A report by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) has found that the personal independence payment (PIP) assessment process is making most claimants’ health conditions worse.
In a survey of over 1,700 PIP claimants, the DBC found that a staggering 79% said that the stress and anxiety of the assessment process had made their health worse.
In other disturbing findings, the DBC report, ‘Supporting those who need it most?, revealed that:
Almost three quarters (71%) of respondents found the PIP application form ‘hard’ or ‘very hard’ and 11% of respondents were unable to complete it at all.
Over half (58%) of people said that assessors did not understand their condition.
Half (50%) they were receiving less money under PIP than they were previously entitled to under DLA, or they had lost their award completely.
Phil Reynolds, Co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium and Senior Policy Adviser at Parkinson’s UK, said:
“For the first time, these findings paint the true picture of what it is like to go through the complex assessment process for PIP.
“Shockingly, a small number of people told us the experience of claiming PIP was so distressing that it has caused new conditions to emerge, or even caused suicidal thoughts.
“It is clear that PIP is failing many people from start to finish so it is vital the government work with us to get a grip on PIP and support everyone who needs it, instead of making their health worse.”
You can download the executive summary of Supporting Those Who Need It Most? from this link
You can download the full Supporting Those Who Need It Most? report from this link.
