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Obtaining Consultants Reports for PIP

lucy14
lucy14 Community member Posts: 34 Connected
Hi Im trying to pull myself together and get my head around the PIP process.

Could anyone advise me on obtaining reports from my consultants, what to ask and how to contact them, I have 4.

I rang the secretary of one regarding another matter and enquired about a report for PIP, she had no idea what I was talking about!
Im finding it a bit hard to cope t the moment so didnt push her.

Could anyone advise me please how to go about it, 

Also the consultants never seem to ask how it affects my everyday life, they only seem concerned in diagnosis and treatment. 
What are your experiences?
 
Thank you x

Comments

  • Peasmold_01
    Peasmold_01 Community member Posts: 144 Pioneering
    Have you approached your GP? They will have received written reports from your hospital consultants, and will have them on file. You are able to access and have copies of all communications between your GP and your Consultants. If you can obtain that information, and then ask your doctor to provide an impact statement letter, detailing how each of your medical conditions affects your daily living, this will support any application for PIP. Good Luck
  • lucy14
    lucy14 Community member Posts: 34 Connected
    Hi Peasmold
    sorry just seen this I have somehow duplicated this post.
    Thanks for your reply really helpful. 
    I have an appointment with my GP a week on monday so will ask her then.
    She doesnt know how Im affected day to day so thinking of composing a letter for her as sometimes its a bit rushed in an appointment..x
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2018
    I didn't ask either my GP or consultant for reports because neither knew how my conditions affected me on a daily basis. At appeal, the only medical reports were from 18 years earlier when I first claimed DLA.  However, as I have a degenerative disease no way could my my condition have improved and almost certainly had got worse.  Tribunal accepted this old medical evidence and I won my appeal.  But, every case differs, of course.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2018
     ask your doctor to provide an impact statement letter, detailing how each of your medical conditions affects your daily living, this will support any application for PIP
    And how do you think that the GP will independently know how life is impacted? The claimant could well tell the GP and the GP can then tell the DWP - 'my patient tells me that ………… But is that good evidence - repeating what the claimant has told the GP?

    My GP and probably thousands of other claimant's GP won't have a clue what happens to the claimant when not in the surgery. In fact whenever I am 'dragged' to see the GP by my wife he asks how I am and my stock answer is always - OK, you know what I am like I just get on with life - in my mind wishing the old fool would finish the 10min consultation so that I can go home.

    Mind you, you could suggest that the GP comes and lives with you for 7 days! 
  • lucy14
    lucy14 Community member Posts: 34 Connected
    Yadnad said:
     ask your doctor to provide an impact statement letter, detailing how each of your medical conditions affects your daily living, this will support any application for PIP
    And how do you think that the GP will independently know how life is impacted? The claimant could well tell the GP and the GP can then tell the DWP - 'my patient tells me that ………… But is that good evidence - repeating what the claimant has told the GP?

    My GP and probably thousands of other claimant's GP won't have a clue what happens to the claimant when not in the surgery. In fact whenever I am 'dragged' to see the GP by my wife he asks how I am and my stock answer is always - OK, you know what I am like I just get on with life - in my mind wishing the old fool would finish the 10min consultation so that I can go home.

    Mind you, you could suggest that the GP comes and lives with you for 7 days! 
    Good point Yadnad....its all a catch 22....however if my Doctor was male and handsome I would suggest he come and live with me for longer than 7 days..x

    Matilda said:
    I didn't ask either my GP or consultant for reports because neither knew how my conditions affected me on a daily basis. At appeal, the only medical reports were from 18 years earlier when I first claimed DLA.  However, as I have a degenerative disease no way could my my condition have improved and almost certainly had got worse.  Tribunal accepted this old medical evidence and I won my appeal.  But, every case differs, of course.

      Hi Matilda sorry only just noticed your reply as silly me duplicated my post.
    So glad you won your appeal, but sorry to hear your condition is degenerative.

