Doctors note

Anthony1987

Hi I'm just wounding if u have to pay for a doctors note for the tribunal as got told it's like £20  for  a full report or somethingGP phoning me some time soon.

poppy123456

Hi,

A lot of GPs charge for a letter for support for a benefits claim but a letter from your GP isn't the best evidence you can send to support a PIP/ESA claim. GPs don't know how your conditions affect you, they will only know what you tell them. Paying for a letter from your GP is a waste of money for support with a PIP/ESA claim.

Anthony1987

Okay thanks it was citizen advice what told me to asked for full medical report 

poppy123456

Evidence should state exactly how your conditions affect you and letters from GPs very rarely state this.

Yadnad

Anthony1987 said:

Okay thanks it was citizen advice what told me to asked for full medical report 

Sounds like another brush off from the CAB. At one time they used to take over the running of a claim all the way from helping to fill out the claim form, obtaining evidence right through to working with the claimant should their case get to a Tribunal.

Peasmold_01

May I suggest. Your are entitled to your full medical records, as held by your GP surgery. Some surgery's charge, about £25.00. If you can get the last wto years, and make notes about how your various conditions impact of daily living and mobility, that will go a lot further than a standard letter from the GP. They only confirm what you have ben diagnosed with, not how it impacts upon you personally.

Anthony1987

Yeah there are messing up big time twice I've been back and kept saying we can't find u on the system even tho got appointment this friday finllay they called me back to get a appointment next week   even put the the phone down when i was hold to them last week the woman on thw phone said sorry like 

Anthony1987

Hi i just got a evidence letter form the GP it's  everything on it she even put need  medical supervision  and input  do i send it to pip? Or just wait for the tribunal

CockneyRebel

You should send any relevant evidence to the tribunal as soon as you can. It is easier to do so when you make your submission so that it can be referenced with all previous evidence

Anthony1987

Okay thanks all the forum been sent to the tribunal it was just waiting for letters who I'm  seening  etc  pip as citizens Advice said not to take loads of  new evidence with me but surly they would need to see them if i have any new evidence

CockneyRebel

the tribunal might accept one sheet of evidence on the day but it is better to submit it in advance so that it can be considered with the bundle

Anthony1987

Okay i will pop into town get photocopies so i need to send it to the tribunal court place instead of pip? I've  got a letter saying from tribunal court they have received my letter so just waiting on the date now 

poppy123456

You need to send it to HMCTS and not DWP and make sure you put your reference number on the top.

Anthony1987

Okay thanks 

affii1993

From May 2018 anything u ask from doctor should be free by law they can’t charge you!! It’s illegal to charge you now 

poppy123456

affii1993 said:

From May 2018 anything u ask from doctor should be free by law they can’t charge you!! It’s illegal to charge you now 

This is correct for medical records. For a letter of support for a benefits claim then very often they charge which is perfectly within their rights.

Anthony1987

Yeah she didn't  charger me very strong letter as well 

Anthony1987

A community nurse is involved with all this medical side  as i Shaw him today so he said he will come to the appointments with me so he can wright down everything the docters say etc and there sending me over to the 700club

[Deleted User]

Peasmold_01
I tried to get my medical file and was told I would have to pay per page ..i think they said 50p each page and I didnt know some Drs charge £25 ...i was charged that for a Drs letter that the DWP insisted I got only to find it was dismissed.

poppy123456

vickyanne said:

Peasmold_01
I tried to get my medical file and was told I would have to pay per page ..i think they said 50p each page and I didnt know some Drs charge £25 ...i was charged that for a Drs letter that the DWP insisted I got only to find it was dismissed.

If it's paper copies of your medical reports you've asked for then they'll be charging you for printing them. If you ask for digital copies then this would be free.

Peasmold_01

I've decided to come back to the forum, for this posting. Poppy 1234 is absolutely correct, digital copies of medical records are free. There is no law that says doctors cannot charge for letters or hard copies of medical reports  It is entirely up to the doctor or the practice policy. All GP's are self employed, and or employed by a practice, within the NHS. The same rules apply if you ask for a medical or medical report for insurance claim or any other personal requirements. I would add, not all doctors or their practices charge. However, in respect of medical reports, digital copies are free,. Thus, download and print off yourself  If you cannot do that yourself, have the download sent to an email address of a friend you can trust  and get them to print it off. 

Yadnad

vickyanne said:

Peasmold_01
I tried to get my medical file and was told I would have to pay per page ..i think they said 50p each page and I didnt know some Drs charge £25 ...i was charged that for a Drs letter that the DWP insisted I got only to find it was dismissed.

At one time the DWP made it clear to all PIP claimants that they were NOT to contact their GP as they may well have to pay for a letter. The DWP said also that if they want a letter they will contact the GP themselves and pay the fee.

Now we have the DWP telling the claimant to go get a GP letter and pay for it themselves! A complete turn round.

poppy123456

Even though on the new review forms for PIP it has a list of things not to send to support your claim, a GP letter is one of them.

Yadnad

poppy123456 said:

Even though on the new review forms for PIP it has a list of things not to send to support your claim, a GP letter is one of them.

For obvious reasons, but hey the way the DWP work anything and everything is possible!

mikehughescq

The first question to the OP would be to ask what it is you think a “note” from your GP will add to your case which is currently missing? What’s the gap and what do you think will change by filling that gap? If you don’t have an explicit answer to that question then you’re basically in the land of throwing mud at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. Generally, GP letters are of limited use (ditto consultants) unless related to mental ill health or learning disability. They can do diagnosis, meds, treatment and prognosis but all 4 of those should be in your claim pack anyway and unless someone medical has already disputed 1 of them then DWP won’t be disputing anything other than maybe prognosis for the purposes of the length of the award. 

As your medical records will, according to @Peasmold_01 only confirm your diagnosis, I am at a loss as to why they would be of any use! 

Generally tribunals adjourn for medical records when they don’t wish to address a complex issue and fancy leaving it to a different tribunal. It’s also a tactic used by judges to avoid an appellant losing a case where the judge would otherwise be outvoted on some stupid basis. Generally GP medical records show what could be technically described as “**** all”. However, the things which accompany those records will often cast things in a new light e.g. tests results which contradict those done by a HCP or even consultant letters. 

On the other hand why pay anything for consultants letters when you should already have copies yourself and, if not, just write to the consultant and request whichever ones you need. It’s rare that they will charge at all. 

Whilst I remember, the point re: charging what they feel like is also incorrect. See https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/13402/ fir a nice summary as to why. 

Finally, it’s worth noting that GP records tend to go against appellants more than they go for them. Many is the appellant who claims not to have gone on holiday recently only for the tribunal to read that they went to their GP to ask for extra meds because they were going away! I’ve a long list of those horror stories. 

If the OP wants to win a PIP appeal they need to focus primarily on their anecdotal evidence.