Complicated PIP Question

juno

My husband has been given his pip assessment date for 11th April he asked for home appt but they have sent him an appt at their centre ... he is more or less housebound most days sometimes bedridden with chronic pain ...  he is having Epidural on 13 April ....  I know he could press for a home visit but the problem is if he refuses this appt his next one may come when he is in less pain and more mobility in his Epidural " window" of 5/6 weeks , he has these twice a year but don't last long ... now have been told by someone if he goes in his wheelchair regardless of how bad and difficult it will be for him it will be used against him as not being "housebound" like he states on his form .... if he asks for new date chances are it will be when he is a bit more oainfree so won't be fair assessment .... don't know what to do ... he is really poorly all year except for two 5/6week windows ... any advice would be appreciated ... sorry it's long winded x

 

Nystagmite

Did he get a letter from his GP explaining he needs a home visit?

juno

Getting a letter wouldn't be a problem it's getting the right date i. e whilst he is in his "Normal" pain and immobility but can't see how that can happen as we have no control over dates

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi juno

I think the thing here is to make sure you have explained all of this very clearly and that there is supporting evidence to back it up. The letter informing of the epidural will be very important as one would think this should be enough to confirm your position.

PIP has a 50% rule which basically means you must satisfy the disability rules more than half of the time. So this could be 4 days out of 7 or six months out of the year. In your husband's case it would appear to be a lot more than 50% of the time and this needs to be clearly explained. In theory it shouldn't really matter when the assessment takes place in relation to the epidural. If they see him when he is more mobile than usual they should take account of the epidural and consider it's relatively short term effects. If he is housebound on 11 April then you should request the assessment either takes place at home or is rescheduled. Again, you will need supporting evidence of this.

Given that you can't determine when any future assessments take place i suggest your husband makes all of this clear to both the assessment provider and the DWP as soon as possible. If they fail to take account of your letter it will then be a complaint and possibly a request for a reconsideration of the decision. But hopefully it won't come to that.

I hope this helps. Do let us know if you need any further advice when your husband gets the decision.

David

juno

David Thank you so much for your advice as it has been really worrying us ... it's just that you read such terrible stories about the Assessors , I know they are not all like that but he always looks well when he has had his epidural even though he still can only walk a few metres with his crutches anything more he still has to use wheelchair ... also I usually try to book a little holiday somewhere as it is the only time he gets out of the house due to level 9/10 chronic pain 24/7 except hospital appts then he has to be doped up with liquid morphine on top of his usual morphine tabs to get there don't know if we should book a few days away or not ....  the timing of it couldn't have been worse . Husband talking about cancelling his Epidural appt