Follow us: hu Improving life after brain injury Need to talk? 0808 800 2244 Donate Home About brain injury Individuals Brain injury and me John Dougan Share your story Share your story with us to help others affected by brain injury John Dougan The questions need to be more sophisticated and asked by people who understand brain injury John Dougan found the Personal Independent Payment assessment was ‘completely inadequate’ at measuring the impact of his brain injury. John, 57, from Rotherham, sustained a traumatic brain injury in a road traffic accident in 1995. The accident left him with a number of issues including fatigue and problems with his memory. Here he shares his story as part of our Right First Time campaign. John’s complex brain injury was assessed by an Ambulance Technician in 2014. He says despite important points which needed to be fully explained, she didn’t allow any answers to be expanded upon, and seemed to be simply following a script, regardless. He said: “No-one really explained to me what was going to happen and the whole experience was very impersonal.” There was clearly a strict script she was working from and she barely looked up throughout the whole meeting. I didn’t feel there was much compassion or understanding at all. “The questions asked were very closed and she didn’t give me a chance to explain. She didn’t take the time or give me the opportunity to expand on anything.” “For instance, one question was ‘can you make a cup of tea?’ which I can. But I didn’t get the chance to explain that I often forget I put the kettle on, or forget that I had a cup of tea five minutes earlier, or believe I’ve already had one when I hadn't “I know how to make a meal, but I can’t be trusted to use the oven as I often get distracted and have left the gas on so many times – it is just too dangerous.” Although John successfully qualified for the payment, he is anxious about being reassessed in the future. John said the assessment needs to have a wider scope and be done by a specialist in brain injury. He said: “The questions need to be more sophisticated and asked by people who understand brain injury enough to be able to dig a little bit deeper, to get to the real impact. The assessment doesn’t reflect the reality of the person who may be depending desperately on a fair decision.” Back to stories index Right First Time The Right First Time campaign is calling on the government to bring in changes to the disability benefit assessments which currently fail a large number of brain injury survivors and their families. Find out more Headway evidence part of “unprecedented response” to parliamentary inquiry on PIP and ESA Find out more Welfare benefits A brain injury is likely to have an effect on a family's finances, and claiming benefits can help to ease the pressure. Find out more Friends of Headway Individual membership Join/Renew Contact Us t: 0115 924 0800 e: enquiries@headway.org.uk Help us improve life after brain injury. Donate Improving life after brain injury 0808 800 2244 Call our free helpline 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Or email helpline@headway.org.uk Join our online Community 27k Likes 25k Followers 3k Subscribers Privacy policy Cookies Terms & Conditions Accessibility Contact Us Resource centre Find a Headway Approved care providers Charity shops Fundraising comments, feedback and complaints Vacancies Join our mailing list Headway - the brain injury association is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity no. 1025852) and the Office of the Scottish Regulator (Charity no. SC 039992). Headway is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 2346893. © Copyright Headway 2021 - Site designed and developed by MEDIAmaker By clicking 'Accept All Cookies’ you agree to the storing of cookies on your device. This will help us to offer the best possible experience and develop more of the information you need. Accept All Cookies Cookies Settings