The second Independent review of PIP has surprisingly recommended
' ...the Department makes clear that the responsibility to provide further evidence lies primarily with the claimant and that they should not assume the Department will contact health care professionals.'
The report found many problems with the current system-
'...A key conclusion of the review is that public trust in the fairness and consistency of PIP decisions is not currently being achieved, with high levels of disputed award decisions, many of them overturned at appeal...'
Recommendations to get around some of the problems are-
'the Department simplify and better co-ordinate communication products to provide a clear explanation of user responsibilities and ensure accessibility for all - this should include the use of digital media to provide claimants with real examples of what functional information they should submit as part of their claim; -the Department ensures that evidence of carers is given suf cient weight in the assessment;
-the transparency of decision making is improved with claimants being provided with the assessment report with their decision letter and, in the longer term, audio recording of the assessment should be offered as the default with the option for the claimant to opt out;
-assessments should begin with gathering a functional instead of a medical history - options for con rming the medical history in advance of the assessment should be explored to ensure that the assessment has a more functional focus and there is suf cient time to explore functional impacts in suf cient detail;
-health professionals to be given more time to consider the evidence provided with a claim before the assessment begins;
-assessment providers and the Department to work to implement a system where evidence is followed up after the assessment where useful evidence has been identi ed and may offer further relevant insight - particular priority should be given to information that is likely to be functional in nature;
-the write up of reports to be completed directly after the assessment except in speci ed circumstances;
-audit, assurance and quality improvement activity should be focused on the quality of the assessment as well as the quality of the report - this should be supported by the audio recording of assessments and increased direct observations of assessments.
-the Department to broaden the audit process to include the initial review stage and also explore how to include Case Manager activity in an end-to-end audit process;
-the Department and assessment providers introduce consistency checks across a variety of metrics, including 'deep dives' on cases with similar outcomes, as part of the regular management of the service;
-the Department should undertake and publish further research on the operation of PIP, in particular covering the consistency of outcomes, the effectiveness of award reviews and the effectiveness of the mandatory reconsideration process; -the Department re-emphasises and ensures that employment will not disadvantage claimants when they seek to claim PIP and explores ways in which PIP may be an enabler in improving employment retention; and
-in the longer term, the Department should develop a joined up digital journey which includes an online facility for both claimants and external health professionals to upload documentary evidence securely.
Get better at helping your clients- Book now for our updated PIP 2017- challenging decisions workshop course.