Hi I'm 64 and have been on dla for around 5/6 years with an indefinate award , I have osteoarthritis , fibromyalgia , gerd, depression and nerve damage. I am so anxious about all this and really don't want to have to do a f2f assessment I had one before I got dla ,I got the letter yesterday and have until the 8th of July to ring them .
Can a home help with what I have to say to them please and do you think I stand the chance of being awarded pip ?
Hi there,
the same thing happened to me last year at 68 years of age. I had been on DLA indefinite for many years and missed out on the cut off point by less than a month.
DLA is different to PIP in that it is not awarded due to the condition, but how the condition affects the person. Like you I was extremely anxious, but did a lot of reading about PIP and how to fill out the forms for maximum chance of being awarded and read posts from others in the same situation.
I find it very difficult to write for very long due to the pain from arthritis, so a friend typed the answers to the questions on seperate sheets of paper and I wrote on the forms please see sheets attached. I went into a lot of detail, often repeating myself, leaving nothing out and answered every question.
I was dreading the f2f and was extremely stressed leading up to it. It was a lady doctor who did my assessment, she checked my identity and then said that although she was a doctor she was not there to assess or discuss my health issues, she was only interested in how they affected my day to day living.
To be honest, she didn't ask many questions at all really. We talked about when and who diagnosed my different ailments and she knew one of the doctors We talked about cooking, bathing toileting but not a lot else. I had to walk a small distance from reception to her room, but couldn't do that without hanging on to my husband so she probably detected how good or bad I was. I had to stand a couple of times as my back was starting to lock and she even found me a pillow to sit on.
She asked me to move my head up, down and sideways, which was difficult and checked the strength in my hands, then it was all over. She said that any questions she had not asked, she could take from my notes attached to the form.
She did say, that after reading the notes, she was very surprised that I had been selected to have a face to face and that she would be advising the DWP that my problems would only get worse and not better. I eventually had the award letter and received the higher rate of care and mobility.
When I received the letter saying where the assessmnt would take place, I was shocked as it was almost 40 miles away, so I checked online for the nearest centre to me and my husband rang them and changed it, but you can only do this once so make sure of the facts before you ring them.
We all understand how anxious you are and I was one of the lucky one's who had a good assessor. Ring them to get the ball started, good luck and come on here to talk and ask questions, we are always happy to help if we can. x
Hi,
As sukes said it's not about a diagnosis it's about how those conditions affect you daily. No 2 people are the same and it's impossible to say whether you'll be awarded it or not. I would advice that you ring to start your claim off as soon as possible because if you delay the process you DLA money will stop. You will also need to send those PIP2 forms back within the time stated otherwise payments for DLA will stop. If the forms are recieved by the date stated your DLA will continue until a decision has been made on the PIP.
The most important part of the PIP process is evidence to prove that those descriptors apply to you. If you haven't already done it then please take a look at those descriptors by googling PIP descriptors. You'll see a full list of what you could score points on, this will also help you understand it more. Evidence can be anything from DR's letters, Consultant letters, MRI reports, OT reports, anything really except future hospital appointments. You'll need to send the evidence with the PIP2 form but only send copies not originals. The form is very complex so my advice would be to get help from someone who knows what they're doing, CAB are very good.
Most people have an assessment, only very few people get a paper based decision. There's lots of advice on the internet about PIP assessments so maybe you can read up a little so you know at least what to expect. Good luck.
Hi fuzzy, I too had to have a F2F but because of my disabilities I was allocated a home visit, the lady who came out was lovely and I felt as though she had a good understanding of my numerous conditions, try not to worry, easy for me to say I know as mines done and dusted, but the horror stories you see are just a very small minority and do not account for any where near the % that go on to receive the PIP award.
If your illness makes it difficult for you to live life easily and you need help on a daily basis I would imagine you will continue to receive your benefits.
Its not a for gone conclusion obviously because no one can give you that other than the DWP but if you do need help filling out the forms CAB is very good, I was just honest on mine nothing else you can do.
Good luck though
There are also disability rights organisations you can ask for help in completing the forms.
Good luck.
http://www.pip-assessment.support/#main-menu This is a good place to start. I'm going thro the dla to pip as well. Ring just before the 8th that will give you time to get used to the idea. Also ring and make an appointment for 4 or 5 weeks time with cab to help with the form. Once you ring it takes a week to send you the form, that takes approx a week to get to you. But then your appointment with cab will be here and you will have help.
I wouldn't leave it till last minute to ring. I know Fuzzy has till 8th July but post from or going to DWP takes ages. In fact it can take anything up to 10 working days to recieve anything and the same when sending things to them. Their internal mailing system is insanely slow. From the time you ring to start a claim off you only have 1 month to return the form back to them. Yes you can ring for extra time which helps but why delay the process because it only means added stress.
Hi, exactly that's why I said what I said. The claim starts from when you ring, so the longer to get prepared the better.
I didn't say wait to the last min to post it back! Everyone needs to send them back signed for. Or the safest way is to take to the nearest job center and send it internal mail which does mean you can leave it later. But need to check with your nearest job center first.