Pip assessment re Long covid next week . So anxious.

[Greedybilly]

Has anyone had a pip assmt re LC? Any tips/pointers please?
Please don't comment generally re benefits/Long Covid.
I'm unable to work right now and it's gone on for months. Anyone with any lived experience please? I'm really not looking fwd to it 🙄

The by words are reliable, repeatably and in a reasonable time whilst remaining safe.

You might be able to do something, yes. But can you repeat it a few times without fatigue and pain? Does it take you half an hour where it would take a "normal" (for the want of a better word) person less than 5 minutes? Can you repeat it properly in one go or do you have to return to it or half arse it because you get dizzy or pain or fall etc? Is it dangerous for you to do safely and you fall down without being able to hold on to something etc?

Like another poster said, avoid yes and no, explain of something is a struggle and what you do to. Do it or how you can't do it etc.

Hopefully you took a copy of your form before you sent it in or renewed it? Go through it step by step and consider the above. Make notes and go through them a few times for reminders for yourself to try help prepare.

Forgive me highlighting this post, but it is an excellent example of misunderstanding this benefit.

It is not awarded based on the condition, it is based on the impact of said condition.

It wasn't uncommon for people to say, well, my BIL gets it for back pain but I didn't get an award for the same.

That doesn't mean you weren't believed. It reflects the other person's circumstances and it is unlikely you know exactly what your BIL said. I'd advise against comparing.

Someone mentioned that some GPs decline to do a report for them, citing that the DWP will be in touch if needed.

I am not giving advice here, but I personally would not bother to ask. Your GP knows you as their patient. An average report might read "Ms X has A,B,C condition which are treated with DEF medication and age had physio last year".

It's up to you to decide whether that's worth £50 or so to get it done.

Though I have just thought of something actually. If you have a carer or support worker and you would like them to be contacted them, please put their details in.

I find support workers WAY more valuable than GPs or consultants.

How it goes well OP.

Such hoops to jump for a few ££.
I have fill out my ESA form and it’s not disimilar to the Pip one. I bet the CEOS of companies, don’t have to fill out tedious forms to claim their bonuses!

Eh?

She got it based on how her conditions affect her according to the PIP criteria.

Dont patronise me about what it means. We got it first time and in fact the assessor jumped it up. That form was a masterpiece. So I DO know how it works.

Thanks all. Not sure if I'm more or less confused now. Still wondering how the hell I missed the fact that I need to gather evidence?
Not feeling hopeful at all.
Don't have a copy of the form - disapeared into cyber space. Emailed Dwp to ask for a copy but not expecting a response. Phoned Maximus who said they 'don't give copies of the original form'
Ffs it's soo much easier to just have a job.

Did you not send any of your evidence with the form?

Ok, what's done is done, and it may not be needed. The assessor may well decide that your account of your difficulties is sufficient to make a decision.

But, if anyone is reading this:

• Make a copy of your form. Adobe Scan is a free app for your phone and it will photograph your documents and make them into a PDF. I use it all the time.
• Citizens Advice Bureau has detailed guidance on each PIP activity, what the question is assessing, and what each descriptor means.
• Keep a file with all your medical letters in it. It makes it easier.
• You can often get a summary record from your NHS App which can be helpful.
• Be honest, don't exaggerate, but also don't assume that the assessor will just 'get it'. If something takes far longer than normal, you need to explain how long it takes, why it takes that long, and what impact it has on you.
• Do bear in mind assessors consider the claim as a whole, so if you say something in one question that contradicts another answer, it will raise doubt.

I'm so sorry you are having to read such distressing material as part of your job. I think that the way the press reports on PIP, and social media accounts of people being turned down, makes people very scared. They think they have to be very convincing, which leads them to giving great detail so that you know they aren't 'one of the mild ones'.

It's interesting that you have said that people don't have to justify their MH issues, but I'm sure that 99% of people feel that they do.

It is very useful to ask OT, consultant etc to write you a report.

Did you not send any of your evidence with the form?

This. If you did, there is nothing else to do, but have your assessment. If you did not, I think that I would ring PIP, and ask if I could bring it to the assessment. If it is a telephone assessment, then that will not apply, of course.

