I have just completed the PIP process for my wife whi has progressive MS. It was successful gaining enhance allowance for both areas. I had evidence from her doctor, ms nurse and MP. When we were invited to join I asked for a paper based review. They said no and wanted to come to our house. I asked the MP to intervene. She did and within days ATOS came back and said after phoning my wifes MS nurse a paper based assessment was sufficient. Why didnt they do this first. Any way a report was written to the DWP decision maker. Within 2 weeks we got the reply and a copy of the report showing how they allocated the points. The allowance is for 10 years. If you are just starting the process you must get as much evidence as you can from your professionals and your friends / family. Ask the MP to review your evidence and get their support. It works. Dont take their first decision if its the wrong one. They will try their best not to give the correct award to save money. Good luck
Great to hear your wife finally got the right decision.
Thanks also for the good advice.
pollsx
Good for you. And excellent advice too. The more of us who get enhanced awards for 10 years the better. And you have just demonstrated another way of avoiding a physical assessment. It just goes to show that submitting sufficient evidence is the best way of showing the assessors that you fit their criteria. And having an MP willing to go to bat on your behalf doesn’t hurt either.
Sue
I think it helps if your in Scotland as the deputy first ministers wife has MS which brings this condition to the fore front. I had a great MP well her case worker. She was like a terrier. She was well informed about ATOS. Finally with the ESA and PIP settles we can get on an try and live a live without fear of our government looking over our shoulder. If they put emough money into research they wouldnt have this benefit problem. MS can be cured if the government had a mind to do it
I built up a daily diary detailing what I did for my wife as her full time carer. I built it around using their points criteria. However I think they ignored everything as they refused a paper based assessment. I was prepared to let them come and let them see my wife falling to the floor or burning her self whilst trying to lift a pot of boiling water. Thankfully the MP case worker was brilliant and sorted atos out for us.
Mrs May’s mother succumbed to MS, but it seems the Tory lust for cruelty overrides everything else.
oh whammel
please don’t get me started on teresa may.
it makes my tourettes go into overdrive just thinking of her.
the TT (Tory Tw*t)
carole x
Apparently only 3% get their award for PIP based on the first assessment. In England and Wales their is usually a call, a paper based assessment and then a pysical one -anyone who gets away without a physical one is lucky. Check out Radio $ Your and Yours Friday 10th.
The Governments Green Paper: Improving Lives, tells us all very clearly that they are planning to make Work related activity mandatory, rather than voluntary as it is now for the Support Group. They are getting charities to take the dollar to deliver the work programmes.
The Spartacus Network took the paper apart with their response: Smokescreen. It says the green paper once again promotes the idea of the ‘work as the cure’ - the bio-psychosocial model of disability churned out by the DWP once again. Its 237 page response blows the Green Paper out of the water.
Please try to read and don’t be complacent. The only way we will win is if we do engage out MPs , as you have done. Please google the papers I’ve mentioned and let your MP know, whilst your battle is fresh on her mind.
The Spartacus network is brilliant to keep abreast of, as is blacktrianglecampaign.org
I’d include links but I’m rubbish on this computer. Im going to post this as a seperate thread if I can work out how to include links!!
Susi
I meant BBC radio 4!
The link to PIP on Radio 4 is BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Spying Technology; Personal Independence Payment; Carbon Credit Fraud and starts at about 14 minutes.