pip home assessment

[sophie1405]

Originally Posted by sunny1

to be very honest I wish I asked for a home assessment

my assessment for epilepsy went from bad to awful and it started when the "nurse" didn't know the difference between my types of seizures so he only noted the big ones and ignored the daily ones that limit me the most

they never wrote to my GP which I presumed they would so if you can get a medical report from your GP then do so before hand and have them include it

good luck !

I go awarded 0 points for everything even though I have aids and adaptations to my home, like I said I had a awful assessment

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Hi

i thought i would reply to you, i have epilepsy too, during on my assessments the nurse did not know what epilepsy was either, she went online to research it whilst we was there. reapply and ask for a home assessment, my last two reapply have been home assessment and i just got my claim back for 6 years middle rate care and mobility.

its a fight they say you have to be ill 50% of the time but how do you know when you are going to have a seizure, i get no aura when having mine. Definitely do not let it get you down and try again, it must have been an awful person doing your asessment. xx

[Guest]

Sunny1 this is the thing that worries me i have a very rare disorder even my GP doesnt have a clue and sends me to my consultant when she doesnt know what to do.

[sunny1]

thank you Sophie

I was very upset with the report, there was a lot of info that was wrong and simply not true

I read the report and did not sleep for three days, then I went to the CAB and now I feel so much better

I am applying for a reconsideration but now I don't have to do it alone

[Tiggerific2018]

Originally Posted by sunny1

thank you Sophie

I was very upset with the report, there was a lot of info that was wrong and simply not true

I read the report and did not sleep for three days, then I went to the CAB and now I feel so much better

I am applying for a reconsideration but now I don't have to do it alone

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I’m so sorry you went through this. Have you spoken to any of the Epilepsy charities? I would be surprised if the big ones (Ep. Action; Ep Scotland etc) don’t have a welfare rights advisor. I know Epilepsy Scotland has a helpline, if you live in Scotland; I assume that the English charities will too.

I volunteered with CAB for several years and have also volunteered with the Scottish charity (in fundraising) for 4 years, so I know both sides (my husband has epilepsy). If you can get help from a welfare rights person who understands epilepsy specifically, that would probably help you more than just CAB, good as they are. Best of luck.

[sunny1]

Originally Posted by Tiggerific2018

I’m so sorry you went through this. Have you spoken to any of the Epilepsy charities? I would be surprised if the big ones (Ep. Action; Ep Scotland etc) don’t have a welfare rights advisor. I know Epilepsy Scotland has a helpline, if you live in Scotland; I assume that the English charities will too.

I volunteered with CAB for several years and have also volunteered with the Scottish charity (in fundraising) for 4 years, so I know both sides (my husband has epilepsy). If you can get help from a welfare rights person who understands epilepsy specifically, that would probably help you more than just CAB, good as they are. Best of luck.

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thank you for your reply it is most helpful

I am very short on time and need to get my evidence and request for mandatory reconsideration back by oct 13th

I am hoping that the CAB lady that I see this Monday will be very good, I saw my GP yesterday and he printed off a up to date medical report for me ( similar to what he sent to the ESA and I get this at the support group rate )

it's the initial ATOS report that I think that sent me into a bad place
there was so many things on it that simply were not true and inaccurate

I genuinely think they turn many people down in the hope you wont bother appealing

[Tiggerific2018]

Originally Posted by sunny1

thank you for your reply it is most helpful

I am very short on time and need to get my evidence and request for mandatory reconsideration back by oct 13th

I am hoping that the CAB lady that I see this Monday will be very good, I saw my GP yesterday and he printed off a up to date medical report for me ( similar to what he sent to the ESA and I get this at the support group rate )

it's the initial ATOS report that I think that sent me into a bad place
there was so many things on it that simply were not true and inaccurate

I genuinely think they turn many people down in the hope you wont bother appealing

See more...

It sounds like you are well set for your mandatory reconsideration, so hopefully you will get the decision reversed soon. If you need to appeal the reconsideration you should have another 4 weeks to do that, in which case maybe go down the road I’m suggesting.

Given how common epilepsy is, I am amazed by now little some medical professionals know about it. I do think that you are right that it’s almost policy to turn down claims initially and hope people don’t appeal - I have heard of it happening far too often, especially with unseen disabilities, for me to believe that it’s not deliberate. The good news is that many of these cases are overturned on appeal.

I hope that it goes well and you get the right decision very quickly. Best of luck!