Provision of letters is not a core GP contract activity so yes the practice is entitled to charge for such letters. Can you imagine how many requests for letters to support PIP application, support my desire for different housing, to expedite my secondary care referral, say that I’m fit to go scuba diving or sky diving a GP practice receives?

Everyone is extremely unhappy with the availability of GPs to offer actual appointments but if everyone also wants letters for everything where can they magic up time? Think about the using the professional services of an accountant, a solicitor or even an emergency plumber. Is the GP practice the only one that charges a fee?

True. They accepted my diagnosis letters though. OP just be prepared for a very very long phone call. I think mine was 1 hour 25. Answer each question truthfully and briefly. I found that if I elaborated too much they said that's another question later...they don't want you to go on unnecessarily as it takes so long.

100% this.

A friend of mine applied. They felt they had to detail the history for context and to be believable and was distraught by the lack of empathy or acknowledgement in the response. They'd disclosed stuff for the first time too, which made things even harder. It's just made them feel they are truly screwed by an uncaring system tbh.

I am in no way criticising GPs who decline this additional load. I recommend that you read my post, as you will see that I did not say that.

Clinical work comes first and foremost, as it should.

I am criticising unscrupulous GPs who LITERALLY just sign the bottom and put the practice stamp on it. No detail. No diagnoses. Nothing.

The poor claimant paid a lot of money for that. For a signature and a stamp.

That is dishonest and shameful.

Your friend must have felt awful and I'm sorry to hear that. FWIW, probably about 80% of claims are MH related

But it's not fair on the assessor. And it was not appropriate to disclose highly sensitive detail. The assessor is not a therapist or a counsellor and at NO point do they represent themselves as such. S/he doesn't get clinical supervision or the time to "decompress " between assessments. Vicarious trauma is real.

That said, I wish they'd put a flipping FAQ out with the application so people KNOW this, know not to include inappropriate photos or details and understand that we are not there just to see if they are lying.

Also, you may well be straying into another descriptor and what the assessor does not want to do is ask you to repeat yourself in 20 minutes or forget what they said.

Yes I agree. There definitely seems to be an issue, particularly around MH conditions like ptsd and actually any conditions where suicidal feelings are prominent. It's really inappropriate for assessors not to be prepped or supported with this, or really dealing with anyone with life limting illness. It makes me feel angry for both applicant and assessor.

They are prepared, I promise. VERY robust safeguarding in place for both claimants and dependents.

It is potential claimants who needed support as not seeing it as a therapy session.

I wouldn't ask you to justify why you got cancer or MS. MH is no different.

Thank you.

Do some claimants seriously lie?

Honestly? I've done this for over ten years. I am absolutely certain I've picked it up half a dozen times.

However

It is extremely common for people to exaggerate. And that is very easy to pick up as it just won't add up in a number of ways. The trouble is that if we comment that X is inconsistent, the person making the decision (Note, not the assessor) might think Y and Z look dodgy as well.

It builds down to my first post: tell the truth.

But people with cancer are rarely disbelieved that they have cancer. There isn't a swathe of public stigma attached that people with cancer are just weak of character, oversenstive, and that it is overdiagnosed.

If a claimant has inappropriately disclosed detail, why doesn't an assessor start by saying something like, you disclosed a lot of detail about what's happened to you, and that must have been really difficult. We don't need to go through the detail but the purpose of this call is to ask some questions around how it's affecting you, and is part of your assessment.

My friend said they just rang her out of the blue and said they had some questions about their application. She had no idea it was actually the assessment! She felt tricked by certain questions such as 'can you open the door to a stranger' which was completely irrelevant to how her symptoms manifested and was used as a justification used to turn down her claim. They also said there was no evidence of xyz when there was a report from occupational health stating xyz. She'd also stated she wanted her therapist present at any assessment which was also completely ignored. It felt to her they hadn't read any of her claim and based it all on that phonecall.

Apols OP for hijacking your thread. My advice would be to get CAB to help with you application.

I don’t have advice for you OP, but wanted to say I hope the process goes as well as it can. It’s an absolutely horrific illness.