Concerned about my assessment report?

Nattie3

Hi guys,
I've received a copy back from my PBR for my change of circumstance for PIP. I provided a lot of written evidence which allowed me to avoid the face to face assessment. My support worker wrote a detailed letter to the assessors which I received a copy of and was very pleased it included everything I had hoped for and explains my condition really well and thoroughly.

However, in my PBR it states an assessor had a phone call conversation with my support worker and my support worker has given different information to which she has written on the supporting evidence? I'm slightly confused by this as it's going to affect what award I will be given. In her supporting letter she discussed how we work hard with exposure therapy for my Agoraphobia by leaving the house daily, fulfilling and achieving activities. I then carry this on with help from my family also on a daily basis at different times of the day as you experiences different scenarios (traffic, day/night time etc) - It's given me a little bit more freedom but evidently I can't do this unsupported. She added all the information in the letter explaining that I leave the house daily and achieve these goals. There's a lot more to it but it's not something I want to divulge in on the forums.

However, according the PBR the conversation she had was stating that I'm completely housebound and the assessor wrote that although I can go out with support, it's not on the majority of the days? 
This obviously isn't the case, and I can offer proof too as I have an orientation aid to get me around outside the home with support which provides a tracker.

It's going to be obvious I'll need to do a mandatory reconsideration and provide further evidence which I'd have no problem supplying. Would anybody else be concerned about this though? I'm not sure that my support worker would say something completely different to what she had provided as written evidence but there's quite a few discrepancies from this 'phone call' which has raised my eyebrows. Some things that aren't true. (Makes me out to be more severe than I am).

I'm an open and honest person and I want to be awarded correctly to match my condition.

mercedesbd

Personally I’d ask your support worker if and why he/she’s said different to what she’s written. Probably 90% not the case.  Probably just written this from there own conclusion and not recorded the call so there’ll be no proof.  BUT if your support worker says no I did not say that and I stand by what I wrote then you stand a better chance for MR

Nattie3

mercedesbd said:

Personally I’d ask your support worker if and why he/she’s said different to what she’s written. Probably 90% not the case.  Probably just written this from there own conclusion and not recorded the call so there’ll be no proof.  BUT if your support worker says no I did not say that and I stand by what I wrote then you stand a better chance for MR

Thanks for your reply, I was quite concerned reading it. I know some of it for sure has come from my support worker as the assessor wouldn't know some of the precise information. Just worried that it's been made out to be worser than it is! 

Nattie3

Would it be helpful if I got my Support worker to ring the DWP tomorrow to clarify some of the information if they have reported or misinterpreted the information that had been given? The only reason I ask is because I know a decision has not been made yet. Not sure if that would be helpful or not with my claim. 

My claim has already been on-going for 5 months and they said it's 6-8 weeks for a decision once the DWP has received the assessors report - which was last week.

Nattie3

ilovecats said:

Are you concerned that you have scored too highly?

It sounds like you were scored an E which seems correct based on the information you have given. 
If you suffer overwhelming psychological distress on every journey due to your mental health, then you will either be E or F.
E is reserved for people who cannot go out the majority of days due to OPD, whereas F is more people who still have OPD, but can leave the house with someone on the majority of days. 

Based on the brief info you have given, the lower descriptors A,B,C & D would most likely not apply to you. I hope that helps a bit to settle your mind if your concern was that you have scored too highly.

Not highly, but incorrectly. I'm not housebound as I leave the house daily (multiple times of the day and for hours at a time, I just can't do it alone and never have done due to my disability!) The only problem is, if I went out alone I'd experience overwhelming psychological distress, I'd panic and become disorientated and get lost and put off track and wouldn't be able to find my way back. I also have autism so I cannot communicate verbally, although I've learnt well with plenty of help to communicate via keyboard. So for multiple reasons I need assistance but also it's not safe for me to go out independently as I can be overcome with OPD as well as vulnerability.
I've been given an aid to help me when I'm out with support workers or family members in case of an emergency it will call 1/2/3 nominated people till someone answers, they'll then receive my exact location with the word help me. I've only been supplied that because I leave the house with support, had I not go out at all or enough, I wouldn't be eligible for one.

I just wanted to make sure that it's correctly based on my condition, purely because if it says 'You're housebound majority of the days' it makes me feel like I shouldn't be going out on the majority of the days on based on that? If that makes any sense, because I certainly go out, it just can't be alone. 

atlas46

Hi @Nattie3

The best advice I can provide, is that you seek face to face advice about your specific circumstances, by way of example your local CAB.

No Internet forum can provide such advice.

Anyone pleading such advice, is beyond doubt, in my humble opinion.

Hope @ilovecats is well.

Nattie3

atlas46 said:

Hi @Nattie3

The best advice I can provide, is that you seek face to face advice about your specific circumstances, by way of example your local CAB.

No Internet forum can provide such advice.

Anyone pleading such advice, is beyond doubt, in my humble opinion.

Hope @ilovecats is well.

No problem, it was more in hope of seeing if anybody else has had a similar experience and whether it was worth taking it further or if I was taking it too literal. Sorry for posting if it was inappropriate to the forum, have a great evening, again. Apologies.

Nattie3

ilovecats said:

@Nattie3

I understand your concerns, it does sound more like you would score an F rather than an E so I would confirm firstly what your support worker remembers saying, then wait and see what the decision and report is. 

Only you can know if the decision is correct and whether to take it any further or not.

Thanks very much, sorry for posting this if I wasn't meant to, it may seem obvious to some people to 'know' the right thing to do but I always trouble myself and question everything. 
Frustrating that I can't efficiently communicate verbally to people so I struggle to get any professional advice, I'll show my support worker tomorrow and my carer can then discuss going forward, just thought I'd pop on for some friendly advice and if anyone had a similar experience.
Thanks for taking the time to read, reply and understand. Have a lovely evening.

mercedesbd

Nattie3 said:

Would it be helpful if I got my Support worker to ring the DWP tomorrow to clarify some of the information if they have reported or misinterpreted the information that had been given? The only reason I ask is because I know a decision has not been made yet. Not sure if that would be helpful or not with my claim. 

My claim has already been on-going for 5 months and they said it's 6-8 weeks for a decision once the DWP has received the assessors report - which was last week.

Yeah try get him/her to ring it might help it might not. Always worth a try