A Kent woman has joined a group of people with multiple sclerosis fighting for a change to the way a benefit assessment is carried out.

Shereena Aitken-Grey, from Northfleet attended a parliamentary event about the devastating impact the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment process is having on people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The group, spearheaded by the MS Society, then delivered a 22,000 signature petition to the Department for Work and Pensions, calling for the PIP process to be reviewed.

The 31-year-old, who was diagnosed with MS when she was just 17 years old, said she has been left with barely any financial support as the assessment process “fails to understand the needs of people with MS”.

Because she is married and owns her own home, Shereena says she is entitled to very little benefits despite being unable to work or walk unaided.

“I have no mobility,” she said. “I am in a wheelchair.”

The extra money provided by PIP, which she says is the only disability benefit which is not means tested, would allow Shereena to do things she can no longer do.

“It would give me more independence,” she said. “At the moment I am just stuck at home leading a very sedentary life.

“I want to be out at least trying to do things, to socialise and to keep my mind and body active.”

Having the extra £250 a month would mean Shereena could afford to go to the gym or pay for much-needed private physiotherapy rather than joining long NHS waiting lists.

“To get the appointments with the frequency that you want them takes forever on the NHS,” she explained.

She could also buy vitamin supplements recommended to her and organic food which she says is good for her body.

“It’s only a small amount of money but it makes a vast difference,” she said. “MS is an expensive disease with all the vitamins and supplements you can buy to help.

Shereena says at the moment the scheme requires applicants to fill out a paper form and wait to hear whether they are to receive a personal visit, a phone call or nothing at all.

Shereena said filling out the form itself is humiliating as she has lost the use of her writing hand. “I was typing it with one hand then cutting the answer out and sticking them onto the form.”

She said the 15 questions on the form are also hard to answer accurately for someone with MS as your symptoms can change from one hour to the next.

“What you can do one hour you might not be able to do five hours later,” she explained. “It’s a fluctuating condition and for many people it is an invisible condition. You can be ok one day and terrible the next.”

Shereena says she applied once in 2018 when she did get a personal assessment but she said it was not very thorough and did not even require her to demonstrate her mobility difficulties.

When she reapplied three years later she heard nothing back, despite her condition having deteriorated.

She says there should be a blanket procedure rather than different types of assessment and she says they should be carried out by people with the necessary understanding of the condition.

She said: “It makes no sense. People who are more mobile than me are getting the benefit and I wasn’t even assessed. “It’s quite a slap in the face, having to prove you are disabled enough.”

Without the extra cash Shereena says her independence is severely restricted. “I can’t leave my house without someone else. If I want to go out I have to order an Uber. If I don’t have enough money for that then I can’t go out. It’s extremely isolating.”

At the #10yearsofPIP event last week, co-hosted by the MS Society, more than 30 cross-party MPs heard about the MS Society’s new report which reveals two-thirds (65%) of people with MS said going through the process had a negative or very negative impact on their physical and mental health.

Shereena said: “It was important for me to be involved in the MS Society’s PIP campaign because it is so important to my independence.”

The issue was also raised in PMQs last Wednesday, when Charlotte Nichols MP (Labour), who is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on MS, asked PM Rishi Sunak whether he would listen to the MS Society’s call to fix PIP.

The Prime Minister responded by saying he would ensure the Department for Work and Pensions Secretary looks at the petition and responds.

A spokesperson for the Department of Works and Pensions said: “We aim to provide a compassionate service for those with disabilities such as MS and, where an assessment is required, any claimant is free to be accompanied to their appointment to reduce stress or anxiety.

“All our disability assessors are qualified health professionals and we are investing in their skills as part of ongoing work to improve the experience of the benefits system for disabled people.”