Personal independence payments among mental health service users: results from a novel data linkage.

Background: Personal independence payment (PIP) is a benefit that covers additional daily living costs people may incur due to a long-term health condition or disability. Little is known about PIP receipt, and associated factors, among mental health service users and trends over time. Individual level data linking healthcare records with administrative records on benefits receipt have been non-existent in the UK.
Aims: To explore how PIP receipt varies over time, including PIP type, and its association with sociodemographic and diagnostic patient characteristics among mental health service users.
Method: A dataset established by linking electronic mental health records from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust with administrative records from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Results: Among 143714 working age patients, 37120 (25.8%) had received PIP between 2013-2019, with PIP receipt steadily increasing over time. Two in three patients (63.2%) had received both the daily living and mobility component. PIP receipt increased with age. Those in more deprived areas were more likely to receive PIP. The likelihood of PIP receipt varied by ethnicity. Patients diagnosed with a severe mental illness (SMI) had 1.48 odds (95% CI 1.42-1.53) of having received PIP compared to those with a different psychiatric diagnosis.
Conclusions: One in four mental health service users had received PIP with higher levels seen among those most likely in need as indicated by a SMI diagnosis. Future research using this dataset could explore the average duration of PIP receipt in mental health service users and re-assessment patterns by psychiatric diagnosis.