DWP demand I send medical reports for PIP appeal as they never used any for their original decision.
I wrote before that the DWP had told me that my mental health was not an issue when they gave me my Personal Independence Payment – PIP Assessment decision. Despite saying they’d contact my psychiatrist it appears they didn’t.
I called the PIP helpline this week to see if my Mandatory Reconsideration had been done yet.
As I previously advised, despite me suffering from severe depression and Borderline Personality Disorder – BPD, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decision maker said that my mental health is fine.
Their reasoning for this was that I “made eye contact with the assessor and did not appear nervous or stressed.”
Not only is this ridiculous it is also unfair for a few reasons.
Invisible Disabilities
I have a few issues with the above statement.
- The Atos assessor arrived half and hour early and startled me. I was upset about this and was very nervous.
- I have trouble making eye contact with anyone as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I am working on this but on the day in question I mostly looked at my feet. (That’s my go to thing.)
- Most important is that mental health is invisible and unpredictable. Regardless of my demeanour during the assessment, the medical opinion of my Consultant Psychiatrist should carry more weight than a 25 minute assessment. Should I cause myself a panic attack to please them?
Their lies revealed
What first made me suspicious was that sent a letter on dated; June 4th, stating they were contacting my doctors then just two days later they’d arranged an assessment having “received all the information.”
I knew this was a blatant lie as I called my psychiatrist and his secretary confirmed no report had been sent.
I must send the evidence
Fast forward to this week. I’m on the phone after waiting for 35 minutes to get through and the agent says “we need evidence of your mental health conditions.”
I was confused as my decision letter states they had “considered the evidence from my health professionals.” Surely they hadn’t made a decision without anything from my doctors?
Well the answer is: yes, they had.
The agent advised that no medical reports are in my file so I must get one from my psychiatrist and send it to them.
I challenged them on why I need to do it and not them but the scripted responses told me I was going to get nowhere.
What next?
Well first I called my psychiatrist and his secretary told me that he HAD sent a report to the DWP as requested. If I want a report it would cost me so instead I’ve requested the report in my medical records to send them.
I’ve written to the DWP challenging them on;
- Why I have to do their work in getting medical reports.
- Why a decision was made without any medical evidence.
- Why they lied in my decision letter.
- Why must mental health conditions be blatantly apparent at the time of assessment
This is not something I am going to let go. If it has happened to me it has happened to others. Apart from being just blatantly unprofessional it will be affecting everyone who has been assessed.
How do we know if any medical evidence from doctors that actually know and understand their patients has ever been used?
What we now have is a civil servant with no medical training and no medical reports relying on a snapshot of someone’s life by an assessor who doesn’t even understand what people’s conditions are.
This is not only unprofessional but it’s a disgrace and cannot go unchallenged. People will no doubt have suffered because of decisions like this and I intend to change that.
Alex Tiffin
Universal Credit Sufferer on Facebook
If you’d like to make a donation to support Bayard & Myself and the work we’re doing , we would be eternally grateful. We try to give the most up to date and relevant articles and Bayard does this in his spare time to help expose the DWP. You can donate via PayPal by Clicking here
What I tell people is if they claim to have all the extra info, contacted them by phone or being sent additional stuff, put in an SAR to the assessment company and the DWP. Ask them to make sure this gets to the correct department. If they come back with there is no new info or it was only a phone call! Ask them for a VERBATIM COPY of the conversation. They won’t have one because the contact probably never took place.
IMHO you could contact the people they claim to have contacted and I bet it is a very short conversation as there will more than likely have been no contact, if there was the questions will have been suggestive and leading, basically would you say type of questions without been so obvious.
Do these that write, call, or quality control the stuff passing through have the medical expertise of a professor or other highly qualified medical person? The answer is simply they do not, many of the assessors simple wouldn’t know the symptoms or side effects of the medication to save their life.
MY PIP interrogation in 2014 the assessor tried to say the info I sent in with the form was old and was countered within a second by me with ” It’s still bloody relevant though!” At the end she claimed she had never heard of the condition but I would still get an award! How the F*ck could she say that unless the HP is the Decision Maker and they just rubber stamp the awards?
This is a regular occurrence I am afraid. I sit on Appeal panels and we see this all the time. Whenever applying for PIP you should always send in medical evidence. The only medical evidence DWP normally rely on is that of the “qualified disability assessor” – I still haven’t found pout what their training consists of!
3 weeks training.
DWP Criminals want you to sent them ahem ‘new’ evidence during appeals so that they can
falsely claim that you ‘won’ your appeal by sending that ‘new’ evidence.
…. and that their UNQUALIFIED criminal Quack FRAUDSTERS did nothing wrong.
