PIP washing and bathing: how to describe your difficulties
A calm, practical guide to the PIP washing and bathing activity (Question 6 on the PIP2 form). Understand what the DWP is looking for, how to describe your difficulties with self-care, and see example notes. This is reference-only and not legal, medical, or benefits advice.
What this activity covers
Activity 4 on the PIP assessment looks at your ability to wash your whole body, including getting into and out of an unadapted bath or shower. “Washing” in PIP terms means cleaning your entire body, including removing dirt and sweat. “Bathing” includes getting into and out of a standard bath or shower that has not been adapted.
The assessment considers whether you can wash your hair, wash your body above the waist, wash your body below the waist, and get in and out of the bath or shower. It also considers whether you can do this safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly (as often as you need to), and in a reasonable time. If it takes you more than twice as long as someone without your condition, that is not a reasonable time.
This is one of the activities where many people underestimate their difficulties because they feel embarrassed describing them. If you struggle with any part of washing yourself, it is important to be honest about it.
How the DWP scores this activity
You are matched to the one descriptor that applies for more than half of the time. If more than one applies, you get the points for the highest scoring one. The descriptors for washing and bathing are:
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can wash and bathe unaided | 0 |
| Needs to use an aid or appliance to wash or bathe | 2 |
| Needs supervision or prompting to wash or bathe | 2 |
| Needs assistance to wash either their hair or body below the waist | 2 |
| Needs assistance to get in or out of a bath or shower | 3 |
| Needs assistance to wash their body between the shoulders and waist | 4 |
| Cannot wash and bathe at all and needs another person to wash their entire body | 8 |
Notice that different body areas score different points. Needing help to wash between the shoulders and waist scores higher (4 points) than needing help with hair or below the waist (2 points). This is because the area between shoulders and waist is considered easier to reach for most people, so needing help there indicates greater difficulty.
Writing your notes for this activity
Examples: describing washing and bathing difficulties
Below are examples of how you might describe your difficulties with this activity. These are for illustration only and should not be copied into your own form. Always describe your own experience.
“I cannot get into the bath at all, so I only use the shower. I have a shower seat because I cannot stand long enough and a grab rail to hold on to. I can wash my face, chest, and arms but I cannot reach my back, legs, or feet because I cannot bend. I use a long-handled sponge for my legs but it does not reach everywhere. My partner washes my back and helps me wash my feet and lower legs. Getting in and out of the shower is difficult and I hold on to the grab rail because I am unsteady. I have slipped twice in the last year. The whole process takes about 35 minutes.”
“On bad days I do not wash at all. I can go three or four days without showering because I cannot make myself get up and do it. I know I need to but the effort feels impossible. My partner has to tell me to shower and sometimes stands outside the bathroom door to make sure I actually do it, because otherwise I will go back to bed. When I do shower, I often do the minimum and skip washing my hair because I do not have the energy to lift my arms for that long. This happens four or five days a week.”
“Showering uses so much energy that I have to plan it like an activity. I can only shower every other day at most. I sit on a shower seat the whole time because standing makes the fatigue worse. Washing my hair is the hardest part because holding my arms up is exhausting. After a shower I usually need to lie down for at least an hour. On bad days I do not shower at all because I know it will wipe me out for the rest of the day and I will not be able to do anything else.”
“I find showering very distressing because of past trauma. I need someone else to be in the house or I will not shower at all. Even with someone home, I rush through as quickly as possible and do not wash properly because I want to get out. I avoid baths completely. On bad days I use wet wipes instead of showering because I cannot face it. I shower about twice a week on average, and even then it is only because my partner reminds me and stays nearby.”
Using GuidedPIPs
GuidedPIPs walks you through the washing and bathing activity with guided prompts tailored to your conditions. It helps you describe your difficulties step by step, covering aids, help from others, body areas, and variability, so you do not have to figure out the structure on your own.
You can start for free and decide whether full access is right for you.