So, it does make a difference.

Leggit do you think it has got harder? I first claimed in 2014 and had nice lady visit, enhanced rate care awarded, then reassessed on paper last year (2016) turned down on paper, had to appeal, also on paper and reinstated, Totally different award. (enhanced back after appeal). It seemed very different from 2014.

It's very hard, it's nice to hear the good stories of course but there are as many bad for every good. I had someone just last week refused mobility completely because they did not appear to be in pain. The centres around here are all set so that by the time you get into the assessment room you have walked further than the distance required to qualify for the enhanced rate PIP

lovely I'm not sure what you mean by 'on paper' all PIP applications start with sending in a form then you are given a date for an assessment

Yes, I mentioned I first had a home visit in 2014, then paper based reassessment last year, and had to appeal as they took it away. I did a paper based appeal and they gave it back.

The important thing would be to respond for a typical day, rather than a rare good day. They don't need to even know that if the wind is blowing in the right direction he'll realise he's hungry and fix himself a slice of toast if on a typical day he has to have food made for him and be reminded to eat it. Yes he might have 3 better days, one week, but then none for 2 months, so his better days have no bearing on his day to day functioning, no matter what an assessor would try to claim.

You can also look at the PIP descriptors online and the points etc. Benefits and Work is a useful site for the forms etc.

leggit

Paper based assesment no face to face appointment needed

Sorry o didn't realise a paper based meant you had no face to face meeting. That's not something I have come across at all in recent years

He sees his CPN every week and psychiatrist once or twice a year to review meds although she will increase meds without seeing him if CPN feels its needed. He's on a high dose at the moment so is sleeping 12-16 hours a day. He's seen his GP recently for treatment for fungal skin infection due to poor personal care and to be honest looks like hes got it again, so I suppose thats evidence. I'm going to ask him to discuss with his CPN too to see if they will support his claim. Though it was a CPN who first suggested applying.

He should claim, the financial help will ease the burden of him not being able to work full presently, the stress of not earning enough will be harmful to his recovery also

It's fairly in usual Leggit they claim they offer them to all claimants who struggle to leave the house due to overwhelming mental distress.

But that's a big fat lie they offer them when they are forced to usually after several attempts to try and fob off the request.

On average out of every 25 people I see who need it 1 will get it

I claim PIP and work full time. I have no shame in doing so, I pay a lot of tax and have a disability which means that I meet the criteria. Claiming PIP allows me to use the money for things that help to keep me in work, like having a cleaner because my disability makes working so exhausting that I can barely function at times outside of work.

Like a PP I was very lucky and had an entirely paper based assessment with no interview, but this is unusual.

Please do apply but bear in mind you will probably need to appeal. Please don't be out off by this - it is a reflection of the fact the system is broken not necessarily your DH's eligibility.

Claim it. He has an illness, it's unpredictable, and it is not means tested. If it helps you clear debt, takes away stress of tight finances and allows him to work part time and maintain that rather than switching between full time and off work too ill, he absolutely deserves it. It is to help people stay in work as much as it is to help people too ill to work.

I am a Welfare Rights Officer and do PIP claims and appeals for a living. Your DH is certainly eligible to apply.
If you can get a letter from his CPN and even a letter from you as his "carer" , stating what his day to day life is like, that will help his claim.Many people with MH issues don't have as much insight into their condition as they should. Submit as much medical evidence as you can. If you do that, cases can be done paper based. I know this as I have a friend who is a Disability Analyst for ATOS, and thats what they do. Yes it can be harder getting PIP nowadays but it isnt impossible.
Here is a link to how to complete a PIP form which is pretty good.
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Thank you suzanne that is very useful

Definitely claim now. Then as quickly as you can gather supporting evidence. The better evidenced your claim is, the more likely what you say will be accepted. If you can keep a diary showing help/prompting needed over a few weeks, that would be useful.