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jamie1965
jamie1965 Community member Posts: 85 Courageous
hi everyone please check out today’s news letter from the benefits and work website about capita and pip also what they are saying is happening with f2f 

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  • jamie1965
    jamie1965 Community member Posts: 85 Courageous
    It states 

    In this newsletter we pass on the DWP’s reassurance that no-one will be worse off and there will be no face-to-face medicals as a result of 1.6 million PIP reassessments.

    We discover that Capita have slashed the percentage of PIP cases they try to get additional medical evidence for, from 69% down to a tiny 2%.

    And we wonder whether a struggling Capita will have to stop doing PIP assessments altogether.

    We look at the bizarre world of PIP and ESA medicals, as revealed by the Work and Pensions committee. It features assessors who can see right through your shoes and who know just how far you can walk an imaginary dog.

    We highlight the tiny take-up of the loan that is replacing support for mortgage interest.

    And finally, we reveal that the DWP may well be quaking in its boots as it faces another potentially disastrous court case brought by another courageous claimant.

    NO-ONE WORSE OFF DUE TO 1.6 MILLION PIP REVIEWS
    It depends on how much you trust the DWP to keep their word.

    But Minister for disabled people, Sarah Newton, told MPs earlier this month that:

    “Nobody is going to be called in for a face-to-face assessment, and nobody is going to have money taken away from them.”

    as a result of the checks being carried out on 1.6 million PIP claims highlighted in our last newsletter.

    Aside from that, however, there is still very little clarity about who is going to be checked, how and when the checks will be carried out or whether people will be told when they have been checked.

     

    CAPITA SLASHES ADDITIONAL MEDICAL EVIDENCE
    Disability News Service has obtained documents which they say show that Capita has hugely slashed the proportion of PIP cases in which it sends for additional medical evidence, from 69% in January 2016 to just 1.8% in June 2016.

    Further figures given by DWP minister Sarah Newton suggest this proportion may have fallen even lower in 2017.

    Atos (now known as IAS) asked for further evidence in only 5-6% of cases in January to July of 2016, but this had risen to 13% by December 2016, according to DNS.

    Additional medical evidence - provided by GPs, consultants, mental health nurses and other health professionals - can make a huge difference to whether a claim succeeds or not. When PIP was introduced, the DWP expected further evidence to be sent for in about 50% of PIP claims.

    But collecting further medical evidence slows down the process of assessing PIP claims and costs money.

    Capita has offered no explanation for the dramatic reduction in further evidence requests.

    Meanwhile, here at Benefits and Work we continue to stress the importance of collecting further medical evidence yourself if you possibly can – although we do know how difficult that can be.

    ARE CAPITA GOING TO DITCH PIP?
    Capita’s share price plummeted 40% at the end of last month after it announced that its profits were going to be much lower than expected and warned that no dividends would be paid. Comparisons were immediately made with the collapse of government outsourcing firm Carillion.

    Capita chief executive Jonathan Lewis stated:

    “We are now too widely spread across multiple markets and services, making it more challenging to maintain a competitive advantage in every business and to deliver world-class services to our clients every time.

    For claimants, the question now will be whether Capita counts PIP assessments as a profitable and core part of its business, or whether it will seek to walk away from the contract.

     

    IMAGINARY DOGS AND X-RAY VISION
    The House of Commons Work and Pensions committee paid tribute to the “efforts and bravery” of almost 4,000 claimants in sending them “honest and often distressing accounts” of their PIP and ESA assessments.

    They included the assessor who could see that the claimant had full movement of their toes – even though the claimant was wearing leather winter boots at the time.

    Another assessor equipped with equally impressive x-ray vision managed to observe a claimant carrying out a full page of exercises. This was despite that fact that the claimant never removed their winter coat or got out of their wheelchair for the entire assessment.

    A particularly imaginative assessor was able to record that the claimant walked their dog daily, even though the claimant could barely walk and didn’t own a dog.