–
>”Their reasoning for this was that I “made eye contact with the assessor and did not appear nervous or stressed.”
‘Bodylanguage’ it TOTAL PSEUDOSCIENCE.. and when done by their UNQUALIFIED criminal Quack FRAUDSTERS it’s, at the very least –
Fraud by abuse of position –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/4
Misconduct in Public Office –
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/misconduct_in_public_office/
(Meaning of Public Function) Human Rights Act 1998 –
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmbills/045/08045.i-i.html
–
>”I was confused as my decision letter states they had “considered the evidence from my health professionals.””
Fraud by false representation –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/2
Misconduct in Public Office –
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/misconduct_in_public_office/
–
>”If I want a report it would cost me”
Making cash from DWP Dishonesty –
Fraud by abuse of position –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/4
Fraud by failing to disclose information –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/3
Misconduct in Public Office –
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/misconduct_in_public_office/
–
Fraud (Up to ten years in prison)
Misconduct in Public Office (Up to Life in prison)
–
Also checkout –
Criminal Justice Act 1988 – Torture – (Up to Life in prison) –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/part/XI/crossheading/torture
Disability Hate Crime – Criminal Justice Act 2003 (section 146) –
Increase in sentences for aggravation related to disability –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/44/section/146
Human Rights Act 1998
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents
UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Articles
https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html
–
Criminal Attempts Act 1981 –
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/47/contents
ABH/GBH
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/offences_against_the_person/
Homicide: Murder and Manslaughter –
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/h_to_k/homicide_murder_and_manslaughter/
–
Or whatever the Scottish equivalents are.
CALL THE POLICE
–
fyi –
CAPITA POLICE – “Capita has footprint in 100% of UK police forces”
https://www.updata.net/Markets/Police
Capita brings further jobs to Scotland – “work for the police”
https://www.capita.com/news/news/2012/capita-brings-further-jobs-to-scotland/
ATOS POLICE –
“the Atos paper said, adding that Police Scotland’s latest strategy highlights the potential benefits of digital transformation.”
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252446682/Atos-sets-out-vision-for-a-digital-Scotland
I’ll look into all this I really appreciate the advice. It was because there are so many links the spam filter hid it. Apologies.
See –
https://samedifference1.com/2018/08/20/dwp-admit-to-not-using-claimants-medical-records-for-original-pip-decision/#comment-241604
Or calm down your ‘spam’ filter.
Thanks I’ll look at all these comments.
Pingback: Universal Credit Sufferer - PIP Study shows claimants stressed and misled
My home assessment also arrived a hour early and looked like she had just left school (16) but I said and answered the questions as best I could she asked me how long I can walk for I said I didn’t know I had never timed myself. She said let’s say two minutes-,I just agreed because I really didn’t know how long I could and with her saying that it was like it didn’t really matter.. well it did my desison came threw and they had worked out from 2 minuets of walk-in at a certain speed that I could walk far enough for them to stop my mobility benefit. So if I had of known the question was that important I wouldn’t of agreed to her suggestion. So I got up on my crutches and timed my self across the living room I think I did around 40 seconds but that was pushing it and it was in the safety of home. I wouldn’t of done it out side. They also told me a had a week to get in my medical evidence and then the next day a letter came with my rejection on it. So on the phone again asking why am I sending in evidence wen you’ve already made a decision- this was then withdrawn and the week stood again- I asked them for a statement of the decision and how it was made and by who as I still had a week to sendin reports. But that never came.. so eventually after I paid my doctor for a report and I paid to send it into them and then I paid again to phone them again for 7th time I won my appeal- but yes stressed to the max the worst fe weeks ever. I was contemplating just dropping it The whole thing – what they want you to do- next thing I have home help come out. Help me wash dress eat Just normal stuff disabled people need help with. But my ESA has now been rejected so I have to look for full time work!! Are they going to also pay a career to come with me and help me bathroom issues and other stuff while I’m at work?? And who is going to give me a job wen at the same time I need someone with me a lot during the day. I just can’t go threw it again so u now have to sign on ever 2weeks and show them I’m looking for work otherwise I don’t get my rent or living money from them.. every one says it’s wrong.. but I just can’t argee with them atm I just can’t. But that Arnos healthcare are paid more for everyone they get off esa so I’ve been told..
That’s disgusting, I lost my appeal. I have put in a fresh claim and my assessment is on Thursday. The appeal process is very stressful, and I was in tears most of the time. I felt like I was on trial. Xx
Pingback: Universal Credit Sufferer- Tribunal overuled 2 in 3 PIP decsions since 2013
Pingback: Universal Credit Sufferer