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by sunny1

thank you for your reply it is most helpful

I am very short on time and need to get my evidence and request for mandatory reconsideration back by oct 13th

I am hoping that the CAB lady that I see this Monday will be very good, I saw my GP yesterday and he printed off a up to date medical report for me ( similar to what he sent to the ESA and I get this at the support group rate )

it's the initial ATOS report that I think that sent me into a bad place
there was so many things on it that simply were not true and inaccurate

I genuinely think they turn many people down in the hope you wont bother appealing

See more...

I am sure CAB will help you on Monday. You have done the right thing with getting the report from your GP, that will be very helpful.

I will prepare you that possibly the MR may also be turned down. We do find at CAB that they often are. As you say, I feel that it is hoped that the claimant won't take it to appeal.

Please don't be disheartened if this happens, as very often an appeal is successful. Again, CAB will help you completely with the appeal. It can seem a long process but it is definitely worth trying as CAB appeal rate of success is very high for genuine cases such as yours.

[sunny1]

Originally Posted by Tiggerific2018

It sounds like you are well set for your mandatory reconsideration, so hopefully you will get the decision reversed soon. If you need to appeal the reconsideration you should have another 4 weeks to do that, in which case maybe go down the road I’m suggesting.

Given how common epilepsy is, I am amazed by now little some medical professionals know about it. I do think that you are right that it’s almost policy to turn down claims initially and hope people don’t appeal - I have heard of it happening far too often, especially with unseen disabilities, for me to believe that it’s not deliberate. The good news is that many of these cases are overturned on appeal.

I hope that it goes well and you get the right decision very quickly. Best of luck!

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thank you

I knew very quickly into the assessment that the "nurse" didn't understand, he asked about major seizures and didn't know what a absence seizure was, he obviously thought this is unimportant

[sunny1]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

I am sure CAB will help you on Monday. You have done the right thing with getting the report from your GP, that will be very helpful.

I will prepare you that possibly the MR may also be turned down. We do find at CAB that they often are. As you say, I feel that it is hoped that the claimant won't take it to appeal.

Please don't be disheartened if this happens, as very often an appeal is successful. Again, CAB will help you completely with the appeal. It can seem a long process but it is definitely worth trying as CAB appeal rate of success is very high for genuine cases such as yours.

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thank you yes i'm not expecting the mandatory reconsideration to change anything

I am prepared to go all the way to tribunal because I know it's the right thing and I told the truth on the form

I have a falls assessment coming up and a occupational therapy assessment where someone will go through the home with me and list what I struggle with and where I need support, this report won't be ready in time for the 15th but it can be forwarded afterwards
I have also written to my neurologist and asked for his support in a letter which was confirmed that he would do by his secretary today so I am hoping that will help too

[Tiggerific2018]

Originally Posted by sunny1

thank you

I knew very quickly into the assessment that the "nurse" didn't understand, he asked about major seizures and didn't know what a absence seizure was, he obviously thought this is unimportant

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That is extremely worrying. 😕 I think that most people think of seizures as tonic-clinic events, but a nurse really should be better informed. Even our 6 year old nephew knows that if Uncle MrTiggerific is “acting weird” he needs to come and get me or another adult immediately. If he can grasp that at the age of 3, surely a nurse should have some knowledge of the concept of absence and complex partial seizures.

Have you had a care assessment done by social work? We put grab bars in the shower after my husband had a seizure and fell out of it (it was over the bath), and as I walked the nurse who did the home visit to the door at the end of the visit, she did a double take as she walked past the bathroom. There was nothing about our bathroom that is remarkable (we have since turned it into a wetroom with 4 safety bars after several more seizures in the shower) so I can only imagine that she was noticing the bars and this made her take it more seriously. In other words, the more adaptations you have to your life and home, the more seriously those around you take it. I suspect this is true of home visits too, though I can’t guarantee it. Even stuff like a MedicAlert bracelet shows that you are trying to manage it.

I’m pretty certain that my inlaws, who have never seen my husband have a tonic-clonic and have never really taken the partial/absence seizures seriously, take his epilepsy far more seriously since we gutted and completely renovated our bathroom (inc moving out for 2 weeks) to keep him safer. It was like it finally dawned on them that if we were prepared to go to that amount of hassle and expense that it was because his epilepsy could have serious consequences beyond just “feeling a bit unwell” or missing the odd family event.

I’m ranting and am totally off topic now, so I will stop. I really wish you the best of luck with your appeal, and encourage you to speak to one of the epilepsy charities about what other help you may be entitled to. There are more services around than you realise unless you speak to someone “in the know”, but the organisations that run them are not always good at raising awareness of them to potential service users.