Pip Assessment finally

thedoc

Finally had my assessment date for pip claim of capita and it's a home visit rather apprehensive though because its my first claim. Any information on what it will be like would be greatfully received thanks 

Antonia_Alumni

Welcome to the community @thedoc how are you doing today? Glad to hear you have a date now for your assessment. A lot of our members can relate to this feeling, so please do not feel alone in this. There's some information on PIP assessments from the Citizen Advice website. Please let us know if you have any questions

thedoc

Thanks for the welcome and the advice 

KEE

Hello, I made my first claim for PIP in March 2019 and had my home assessment on the 9th May 2019. 
The lady assessor was lovely and polite and seemed to truly be listening and understanding of my illnesses. She made notes constantly and asked me to copy some movements but I didn’t have too if too uncomfortable, which I couldn’t on the the two out of three that she asked me to do. 
My assessment went on for 1hr 15mins but it did feel quicker.
At the end the assessor made some light convo regarding my little dogs who were in another room (she could hear them yapping) she even mentioned the breed of her dogs. 
I was frightened massively prior to the assessment and now my anxieties are about the decision. 
But the assessor was very professional and came from Capita.
Hope this helps a little.

thedoc

Thank you very much KEE for those kind words i also have 2 dogs so i hope he/she likes dogs as well they are a jack Russell and a jug 

KEE

Your welcome.

Dogs are so therapeutic and you have 2 lovely breeds there. My two are Jack Russel x Yorkshire terrier and Chihuahua x Pomeranian.

Good luck with the assessment and update to let us know how it goes for you.

Chloe_Scope

Very best of luck with your claim!

thedoc

Thank you chloe x

thedoc

Info required plz
When i have my home assessment next week would i be allowed to read off my copy of the form i sent to DWP only my memory isn't the best 

[Deleted User]

@poppy123456 can probably advise you @thedoc

poppy123456

HI,

There's no reason why you can't but the whole purpose of the assessment is to get more information about how your conditions affect you because they don't have enough to do the paper based assessment.

cristobal

@thedoc - i had my assessment at home and as well as my application form I'd made some notes for each of the descriptors so that I would have something to refer to and to remind me of things that I wanted to raise.I included some extra examples to support what I was saying and I kept a diary for the previous week.

I'd recommend using a diary as it will help you to answer questions such as "when did you last do 'x'", and "how often do you do 'y'" If I hadn't have kept one my answers wouldn't have been much more than a guess because my memory isn't good!

thedoc

Thank you cristobal I will do that much appreciated 

twonker

cristobal said:

@thedoc - i had my assessment at home and as well as my application form I'd made some notes for each of the descriptors so that I would have something to refer to and to remind me of things that I wanted to raise.I included some extra examples to support what I was saying and I kept a diary for the previous week.

I'd recommend using a diary as it will help you to answer questions such as "when did you last do 'x'", and "how often do you do 'y'" If I hadn't have kept one my answers wouldn't have been much more than a guess because my memory isn't good!

Did the assessor agree with you using those documents? I have always understood the assessment to be one where the assessor wants to test the statements put on the claim form. That can only be done if what you say agrees with what you wrote months ago without referring to the answers.
Maybe I am wrong and have approached my assessments in the wrong way. I too have memory issues evidenced by the various mental health professionals. Due to these issues most of my answers were either 'don't know or can't remember', or whatever came into my head when asked the questions. Whether anything agreed with the claim form I have no idea as the report made no sense of anything. So the claim went to appeal. 

poppy123456

There's no reason at all why you can't make notes to take into the assessment with you. Those that advise otherwise are just being ridiculous.

thedoc

I'm rather confused now lol 

poppy123456

Not everyone is able to remember everything, so yes make notes to take with you. I'm not saying there will be time to look at them but there's certainly no harm in taking them. Some do, some don't. I have never taken any notes or the form with me, i always prefer to answer the questions as they come. This is because you really don't know what questions they will ask, how they will ask them so referring to notes for me would just confuse my brain even more.

cristobal

@twonker ..As you say you're probably are wrong I think. As far as I know the assessment isn't supposed to be a test to catch claimants out, nor a memory test. In my case such a strategy wouldn't work anyway because if I didn't refer to notes to help me most of my replies would be "I can't remember" and the interview would go nowhere.

There is also a big advantage for the assessor because they will have more accurate information.

For example, when I was asked how often I suffered fatigue and couldn't cook, wash etc I could count up and say "x times in the last week". When was the last time? "Friday last" I couldn't give these answers without relying on my notes. 

@thedoc - You must decide but I stick by my original advice. I think it would be helpful even if just to prompt you of things you want to mention (I covered these at the end in my assessment)

Good luck anyway, whatever you decide..

twonker

Thanks, all of that seems logical and probably I have been doing it all wrong - it was drilled into me through school then uni then through professional exams that crib sheets were a no no!
One thing that comes to mind is if you made a claim that you could not walk more than 20 metres could the assessor not then ask how did you measure that distance. Could they not also ask how long it took you and how long do you think you could walk? 
That was a situation I was in last time and I estimated it, no idea how long it took and just guessed at the time I could walk for.

cristobal

@twonker - you're right they could ask that...if I remember (!) I was asked about how far I walked, rather than 'How far can you walk reliably'. 

In my case, and I've only had one assessment so I don't know whether this is a standard thing, the assessor apparently measured the speed I was able to walk by timing me over a few metres when I had to leave the room. I'm fairly confident this never took place, unless it was just an estimate of the time and the distance i.e. roughly two metres in roughly three seconds....

In any case the assessor got the 'working out' wrong so it was meaningless..

twonker

The reliably factor is not something that the assessor tends to offer. It seems that it is for the claimant to claim it through the answers to the questions asked. I too was never asked anything about reliability - just that you can either do it or not do it. I did try to put that point to the assessor in saying yes to cooking BUT.... and yes to bathing BUT..., but my 'buts' were disregarded as they had already registered my answer and had moved on to the next question.