Activity 5 is the hardest one to write about. It covers getting on and off the toilet, emptying your bladder and bowel, cleaning yourself afterwards and dealing with incontinence. Managing clothing is not counted here; it belongs with dressing and undressing (Activity 6). This is PIP2 Question 7. Many people leave this blank or write very little because of embarrassment. But being specific here can score significant points.
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Try one activity free →The Descriptors and Points
a. Can manage toilet needs or incontinence unaided - 0 points.
b. Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to manage toilet needs or incontinence - 2 points. Raised toilet seat, grab rails, commode, stoma bags, catheters, incontinence pads. If you need any of these, that is 2 points.
c. Needs supervision or prompting to be able to manage toilet needs - 2 points. Someone reminds you to use the toilet, or needs to be nearby for safety.
d. Needs assistance to be able to manage toilet needs - 4 points. Help getting on or off the toilet, emptying your bladder or bowel or cleaning yourself afterwards. If the help is needed because of incontinence, it is descriptor e or f instead.
e. Needs assistance to be able to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel - 6 points. Help changing pads, cleaning after accidents, managing catheter or stoma.
f. Needs assistance to be able to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel - 8 points.
What You Need to Describe
Be specific and honest, even though it is uncomfortable:
- Can you get on and off the toilet independently?
- Can you manage your clothing (trousers, underwear)? Mention it, but it is scored under dressing and undressing (Activity 6), not here.
- Can you clean yourself properly afterwards?
- Do you use incontinence pads? How many per day?
- Do you have a catheter or stoma?
- How often do you have accidents?
- Does urgency limit your activities?
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Check my answer free →Using the Toilet and Managing Incontinence: Example PIP2 Answers
On the PIP2 form this activity is question 7, which the form calls "Using the toilet and managing incontinence". The regulations call the same activity "Managing toilet needs or incontinence", so both names lead to the same six descriptors. Q7a is a tick box asking whether your condition affects you using the toilet or managing incontinence. Q7b is the box where you describe each difficulty: how often it happens on good and bad days, what it is, why you have it, the aids or help you use and any help you need but do not get. Our question-by-question guide to the PIP2 form covers the other questions in the same way.
The words that matter come from Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the PIP Regulations 2013. "Toilet needs" means "getting on and off an unadapted toilet", "evacuating the bladder and bowel" and "cleaning oneself afterwards". To "manage incontinence" means to "manage involuntary evacuation of the bowel or bladder, including use a collecting device or self-catheterisation, and clean oneself afterwards". The form adds that the question "does not mean physically getting to the bathroom", so describe what happens once you are there.
The three examples below show the level of detail that helps. Each one says how often, how long it takes and what goes wrong or could go wrong, and each is labelled with the descriptor it is written to describe. Use them as a pattern for your own words rather than text to copy: the descriptor that applies to you depends on what you need on more than half of days, and the decision maker weighs your whole claim.
Example 1: urgency managed with pads and a commode (descriptor 5b)
"I have an overactive bladder with urge incontinence. On most days I get only a few seconds' warning, around eight times during the day and two or three times at night. I wear pads day and night and change them four or five times a day. I have a commode next to my bed because I cannot reach the toilet in time at night; before I had it I was wet before I got there on most nights. Without pads I would leak through my clothes several times a week. About two days a week the pad is not enough and I have to wash and change completely, which takes me around 15 minutes."
Example 2: supervision because of falls (descriptor 5c)
"My blood pressure drops when I stand up from sitting, so I go dizzy getting up from the toilet. I have fallen in the bathroom three times since March, once hitting my head on the basin. My husband now stays in the bathroom with me every time I use the toilet, around seven times a day and once or twice at night, so that someone is there if I go dizzy when I sit down or stand up. He does not lift me; he is there to keep me safe. When he is out, my daughter stays with me instead."
Example 3: help after bowel accidents on most nights (descriptor 5e)
"Since my bowel surgery I have faecal incontinence at night on four or five nights a week, and I often do not wake until it has happened. Arthritis in my hands and shoulders means I cannot reach round to clean myself properly or change the bed on my own, so my daughter cleans me, changes my pad and strips the bed. It takes the two of us 20 to 30 minutes each time. On the nights I have tried to manage alone I was left soiled until the morning and my skin broke down; my district nurse has treated two sore areas this year."
What not to write: a single line such as "I have IBS and sometimes have accidents" or "I manage". It gives no frequency, no detail of the help you need and no reason to choose any descriptor above a. Our guide to what to write on the PIP form lists more phrases to avoid, and if bowel urgency is your main problem, PIP for IBS covers urgency and flares in more detail.