    And one health professional, keen to take an accurate history, asked a claimant when they had first caught Down’s syndrome.

    Another admitted a lack of knowledge about a claimant’s condition, but told the claimant not to worry as they would Google it later.

    The DWP’s response to this damning report was predictably arrogant and dismissive. They said that it was “disappointing that this report uses a number of anonymous claims that we are unable to investigate”. And added that the vast majority of claimants are “happy with their overall experience.”

     

  • jamie1965
    jamie1965 Community member Posts: 85 Courageous
    Are they really surgesting people are happy going to there face 2 face and being lied about 
  • theresa73
    theresa73 Community member Posts: 25 Connected
    My SON had his face to face ladt month  he has ADHD and anxiety and paranoia. He is 19 and has just moved over to adult services. He has seen her once so far.  He doesn't see a regular doctor he just gets medication sent out by chemist.  He was on full PIP and low mobility.  I thought the assessment went well and the assessor said he was trained in ADHD   my son was paranoid about the trainee in the room   and said he was burning holes in his head. His hands was sweaty and he kept wiping them.. and the assessor was aware of that. My SON told him he can't go out without fighting and can't take public transport and has tried to work but got sacked after a week because he got paranoid of his co- workers  he was thrown out of collage after a day after arguing with the teacher.  He is waiting to be seen by further psychologists for anger managment. And he doesn't sort out his own finances. Anyway after all the assesor says he doesn't have anxiety and he is able to be in public on his own and is able to sort his finances himself. He has now had his PIP stopped and they want further evidence..   how the heck are you suppose to prove mental health when there is noone to back you up with evidence.  Now my son wont trust anyone because the assesor lied about him..  It's absolutely disgusting.
    .
  • theresa73
    theresa73 Community member Posts: 25 Connected
    Sorry  i just had to get that off my chest. 
  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    Are you a paid member of this site? Just wondering if it's worth joining for this info, or letting others share.
    I do that two minds of getting on with life and then needing to know!

    Those being checked are the MH claimants that were discriminated - And as we know how slow the dwp is this could take years to sort.

    The other mess is moving from IB to ESA. Some people will have moved again onto UC- another potential mess waiting to get it's claws under the carpet. Court case was  four years ago and they are arguing that they should't pay back to when they knew 2011. How many people were ESA and PIP screwed twice!

    As for asking for further evidence- We keep being told its our responsibility to provide evidence. 
    However- you are told in black and white not to pay what you don't have to hand and not to pay for anything. 
    They didn't ask for anything in my case because there were seven days between forms arriving and my assessment. So no way would anyone have responded in that time. Maybe they waited for my gps advice because I thought they guided on the duration of your award?
    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • theresa73
    theresa73 Community member Posts: 25 Connected
    Hi. I'm not on the join yet.. I just saw this was page today and needed a rant  he has his ESA assessment in 2 weeks now he doesn't want to go to that.. He just keeps saying what's the point in going through that if they dont believe me.. I see his point..  The MH system is fighting with skin of their teeth with no money so you just get seen when it's appointments and not inbetween so when im asked to supply extra evidence my at a brick wall. The GP charges £30 For 2 basic sentences the same as i have already written.  Think I might be fighting a loosing battle x
  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    I can't understand why you wouldn't be in the support group for ESA.
    That's ability to work?
    What did the sick notes say? 

    Fit pip did you provide letters from the psychiatrist who diagnosed the conditions you are referring to? My guess is they discuss with your gp the meds?

    The ADHD would be statemented or an I getting mixed up with Autism?

    Silly question if you have a social worker, you are probably on the team and whoever answers the phone.
    Who is in your area that you can approach yourself, support groups. You can have a letter from someone who knows him well.

    My limited knowledge of the MH umbrella makes me think that there is something else going on that's not being picked up though. Forgive me for speaking out. I hate seeing people with a definite need being ignored. 

