WCA - GP gaslighted me on UC113 form!
I am awaiting outcome of my UC50 WCA and noticed on my NHS app a copy of UC113 form sent to WCA. This was completed by the main GP who owns the practice, I haven't seen him since 2023. He has basically gaslit my mental health conditions saying I was ok the last time I saw him and that his colleague has been dealing with me. Why did he even fill out the form?!!!
The GP who I have been seeing since October 2024 is great, but she wasn't given the chance to complete the form.
My question is whether this will affect my WCA, or will I get the chance to refute what he said? I can show the notes from the actual GP that has seen me (on my NHS app) she has been really great.
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Hi @Enduring_Rogue ,
I’m really sorry to hear that this has happened. I had a similar experience two years ago when my GP sent totally irrelevant medical information—things like BMI and blood pressure issues that had nothing to do with my condition. It was from a GP I had never even seen before.
However, because I submitted a lot of corroborating medical evidence, I was still awarded LCWRA. My friend is a practicing GP in Milton Keynes, and he said that GPs hate filling out benefits forms because they don’t understand them at all. He mentioned that he calls claimants directly to fill out a few sections. I really wish everyone did that, but sadly, they don’t.
I know it’s incredibly frustrating, but hopefully, this won’t impact your outcome as long as you’ve submitted a detailed, medically backed-up WCA application, clearly explaining how your conditions meet the relevant descriptors.
Wishing you the best with your claim!
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Thanks @noonebelieves I have been resisting the urge to overreact to this, saw it last week, and discussed with my counsellor today. I sent in a letter from Sheffield Talking Therapies that lists my conditions, but he even said on the form that they just fob people off to CMHS, then said CMHS are overstretched. He made it sound like I don't deserve any help! Deeply upsetting to me as asking for help has been really difficult for me. I hope I get to challenge this during an actual assessment 🤞
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Thanks, @Enduring_Rogue,
I truly wish you the very best. As long as you’ve submitted the relevant medical information from the “great GP” you’ve been seeing since Oct 24, along with any details from talking therapy and any other relevant medical information , I assume everything should be okay.🤞🤞You definitely have the right to raise a complaint with your GP surgery’s practice manager regarding how your UC113 was handled, so that it doesn’t happen to you or anyone else in the future!
Best Wishes 🤝
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"I hope I get to challenge this during an actual assessment 🤞"
If this means you haven't been called for the assessment yet, try to get a report/letter from the same GP and see what they write down for you. If you're not happy with what they write, then, at least you would guess what he has already sent to them and you would prepare yourself to challenge his claims.
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I saw exactly what he wrote on the form as it was scanned onto my records and visible in my NHS app, so I am prepared to be able to challenge it.
I was just trying to find out if WCA give any credence to a GP that hasn't actually seen me in over 18 months and who used the form to complain about how stretched the local mental health services are.
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Yes they do give credence, as nothing shows them that the GP in question hasn't seen you for the past 18 months. In addition, at the assessment, trying to challenge what "your" doctor has written is a complete exercise in futility, as the assessor will believe the doctor more than you.
To counter what this GP has written, I would suggest that you get a report/letter from your current GP and take it with you to the assessment, or send it to the assessment centre, if possible.
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Thanks for the advice @Passerby I will call the surgery and ask.
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Hi @Passerby & @noonebelieves
Just an update. I contacted my GP surgery and asked for the GP who has actually seen me requesting her to write something for me. Guess what? The message was intercepted by the doctor that filled in the form!! He sent a very patronising text message saying the UC113 form is a brief summary, prior to a full report being requested... This doesn't sound right to me!
I have booked an appointment to see the Dr who actually knows what's happening with me (after being quizzed and put on hold by receptionist twice!) so I can discuss with her directly, without any interference from him. Appointment not until 8th May though.
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Hi.
You've already seen what he has written about you, so, don't count on him for a full report.
Well done, go speak to your current doctor. Make sure you ask her to write a report for you and hand it to you. It's very rare that WCA assessors contact GPs for health report; it's rather PIP assessors that contact GPs almost in all cases. Therefore, make sure you get a written report from her, which you can preferably send to the assessment centre or the DWP (I'm not very sure which one to send it to) or take it with you.
If she tells you that she'll write it when the assessor requests one, tell her that for the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) they content themselves with what's submitted to them prior to the assessment and they extremely rarely contact GPs/health practitioners. It's rather for PIP when more than likely assessors contact GP for health reports prior to the assessment.
Some GPs are nasty. My own GP who used to always be very helpful and on my side is nowadays becoming nasty since she has finally realised that I'm not really interested in her, and this is distressing me quite a lot at this juncture when things are tending to get tougher, to put it mildly.
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why did your GP fill in your UC wca form ?
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Hi @sarah_lea12
The UC113 is the form the WCA people send to the GP to confirm what I said on my UC50 form.
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Hi @Passerby
I am sorry you have issues with your GP too, but also relieved in a way... that it's not just me.
I don't think the doctors really understand what's at stake when dealing with the benefits system, nor the impact this can have on our lives. The whole thing has made me feel invalidated and put me back on the defensive, when what I need is help, support and to be "seen".
I assumed the form the GP filled in was for WCA, but it could easily be for my mandatory reconsideration requested for PIP. Either way, it's a let down.
I am finding all this deeply upsetting and it is not helping my efforts to work on my mental health.
He said ADHD symptoms are "very prevalent in the population currently"! I have my ADHD assessment on Monday, so at least I will be armed with a diagnosis by the time I see the GP in May. I am still on the wait list for help with my C-PTSD ( which he thinks I should be over, since I got out of an abusive relationship "years ago").
Thanks for your advice. The waiting game continues...
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If you're going through a mandatory reconsideration for PIP, then you need a robust report for it to counter their previous decision.
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I am painfully aware of the implications unfortunately, hence the stress this is all causing.
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Due to the stress that these assessments cause, I haven't bothered to claim PIP to date. I'm only on LCWRA. Due to the upcoming evil changes, I read people advising those, like me, who are currently only on LCWRA to claim PIP, as the WCA would be scrapped in 2028 and they would be assessed via the new single assessment based on the PIP assessment. Therefore, I'm tempted to claim it, but also worry about the damn stress that claiming it would cause me right from applying for the PIP form all the way to receiving a decision, which could easily take a year - and worrying for a whole year!
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Thank you for explaining , this never happened with my wca , so I never knew it existed. I hope it goes well for you .
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I understand, I am going through PIP and WCA at the same time! It is stressful, especially with all the rhetoric about those of us with mental health issues. I just keep trying to move forward. If we don't fight for ourselves no one else will do it for us.
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Since you've filled in both forms (PIP and the WCA), which one does ask to provide more information on the form - I mean by yourself and not GP? Which one is tougher filling in? The ESA50/UC50 form/questionnaire is a 24-page document, while the PIP one is 50 pages long.
It's true, things are getting harder and harder for people with mental health issues. For instance, they now want to assess people with mental health issues via the new single assessment which will be based on the PIP assessment, yet Liz Kendall has said herself that "PIP was never set up to deal with mental health issues"!
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The WCA is more open questions where you can explain things. PIP is more to do with descriptors. I did PIP first. If I had my time over I would have tried to explain more on the PIP form. You live and learn I guess.
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Is it true that the PIP form is 50 pages long?
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