Hi all
Has anyone claimed Personal Independance Payment (PIP) yet, and how did you get on? My local PUK worker thinks that I should claim, but one hears such horror stories about the medicals etc I'm actually nervous about claiming.
I know PIP in our case would not be awarded just because we have PD, rather, on how the condition impacts on our day to day life.
If anyone has any advice I'd love to hear from you with good or bad experiences of the process.
Tony.
Hi Tony
Yes i have claimed pip.i am sorry to say it has not been a easy process at all , i made my initial claim on the 4th September 2013 i have only just had my assessment on the 6th March 2014 , i have had problems from the start now my assessment has been completed i have to wait for Capita to send the report to the dwp decision maker , who knows how long that will take .
The assessment really was nothing to worry about i had a home visit , mainly just asked about my medical conditions and how my conditions affected my day to day life what medication i take and how often , side effects etc , and a quick test of the strength in my arms which involved me squeezing his hand and him asking me to tap my fingers together like the neurologist did at my first appointment .
Initially there have been horrendous delays with pip claims one of the things that held my claim up were Capita having no staff employed to carry out home assessments in my area
Don't be put off claiming Tony but expect it to be a very long process ,if you do claim i suggest gathering as much evidence as you can to send in with your forms .
Good luck
Michelle
Thanks Michelle the evidence gathering sounds a good idea, luckily I had an O/T assessment in my home for a grant application a couple of weeks ago and while it doesn`t go into any great depth it approves my application and describes what issues I have. My local PUK worker has done an excellent statement on my behalf also so I can keep copies of those as back up evidence.
I'm not sure which firm does the assessments here in Cornwall, but no doubt I will find out in time!! Did you have to request a home visit?
Tony
Hi Tony
There is a post in 'DLA ' thread about my experience with PIP so far , no i did not request a home visit i was sent a appointment to go to a clinic and i had to log in there site to book it every time i logged in it was saying ' no available appointments ' but in the mean time my mobility had started to get worse so i passed the info to Capita who said they would request a home visit after offering me a appointment in Coventry which is 2 hours on public transport from me which i refused , the request was approved but i was told there were no health professionals in my area to carry out home visits so i would have to wait till some were recruited and trained i eventually had my home visit on the 6th March 2014 26 weeks after i started the claim !
I am not sure but i think it is Atos who are doing the assessments in Cornwall , i am in the West Midlands so it is Capita in my area .
Good luck Tony