    But for pip have you gone to cab with what it said on DLA. They will know how that translates into the descriptors. How it effects his day in those specific areas.

    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • Vixen3869
    Vixen3869 Community member Posts: 7 Listener
    The assessors you see when applying for PIP are not medically trained in anyway shape or form.
  • Vixen3869
    Vixen3869 Community member Posts: 7 Listener
    You must go to the assessments, they hope that people are put off, that's how they save paying out.
  • theresa73
    theresa73 Community member Posts: 25 Connected
    Hi. He was diagnosed when he was 7 by psychologist  he was SEN statemented and seen psychologist regular. He went to special needs school  but inly managed collage for a day. Social services has been near my door since he was diagnosed because they said I've done all my training in ADHD so I don't need them ?.since funding has stopped in Trafford the services are scarce so you have to literally beg for help. I still have all minuites from meetings and conners reports so im tbing to photocopy very thing I have and send a hole package to them.  I'm so mad.. how dare they tell me there is nothing wrong with my son.  I explained exactly how he is daily and his can and can't do's. And i even gave a big rant about how mental health is a big tbing all over the tv.. but in reality it's brushed under the carpet  and he was agreeing with me...
     The Assesor told me he was an a mental health assesor and knows where I'm coming from..  what a lier he turned out to be.  I'll phone CAB and see what they say do.

     I've got my own assessment at my house friday  but i won't hold my breath with that one either. X
  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    I think the assessors are random in their questions.
    I was asked if I went to mainstream school. So that's the question you needed.
    I was asked if I was Autistic when applying for the forms. Not sure what relevance that has on pip or whether the person on the phone was simply rude!!!

    It's about fitting those descriptors. They know some people who should, won't. 
    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • Vixen3869
    Vixen3869 Community member Posts: 7 Listener
    2 questions I was asked at my PIP initial meeting was where did you park, I said where it told me to on the information leaflet you sent for nearest parking (got a 0) for that because there was a fenced off dirt area which is a closer parking area, did not know, until we had parked up. He asked me to roll my trousers up, remove my socks & shoes, I asked why, the assessor said I'm feeling for heat on your joints. I said you find any, I have barely moved from the sofa due to pain and the fact I could not miss this oppointment, so this is the first time in 2 days I've actually done any walking which was from my home to the car, from the car to here. So I won't have flared joints!! (Got 0) for that.  I told my Mum who drove me there that I should get the 2 buses to the assessment centre because I don't have access to a car or taxi on a daily basis only once in a blue moon. But the woman at CAB/ Disability centre said they frown upon or Mark you down if your not dropped off at the door. Why did I lister, what utter rubbish. And because I have to walk to the nearest bus stop, there is no where for me to pause because of my pain, so because that was my answer (got 0) for that on PIP. Sorry I have arthritis in the knees & feet. I have had to ops to my right knee (the first was because my knee dislocated for 30 yrs before they operated) and the 2nd to same knee was removing cartridge.  So I have a high pain threshold for pain in my knees because I have had to live with it and for that reason, I don't get any help what so ever. And because I am obese when ever I go to the doctors for 'arthris care plan' not any part of the consultation is about examining my knee or talking about it. But it's all about my obesity. And how they know many people with arthritis/obesity that once they have lost the weight can now run marathons!  Ya know what they aren't like me, did they have a knee that dislocated for 30yrs, 2 operations to that knee and suffer with arthritis. Doubt it.
    Sorry bit when no one listens and just sit there and smile, you just need to rant........ feel better thanks 



  • theresa73
    theresa73 Community member Posts: 25 Connected
    Aaww it's not fair how you get treated.  It seems their job role is to trick you and try catch everyone out  like everyone is lying..  one thing that gets me with PIP  is if you say you can't physically do anything but then  you get high points and you can get a car but if you say you can do little functions but at small paces you don't get any points..  They don't make any sense to me..  PIP is supposed to help you live in independently but yet they stop your benefit if you do.  I just don't get it. X

Brightness

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