Problem getting severe mental impairment from dr

goonerfan954
goonerfan954 Online Community Member Posts: 8 Listener
in Benefits and income

I’m helping two people that have bipolar trying to get the SMI form signed off by a doctor and experiencing difficulties in both cases.

In the first, the doctor said bipolar doesn’t qualify and only conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s do.

In the second, the gentleman is now in a care home (he’s expected to get a private flat soon) but the doctors have said they cannot sign it while he’s there, even though I’m continually arguing that he could have money backdated for the time he rented before the care home.

So I guess my question is, does bipolar qualify for SMI? If so, is there some ruling I could point a sceptical dr towards? Or is there some additional criteria i could try to get his psychiatrist to include on his notes or something?

Secondly, what do people think of the dr not signing if he is in a care home?

Comments

  • Hopeless
    Hopeless Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 977 Pioneering

    It’s a difficult one and is pretty much down to the GP to decide whether someone meets the criteria or not. There has recently been a government consultation on this and they were looking at widening the criteria and making it clearer but I haven’t heard of any results yet.

  • Hopeless
    Hopeless Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 977 Pioneering

    This is what they are thinking of changing it to. Apparently Wales has already changed and they want to bring England to be the same. I’m not able to post the link but it’s within the ‘Modernising and improving the administration of council tax’ document on gov.uk. So maybe if the change goes ahead it will help.

    Title:     Significant cognitive impairment

    Definition: A severe (and permanent) mental condition or neurological change that impacts on the brain’s ability to function and has a significant impact on an individual’s daily life.

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