This guide sticks to the form wording. For how many PIP points for incontinence, including how Activity 5 adds up with washing and dressing, see our incontinence guide, and you can try different descriptors in the PIP points calculator.
Conditions That Score Here
IBS (urgency, accidents), Crohn's/colitis (frequent urgent bowel movements), MS (bladder and bowel dysfunction), spinal conditions (difficulty getting on/off toilet), mobility conditions (cannot reach to clean), dementia (incontinence), prostate problems, pregnancy complications, medication side effects.
What Counts as "Managing Toilet Needs"?
Three things, as the regulations define them: getting on and off an unadapted toilet, evacuating the bladder and bowel and cleaning yourself afterwards. Managing incontinence means managing involuntary evacuation of the bladder or bowel (including self-catheterisation or using a collecting device such as a catheter or stoma bag) and cleaning yourself afterwards. The DWP assessment guide says this activity does not consider managing clothing, climbing stairs or getting to the toilet. If you have a commode because a bladder or bowel problem means you would be incontinent before you reached the bathroom, that's an aid; a commode used only because walking to the toilet is difficult scores nothing here. If you need a raised toilet seat or grab rails, those are aids.
Incontinence and PIP
Don't be vague about incontinence. State exactly what happens: "I experience faecal incontinence approximately 3 times per week. I wear incontinence pads at all times. Despite pads, I have accidents requiring full clothing changes. Cleaning up after an episode takes 20 minutes and I sometimes need help from my partner." This level of detail is necessary to score properly.
Specific Aids and What They Score
Needing any of the following aids qualifies you for descriptor b (2 points) at minimum:
- Incontinence pads - urinary or faecal, prescribed or purchased
- Indwelling catheter - urethral or suprapubic with leg/night bags
- Intermittent self-catheter - single-use or reusable
- Sheath / condom catheter with leg bag (male)
- Stoma bag - colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy
- Anal plug - for faecal incontinence
- Raised toilet seat - usually for arthritis, hip issues
- Grab rails around toilet
- Toilet frame - free-standing support
- Commode - bedroom or bedside, where you cannot get on and off a toilet or where urgency or incontinence means you cannot wait to reach one (a commode used only because walking to the toilet is difficult scores 0 here)
- Bottle/bedpan - same rule as a commode: for a bladder or bowel problem or because you cannot get on and off a toilet, not for the walk to the toilet alone
- Bidet attachment or specific cleaning aids
- Specially adapted underwear for catheter management
If your NHS continence service prescribes any of these, you have automatic evidence of need.
Conditions Likely to Score Activity 5
- Multiple sclerosis: Bladder spasticity, urgency, retention in 75-90% of MS patients
- Spinal cord injury: Neurogenic bladder/bowel - descriptor f (8 points) where another person has to help manage both, e (6 points) for one, b (2 points) if you manage catheters and bowel care yourself
- Stroke: Urge incontinence, functional incontinence from mobility limits
- Parkinson's disease: Urgency, frequency, nocturia
- Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: Urgency, incontinence during flares
- IBS-D (diarrhoea-predominant): Faecal urgency, incontinence
- Prostate cancer (post-treatment): Urinary incontinence often permanent
- Pelvic organ prolapse: Stress incontinence, urgency
- Diabetic autonomic neuropathy: Bladder dysfunction
- Severe arthritis: Difficulty getting on and off the toilet, reaching to clean
- Dementia: Late stages cause incontinence, need for prompting and assistance
- Severe IBS, microscopic colitis, post-cholecystectomy diarrhoea: Faecal urgency
- Cauda equina syndrome (post-surgery): Permanent neurogenic bladder/bowel
- Spina bifida, cerebral palsy: Lifelong neurogenic bladder/bowel
Toilet Time and the Activity 3 Crossover
Time you spend managing toilet needs or incontinence on your own does not count towards Activity 3 (managing therapy). Activity 3 descriptors c to f measure only the time another person spends supervising, prompting or assisting you with therapy prescribed for use at home, so a routine you carry out independently scores nothing there. Normal toilet time is not therapy at all. Self-catheterisation, collecting devices such as catheters and stoma bags, pads and cleaning up afterwards are all part of managing incontinence under the regulations, which is scored here.
