Personal Independence Payment (PIP) toolkit

Questions relevant to sight loss

The descriptors (legal tests) are:

Needs one or more of the following:

1. to use an aid or appliance to be able to manage medication
2. supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to manage medication
3. supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to monitor a health condition.

Points: 1

More information to help you answer the questions

Managing medication means the ability to take prescribed medication in the correct way and at the right time.

Monitoring a health condition or recognising significant changes means the ability to detect changes in the condition and take corrective action, as advised by a healthcare professional.

Pill boxes, dosette boxes, blister packs, alarms and reminders can be taken into account as aids when you need to use them because you are blind or partially sighted.

Top tips

When answering the questions think about:

• Do you use an aid to help you know on what day/at what time you should take your medication?
• Does someone have to help you identify which tablets to take and when?
• Do you use labelling methods to identify your medication, for example a Penfriend labeller or elastic bands to identify one type of eye drop?
• Do you need help from another person with eye drops?
• Do you use a drop dispenser aid to make it easier to take your drops?
• Do you need help to record your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes? Do you use a large print or talking glucose meter?
• Do you need help to locate your medication?
• Can you read the accompanying information leaflet that comes with your medication, or would you need someone else to read this to you?
• If you do not have any support with this activity how do you manage? Have you had any incidents e.g. taking the wrong tablet or too much of your medication?

You should put your answers to these questions in the section on the form called "Extra information".