PIP rules and claims

[Billie87]

Hi all
looking for advice. I was hospitalised in October for rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle breakdown and death which can lead to kidney failure). Since then my life has gone rapidly downhill. I injured my arm and I am still having difficulty with daily living. I need assistance to put on certain items of clothing, can’t put my bins out or lift anything heavy. Driving is down to minimal and paying for children to get taxis/school buses to school, haven’t been in a supermarket since October and relying on home deliveries as cannot carry bags, risk assessments and adjustments at work, started sertraline as feel basically housebound at this point. I went from running 20km a week and daily exercise to zero. At this point I’m looking to just quit my job because after a week of work I’m then incapable of doing anything at the weekend. I don’t know anything about PIP or if I would even be considered but I’m looking to actually pay for some home help as I’m really struggling! Any experience would be amazing

You should be able to find the categories and form example online but basically it breaks it down into specific daily living tasks and specific mobility related tasks. you then can be assigned one or two points per section (been 4 years since I did it, so do read carefully). For example for food preparation you may get one point because you are capable of food preparation for physically chopping is very challenging, whereas another person who needs to be cooked for would get 2 but I would get zero because despite me having health challenges at the moment I can still cook as long as I have a stall to perch on (aids are taken into account alas). If you can shower yourself and take yourself to the toilet you won’t get points there but if you can’t fasten buttons that may count (warning it’s quite subjective so you need to spell it out incredibly carefully and clearly eg I cannot do buttons, I cannot use a hook and eye, i cannot fasten my own zip or whatever.

whether you qualify may be marginal because you need 8 points for general and if you can mostly function albeit with adaptations you may not qualify. Mobility will depend on how far you can walk mostly as it’s obvious you can plan a journey (you get points if you need help to plan even if you can walk eg learning difficulties.

i personally would look for a draft form online and look at the grid, see where you think you will qualify for points (and it’s how you are at least 50% of the time that counts if you have good days and bad days) before you actually start the application, saves wasting your time if it’s obvious you don’t meet the criteria. I know I sound like I’m putting you off, I’m not but it’s a long process and my dd has had in turned down despite hospitalisation and previously qualifying etc it’s got stricter

Make your application by phone to start the process.
https://www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim.

They will need to know when your condition started to affect you. Not when you were hospitalised or diagnosed but affected .

This is because PIP is based on the affects of conditions on a person and not the name of the condition per se.

When you complete the firm be honest about how you manage day to day. Think about any and all activities that are needed for an adult woman running her own home and family. If you struggle to do something or cant do it at all write diwn exactly how this is. The person reading your application will not have access to your medical history and will not infer difficulty if you have not explicitly stated this.
Note down if you need someones help to complete an action or if you use a stick or frame to stand for example. Think of how you were before you became ill and note all of the changes you are coping with.

This is an emotional experience as you are faced with the reality of yiur condition so take your time with it. Maybe ask a trusted friend or family member to do the writing. There are lots of questions which need careful consideration.

Best of luck to you.

Look up the pip descriptors and give yourself an honest tally of what you think you score on each.

If you score more than 8 in section one (the first 10 descriptors for daily living) or more than 8 in the second section for mobility, then it's worth making a claim.

If you don't think you would score anything it may not be worth the massive faff.

You meet the criteria for having been sick for at least 3 months, but is your current state expected to last for at least 9 more?

It's also worth noting that PIP is not an out of work benefit - if you are looking to stop working then you'd be looking at claiming the health element of universal credit too. You may qualify for this without qualifying for PIP.

I have a few different conditions and have been on PIP for years.

I have had to change jobs several times before I found the job I do now, which I can manage almost full time (5 days a week but longer lunch break).

I am currently having my best year in almost a decade and haven't been off sick for over a year now, but I am unable to do anything at the weekend except rest and recover from the previous week.

I have had to change to an automatic car as I can't drive a manual one anymore.

My husband does all the cleaning, cooking, laundry etc as I simply cannot do a job and housework.

I have to go to bed as soon as I get home from work, as I'm in a great deal of pain by then, so he does everything in the house.

I learned I have to spread my annual leave evenly throughout the year because if I don't, I end up off sick due to pain & exhaustion.

My advice would be to keep working because it actually keeps you from declining further due to inactivity. You really do need to 'use it or lose it' when it comes to physical activity when you have medical conditions which make exercise extremely difficult or impossible.

You may need to move jobs though to be able to keep working. Maybe a less physically demanding job, or a longer break at lunch to recover a bit? Maybe a job close to home so no long commute?

Becoming 'housebound' will usually result in you losing more and more of your current physical abilities, which will reduce both your mental and physical health long term.
It also reduces your pension etc, which is a concern. (Particularly if you haven't yet reached the 35 full years of paying into so that you actually qualify for the full old age pension at retirement age)

As for PIP, it's a long application form to fill in (but payments will be backdated to the application date if you're successful) which I'd advise you to fill in with help from Citizens Advice (or any disability services that offer to help with this) as you need to know the words/buzzwords to include and what the questions actually mean (You may say 'yes' to a question e.g Can you walk 200 meters, but unless you can do that regularly, repeatedly and with no pain and discomfort, the answer should be 'no')

There's lots of online sites that could help with filling in the form too, so have a look. Don't forget to keep a photocopy of your completed form and of any evidence you included e.g Dr letter, hospital letters etc.

Oh, and see if you can get a referral from your GP for an Occupational Therapy assessment too.(Some councils have a self referral available, look on your council's website) They come to your home and assess you and can arrange equipment for your home to help you (e.g I got a walking stick, wheelchair, grab handles, step for getting into the shower and handrails for my external steps)