At your PIP Consultation

Our aim is to make your visit to the consultation centre as comfortable as possible. On arrival you will be greeted by a receptionist who will be able to answer questions you may have about your consultation. The receptionist will ask you to provide proof of your identity, your arrival will be recorded on our computer system, and we will offer you a travel expense claim form.

Open Discussion

The consultation will be conducted by one of our Health Professionals, who is trained in disability assessments, and will be able to assess the impact of your health condition or disability on daily life. You will be treated with dignity and respect throughout the consultation.

The Health Professional will have reviewed your How Your Disability Affects You form before your consultation, and any supporting evidence you have provided before your appointment.

You will be encouraged to discuss a range of topics that relate to your daily life. The Health Professional will make a record of your discussion during the consultation, which you will be able to view.

Functional Examination

The consultation will not be a full physical examination or an attempt to diagnose your medical symptoms. It will focus on how your life is affected by the challenges you face as a result of your health condition or disability. Each person is different and will be treated as an individual.

Any physical examination that may be required will only involve you performing simple movements relative to your condition and within your abilities. You will not be asked to do anything that will cause you discomfort. This examination may also include a Mental Function Assessment which will be tailored to your individual situation. The Health Professional may also be able to see some of the difficulties that you have with certain tasks during the time you spend together, which can add further value to the report.

Taking Notes During the Consultation

You might wish to make notes during your consultation. We are not required to take a copy of these for the DWP, nor do we need a copy of them. We ask that you retain the notes for your personal use only.

Recording Consultations

It is possible for you to audio record your consultation. There are certain requirements that DWP have set for the audio recording of consultations, which have been listed below:

You can request to audio record your consultation by calling our Customer Service Centre, but you will need to provide your own equipment.

Inform us beforehand that you wish to record your consultation, which can be done by calling our Customer Service Centre. Please let us know as soon as possible, as we may not be able to accept requests made on the day of your consultation.

Your recording equipment must be able to produce two identical copies of the recording at the end of the consultation, either in audio cassette or CD format. You will need to give one copy of the recording to the Health Professional undertaking your consultation, at the end of the consultation. Devices like PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones or MP3 players are not acceptable recording devices.

You will need to sign an agreement that sets out what you are and are not allowed to do with the recording.

We will keep our copy of the recording securely for a maximum of 14 months. After that time, we will destroy it. We don’t normally pass the recordings onto DWP and they do not use it when deciding on your entitlement and award of PIP.

It is also useful to note that if you try to record the consultation without contacting us before hand and agreeing with the requirements set out above then your consultation may be stopped and we may have to pass your case back to DWP.

Waiting Times and Length of the Consultation

We ask that you arrive on time for your consultation and we will see you as promptly as we can. There is no set duration for consultations because we treat all claimants individually and we recognise that people have differing needs according to their health conditions or disabilities and the impact of these on their daily lives. Typically, consultations last up to 60 minutes.

Who Will Perform Your Consultation

Our Health Professionals are highly skilled and trained to accurately assess the impact of health conditions and disabilities on your daily life, using DWP criteria. They come from NHS organisations, hospitals and other health backgrounds, so they have experience working with people in all kinds of complex and challenging circumstances.