Please keep your appointment. If you cannot attend your assessment, please use your online account to let the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) know as soon as possible, so that it can be rearranged.

You will need to take with you the letter asking you to the assessment, and some sort of personal identification.

A passport is excellent, but if you do not have a passport you will need to take three of the following forms of identification:

• Your birth certificate

• Your full driving licence

• A recent bank statement that shows your name and address

• A gas or electricity bill

Also take with you:

• Any pills or medication you take

• Any aids and appliances that you use

• A copy of your Work Capability Assessment questionnaire

• Any supporting evidence you have (a prescription, reports from a health professional, support worker and so on)

If you have been keeping a diary of your day-to-day life to highlight your condition and disabilities, take that with you. Also take any notes you have made before the assessment that you would like to mention.

The person who interviews you doesn’t make the decision.

A Universal Credit assessment is very daunting, but the assessors are very nice and are not there to catch you out. Please do not believe anything you read on the internet; they do not have a certain number of claimants that they have to fail!

The Health Care Practitioner (HCP) who interviews you will be medically trained, they could be a nurse, GP, paramedic and so on. They do not make the decision about your application. The HCP does a report on your assessment and sends it to a Decision Maker (DM). This is the person who makes the decision about your application, so there is a disconnect as this person does not meet you or speak with you.

If you cannot get out due to your disability, you can ask to have an assessment at home or by telephone. There is a long wait for home appointments, so have a telephone assessment or get to an assessment centre if you can.

The interview process will be similar as a face-to-face assessment so please read the guidance below.

During the COVID lockdown assessments were held on the telephone, and this is still happening. There are pros and cons for these.

If you are doing an assessment on the telephone, you can have someone else patched into the call. I do a lot of these. You must convince someone you have not met and who cannot see you, that you have disabilities and should be awarded Universal Credit. It can be helpful to have someone supporting you with this.

Be ready before the HCP telephones. This means getting a quiet area ready with plenty of space for your UC form, your supporting evidence, and a copy of your prescription. If you need glasses, have them ready. Have a glass of water, and a pen and paper.

Make sure your phone is charged and not blocking any numbers. Have someone either patched in on the call or sitting with you to give you support. Get the person supporting you to read your form or notes before the interview begins, so they know what you will be speaking about.

The interview process will be similar as a face-to-face assessment so please read the guidance below.

In the Plymouth area the assessment centre is Argosy House, Longbridge Road, Plympton, Plymouth, PL6 8LD. There is parking.

Prepare a bag for visiting an assessment centre. Take a copy of your form, something to read or do in case you are delayed by a long time, a pen and paper, a packet of tissues, and polo mints are always good. Get to the assessment centre in plenty of time and take someone with you for support.

NB: When you walk into the centre you will be watched. No-one is trying to catch you out; it is just their job. So, if you have stated on your form that you walk slowly with a limp, that is what the HCP will be expecting to see.

What can happen is the occasion takes over, your anxiety kicks in and you suddenly turn in to a scalded rabbit and almost run in to the room! Then you may not be able to walk for a few days due to the pain you have caused yourself, but the HCP will not know that. Do everything as you normally do, which includes presenting yourself as you normally look.

Read your form a few times before the assessment to remind yourself of the things you put. It is the story of your life, but you will have put in coping mechanisms which you will do automatically, so need to remind yourself about. Give the person you have with you a copy of your Universal Credit form. They cannot answer questions for you, but they can remind you to say something to the HCP doing your assessment. They can tick the things off that you mention as the assessment progresses. Anything that you do not mention, your helper should nudge you into saying.

It is important that everything you need to mention is discussed with the HCP, because they write a report of the assessment and send it to the Decision Maker. The HCP does not make the decision. The DM does not speak to you, so there is a big disconnect here. It is made up of two parts, the physical disability part, and the mental health disability part. At the beginning of the assessment, the HCP will give you their name. Please remember it and use it during your assessment, especially at the end when you thank them for doing the assessment. The HCP may inform you that they are going to ask you a few questions and it will not take long. They are trying to get you not to worry but be prepared that the assessment will take a long time. Be prepared that it could take between one and two hours.

The form you completed will also be sent to the Decision Maker, along with the HCP’s report. The HCP report will always count for more than your form. Make sure that you say out loud to the HCP everything in your form, so that they type it up in their report. This is very important. You must not miss out anything, thinking alright, it is in the form I completed so the Decision Maker will see it. Decision Makers have a massive workload and are working to targets for making several decisions in a set time, so they do not always have the time to read both forms. When they are short on time, they may only read the report by the HCP.

