I was just looking at my brothers latest letter from DWP. It says there’s going to be no change in what he gets which I guess isn’t bad news but scores seem to be awfully low considering the information they were given.
For instance
Washing and bathing 2 out of 8
He needs helped into and out of bath & I have to physically bathe him.
Managing your toilet needs 0 out of 8
He has little accidents from time to time, it’s happening more frequently lately.
Communicating 0 out of 8
He’s in his own wee world most the time, if we’re out shopping I have to tell him when people are talking to him and prompt him to answer.
Reading 0 out of 8
He left school at 16 only knowing the letters of the alphabet, he can read a little now but uses an app on the phone to read things out to him.
Dressing and undressing 2 out of 8
Granted he can physically dress and undress himself (except for socks and shoes) but he has to be told to do so. If it was up to him he’d only get dressed to go shops and then strip off again as he got in the door.
I’d really love to know how they come up with these scores…they’re just off. shrug
Firstly, get your reply or request for reconsideration in on time, there will be a date on the letter.
Next, ask for a copy of the assessors report and go through it with a highlighter pen and highlight all the mistakes.
The doctor who came to see me concerning a DLA Mobility claim was a liar. I explained that I had to park in the disability car park right outside the shop (6ft away from the building) and then had to use a trolley. Even then, I couldn’t walk all the way round the shop. What he wrote was that I could walk from the disabled car park 300 YARDS FROM THE SHOP! Therefore I didn’t meet the criteria of being unable to walk 100 yards. What shop has a disabled car park is 300 yards from a shop?!?!
I spoke to DWP and it was sorted out, I said this man wasn’t fit to assess.
Same. My brother has serious bladder issues. Yet I saw his assessment report yesterday afternoon when it came in the post. The information was inaccurate. I told them why he cannot move his legs let alone walk independently. He surprisingly scored zero at one point. At almost 3 years old he still requires help in the bathroom.
Not complaining but it would be nice if they spent two or three hours with me learning about his care needs. I spent three or four hours completing that form. Why did I even bother now? I doubt that they even made the effort to read it carefully either. So annoying. I too am curious how they manage to calculate everything.
Accept the fact that the first time the form is submitted, the staff looking at it have very little training.
Now ask for an appeal or mandatory reconsideration.
DO NOT DELAY, GET THE LETTER IN ASAP!
When your claim in rejected the letter explains how DWP have reached their decision. The explanation isn’t user friendly but nevertheless they do give an explanation.
That’s ridiculous. You get 3 points for needing help into/out of the bath alone, or 8 points for needing someone to bathe you. And he’s clearly not managing his toilet needs, so should score some points there - up to you to find out what fits.
The third one I guess is probably right, though.
As I have arthritis, I couldn’t fill in the paper form, so DWP sent someone to help me. Really helpful.
I was asked if M could dress himself? Yes
Did he always put on the RIGHT clothes for the weather and what he was going to do? No. He would put on shorts when it was cold in March if it was a sunny morning, and forget to put on a warm coat if it was cold. Because of this, he DID “need help when dressing”. Hope that helps.
I wonder how they even sleep at night? I supplied a lot of details on my cared for person’s physical impairments to no avail unfortunately. I wrote quite a lot about his inability to walk and included photocopies of evidence to support my claim. One question I was asked was he physically disabled? My response is yes always.
When I was preparing to apply on behalf of my late husband, I found I was thinking the answer to “can he do x” was “yes, if I do y and z”. I was advised to change my way of thinking to “no, not unless I do y and z” and that helped me prepare a much clearer case.
(Just as a reminder to anyone in the same sad situation that we were in: I did not need all that preparation as when someone has a terminal diagnosis the application can be done very simply, mostly over the 'phone.)