Still describe how long it all takes, because it shows the assessor how much the condition affects you, but score it under Activity 5:
- Intermittent self-catheterisation you do yourself (10-15 min, 4-6 times a day): descriptor b (2 points), however many times a day
- Stoma bag changes you manage yourself (20-30 min daily plus leakage management): descriptor b (2 points); if someone has to change the bag or deal with leaks, descriptor e (6 points)
- Bowel management (suppositories, transanal irrigation, manual evacuation) that another person has to carry out or help with: descriptor e (6 points) or, if they also help with bladder incontinence, f (8 points)
- Someone helping with pad changes or cleaning after accidents: descriptor e (6 points)
- Catheter maintenance and bag emptying done by another person: descriptor e (6 points)
Only one descriptor is awarded for Activity 5, so claim the highest one that applies on the majority of days.
The Reliability Test for Activity 5
Under reg 4(2A):
- Safely: Falls risk during urgent rushing to toilet, especially at night. Skin breakdown from incontinence.
- To an acceptable standard: Inadequate cleaning leads to UTIs, skin infections. Leakage past pads.
- Repeatedly: Frequency of episodes - 6-15 toilet visits per day in severe IBS, MS, IBD.
- Within a reasonable time: Bowel management routines can take 30-90 min daily; full cleanup after faecal accidents takes 20-30 min vs 2 min for normal toilet use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I write for using the toilet and managing incontinence on PIP?
In question 7b of the PIP2 form, describe each difficulty in turn: how often it happens on good and bad days, what goes wrong, why it happens, the aids you use (pads, a commode, a catheter or a raised seat) and the help you get or need from another person. Give numbers, such as accidents a week and minutes to clean up, and say what happens when help is not there. A one-line answer such as "I sometimes have accidents" gives the assessor nothing to work with.
What counts as managing toilet needs or incontinence for PIP?
The PIP regulations define toilet needs as getting on and off an unadapted toilet, evacuating the bladder and bowel and cleaning yourself afterwards. Managing incontinence means managing involuntary evacuation of the bowel or bladder and cleaning yourself afterwards, including using a collecting device such as a stoma bag or catheter, or self-catheterising. Getting to the bathroom and managing your clothes are not part of this activity; clothes are scored under dressing and undressing.
I manage my catheter independently. Do I still score?
Yes. A catheter is an aid and the DWP guide treats self-catheterisation and indwelling catheters as managing incontinence, so managing one on your own is descriptor b (2 points). The time it takes (typically 10-15 minutes per catheterisation, 4-6 times daily) does not score under Activity 3 (managing therapy), because descriptors 3c to 3f count only the time another person spends supervising, prompting or assisting you. If someone has to help you catheterise or clean up afterwards, that is descriptor e (6 points) here.
I'm too embarrassed to describe my toilet difficulties. What should I do?
Write it down rather than saying it aloud if that's easier. The PIP form is a private document. Assessors deal with these issues every day. Being specific and detailed is the ONLY way to score the points you deserve. Vagueness costs you money.
I have a stoma but manage it myself - what do I score?
Descriptor b (2 points) automatically because the stoma bag is an aid and the DWP guide treats anyone with a stoma as incontinent for this activity. If you have leaks and another person has to help you change the bag or clean up (common at night), that is assistance to manage incontinence: descriptor e (6 points), not d. If your stoma fails frequently (parastomal hernia, retracted stoma, poor adhesion), this is significant.
I have urgency but no accidents - does that count?
Urgency that limits activities (cannot go out without knowing toilet locations, cannot complete tasks because of frequent breaks) is functionally significant, but on its own it does not match a descriptor. It scores when it creates a need. Pads worn as a precaution on most days are an aid (descriptor b, 2 points) and so is a commode you use because you cannot wait to reach the toilet. Needing someone to remind you to go or to stay with you because you fall when you rush is prompting or supervision (descriptor c, 2 points).
I only have nighttime incontinence (nocturnal enuresis) - what do I score?
Pads, plastic mattress protectors, frequent night changes all count. Descriptor b (2 points) for pads at minimum. If someone else has to help you clean yourself up or change your pad, that is assistance to manage incontinence: descriptor e (6 points), not d. Nighttime symptoms count just as much as daytime.
What if my GP says my incontinence is "mild"?
"Mild" by clinical standards may still be PIP-qualifying if functional impact is significant. Describe what you actually do (pads, restricted activities, plans around toilet access) rather than relying on clinical labels.
I am on prescription for tolterodine/oxybutynin for overactive bladder - is this enough?
Medication for overactive bladder shows you have OAB. If treatment is partially effective and you still have urgency, frequency or accidents, you score. If treatment is fully effective, you may not qualify, but assessment is on current function.
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