When the HCP telephones or meets you, they will probably ask you how you are. It is in our nature to answer positively, so before you know it you will have answered fine, thank you. Please do not do this.

Take a breath before answering the questions and answer ALL the questions truthfully. Say if you are having a bad day, a worse day, or a better than bad day. If you are having a good day then you can say so, but usually people who are having the assessment do not have good days, just better than bad ones.

You may have mental health disabilities, so you can say I am extremely nervous and anxious today. I am being supported by my advocate, wife, husband, partner or friend. I find speaking to people I do not know very difficult due to my mental health disabilities/anxiety and that is why I am being supported today’. If you need to move around to relieve pain, please do so and explain why you are doing so. If you need to get your breathing under control, again, please explain this to the HCP. If your assessment is on the telephone and you are using it hands-free because you cannot hold a phone, please say so. If you have not got a copy of your form, say I have not got a copy of my form in front of me right now so I cannot use it to remind me of what I wrote, as I forget things quite a lot and I am very anxious. Please can you refer to my form that you have in front of you. The HCP should have a copy of your form that you completed on their computer screen, together with your supporting evidence.

You should have sent in some supporting evidence from your GP, support worker, etc. Make sure that you also have a copy of these with you for the assessment to discuss them with the HCP. Please bring that evidence to the attention of the HCP, who should also have copies in front of them. If you do not understand the questions, please ask the HCP to repeat themselves.

Remember, they are doing a good job in very difficult circumstances, so get them on your side. You need the HCP to like you, you want them to write a report mentioning everything you tell them, and this will take time, so be very patient. Do not guess the answers. If you feel the HCP is rushing you, please ask them to slow down and explain that you are having problems processing the questions. It does not matter how many times you ask them to slow down or to repeat a question, keep asking until you understand the question. Do not guess the answer, use your form to help you. When you are asked a question in the form of ‘can you do something?’, in your mind substitute the word CAN for DO. So, if you are asked ‘can you make a sandwich?’, you probably think ‘of course I can make a sandwich’. Actually, stop and think; DO you make a sandwich? It is so easy to say you do something when you do not. Everyone CAN make a sandwich, but DO you actually do so?

Be very careful of answering ‘sometimes’ or ‘occasionally’. This means you do carry out that task. Think carefully if you cannot do something reliably, repeatedly, or safely and in a timely manner, then you are NOT doing it. This is very hard to admit as we all wish to appear able to cope, but please tell things as they are. Take a deep breath and make yourself stay calm. Have a stress ball to squeeze with you, it really helps.

During the assessment, keep reminding the HCP that you are nervous. If you need to stop to have a break, say so. Ask to stop to have a drink of water. Remember, if you are doing a telephone assessment, the HCP cannot see you, so they do not know if you are sweating or breathless; so tell them. If you are sweating and shaking in a face-to-face assessment, also tell the HCP. Do not presume anything, tell them everything to make sure it goes in their report. Keep talking, and do not just answer yes or no.

The HCP will be talking about how you are on an average day, so think very carefully about that before the interview. I always advise people to err towards a bad day. How do you know if you will ever have a better day than that? The HCP is not there to be your friend or to drag the information out of you. It is up to you to paint the picture of your life; not a three-stroke abstract painting, but a detailed landscape with every raindrop, leaf, and pebble. Explain everything exactly as it is. When you answer a question, explain why you do things. If you must always take a taxi due to not being able to deal with people on a bus, say so don’t just say you catch taxis. Nothing is ever obvious to the HCP; you must explain. Please never say ‘obviously’, as nothing ever is!

Treat the HCP as you would like to be treated. Please, also remember that the HCP will have several assessments to do each day and it is a very intense job. Ask them how they are and be nice to them. Do not raise your voice or become agitated, and never ever swear as the HCP may end the assessment. You should treat them as you wish to be treated, with respect. The person attending the assessment with you should also be respectful to the HCP, just like they would like to be treated. Please remember that you would like the taxpayer to pay you. So, in return you must do an interview, just like in a job.

Be kind to yourself.

At the end of the assessment, you will be exhausted. Nervous tension and concentration will have drained you, so be kind to yourself and do not think about your answers.

Good luck, you will be excellent. You are just telling your life as it is.