You can imagine that a letter that says that Mr Smith tells us that …. is of little value.

If your pip assessment is at one of their centres, you may well be asked how you got there that day and if walking is an issue for you, please consider being dropped off near their door rather than have to do explain that you have walked from a car park. Make it clear where you were dropped off – they regularly make mistakes about the walking that you are capable of, based on what they believe you have done that day, through them making assumptions rather than asking, so spell it out to them.

Try to avoid going on your own or being on your own if they come to your home.  There are tasks on this sheet for both you and the person who I hope will be with you.  If at all possible, that person should be in the room with you, including in the assessment room.  They will serve little or no purpose by staying in a waiting area. You will hopefully have kept a copy of the claim form and we recommend that the person with you reads through that copy, and this information, before the assessment.

Clients who have dealt with their own claims before coming to us have explained that they rested up for their assessment or it took extra medication to get them through it.  Neither of these are a good idea; you want the Healthcare Professional to see you as you usually are. If you have had to take something, because you just would not be able to get there without, then at least make this clear to them – they will not ask you.

If you get an Healthcare Professional who asks what are called leading questions, such as “you can manage that on your own, can't you?”  Please do not feel pressured into giving a one-word answer. Your answer to their question might be yes, or it might be yes, but only on a better day, not most of the time.  The correct answer for you might be that you can manage it, but not all in one go, because you have to break up the task. Or you might be in a position where you can manage the task but you then need to rest or recover, not being able to go directly onto another task.  It is vital that they hear the full answer from you.

The person with you will not be able to answer questions for you, but they can prompt you, so they can have a vital role to play.  You are likely to be anxious and you may forget things or not explain things as you would like to. The person with you might be thinking that if the Healthcare Professional wants to know about this, then surely they would want to know about that, or you may tell them something that you have done, but have not been able to do for months or years.  

It is fine for the person with you to say these things to you, rather than directly to the assessor. They might ask you whether you want to tell the Healthcare Professional about something that has happened to you. The assessor is likely to be typing away at a computer or laptop, and when it is all printed out, their report will be 28 or 30 pages long.  One of the questions on there for them to answer is whether or not you needed prompting, so prompting is okay.

The assessor may explain that they have either read your form or that they are going to read it.  Never mind, it is important that you say everything that needs to be said. Please do not leave things unsaid because you know that they are in the form and that they have either read them or are going to read them. You will only get one shot at this PIP assessment and we urge you to make sure that you explain things fully, face-to-face. I have seen reports -  remember though that it is not just about what they have read of you and what they are told by you, but also what they see of you.  

Everything will be noted down.  If you are at an assessment centre, then everything from how you respond to your name being called, how you get up and then walk to the assessment room, how you handle bags or ID, as well as how you move around that room, will all be noted down.  Much the same applies in your own home as well. Be aware of this and simply be yourself. This includes not hiding the pain if it hurts to get out of a chair – if they cannot see or hear signs of that pain, they will not be aware. Please do not feel pressured to try and keep up with an assessor who is hurrying from the waiting area back the assessment room.  If you need to take your time or stop, then it is vital that you do so. You want them to see you as you usually are.

You need them to have clear information, but their ability or willingness to ask enough of the right questions varies from person to person. You may for example be asked if you have a pet. They may assume that you walk the dog, or can happily bend to provide food and water for the pet. If there are aspects of the pet care that you can’t and don’t manage, I recommend that you explain this, or you risk wrong assumptions being made.

Please be familiar with what is in your copy of the PIP form, and be consistent with it, unless things have changed of course. If they have, explain this, or they may draw the wrong conclusions about differences between what they have read and what they are hearing.  There is no need to use exactly the same words as in the form, but be consistent. They will go through your medical conditions and their symptoms, and then your medication, which you should have with you. They will ask about your home circumstances, including any aids or adaptations you have, so give this some thought before you go.

The Healthcare Professional will then go on to the activities in the PIP test, preparing food, etc.  We would then like you to be thinking about what is in the form, so that if your assessor does not ask the right questions to bring out your difficulties, then you can volunteer the information that you know they need to hear if they are going to come to the right conclusions about how you should score points. Please do not simply answer questions put to you, leaving important things unsaid, because the Healthcare Professional did not ask the right questions.  

Remember that PIP is a  'most of the time’ benefits so that the issue is how you are affected on the majority of days.  It is fine to talk to them about your worst days and even your best days, but make sure that they understand whether there are more of the better or bad days, overall.  One of the sections on the report they produce will be about variability of your symptoms from day-to-day, and you want them to have a clear picture of this.