    Well I have found a report from 3 years ago but not going to help my case, there are lots of comments that would have been brilliant, had she not have wrote "she is a keen walker and can walk 3-4 miles but has all over joint pain in her knees, hips shoulders and elsewhere", elsewhere would maybe have been my feet that she was suppose to be examining!
    It would have read better had she had put into context what I had actually said, that being,
    "My knee surgeon and counselor, have encouraged me to take exercise, so I take my son's dog out, If I really PUSHED!! myself I could maybe walk 3 miles, with my walking stick, my friend to help me up when I fall over and lots of stops to take my boots off when the pain in my feet is so bad I am nearly/actually crying! "

    Then she goes on to say," I have suggested, she modifies her activities slightly and may do something more like swimming or cross training rather than  4-5" (????) " miles of walking" ..
    Now I've found it..I can remember thinking at the time I bloody wish!!...but being me had a good laugh and chucked it in the back of the draw, stupid me!!!
    Well i'm off to swim the channel now. x

  • Milly123
    Milly123 Community member Posts: 34 Connected
    I am waiting to go to tribunal and wanted to get copies of consultant and gp reports to send into the courts as I had only managed to get a few copies together over the years myself. There seemed to be a lot of stuff missing.
     I asked my Gp surgery for them as copies of the consultants reports get sent to your g.p. I was told that from May this year, there is no charge now for these. They said they would get all the copies they had together, print them off for me and I could collect them from the surgery in an hour. They were brilliant and true to their word, we collected a large brown envelope with all the missing reports I needed an hour after the phone call to them. And it was free, no charge. My partner copied them all and they have now been sent to the courts as additional supporting information. Hope this helps other people on here that also need copies of their medical reports to send in to assist their pip tribunals.

  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    Not all doctors surgeries will be that helpful, most will charge you a fee, my advise keep all your reports sent to,you from the hospitals, they are sent to you the patient and your GP. And send copies with your PIP aplecationn.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    wilko said:
    Not all doctors surgeries will be that helpful, most will charge you a fee, my advise keep all your reports sent to,you from the hospitals, they are sent to you the patient and your GP. And send copies with your PIP aplecationn.
    Since when have the NHS been sending these reports to the patient? I know the GP gets them as they have told me in the past, but I have never seen them.
    Besides which the contents would mean b***er all to me.
  • Milly123
    Milly123 Community member Posts: 34 Connected
    I was told by my g.p. surgery that if you obtain all copies of the reports from them, there is no longer a fee to pay now. The office manager in my g.p. practice told us that since May this year, it all changed and that before May they did charge. However, my hospital consultants secretary told me that the hospital do charge for copies and although they send your g.p copies, they no longer send a copy to their patients.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    Milly123 said:
    I was told by my g.p. surgery that if you obtain all copies of the reports from them, there is no longer a fee to pay now. The office manager in my g.p. practice told us that since May this year, it all changed and that before May they did charge. However, my hospital consultants secretary told me that the hospital do charge for copies and although they send your g.p copies, they no longer send a copy to their patients.
    no longer?  I have been in and out of various hospitals up and down the country since 1995 and in all of that time I have never seen any of these reports.
    In fact the only time I have ever been given anything by a hospital was a brown envelope for my GP on discharge - nothing for me.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,333 Disability Gamechanger
    Yadnad said:
    wilko said:
    Not all doctors surgeries will be that helpful, most will charge you a fee, my advise keep all your reports sent to,you from the hospitals, they are sent to you the patient and your GP. And send copies with your PIP aplecationn.
    Since when have the NHS been sending these reports to the patient? I know the GP gets them as they have told me in the past, but I have never seen them.
    Besides which the contents would mean b***er all to me.
    Errmm for years!! I've had copies of all my hospital appointment reports in the last 8 years. I'm also sent copies of all reports about my daughter. Our GP gets a copy of them too.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Lindaann
    Lindaann Community member Posts: 41 Connected
    My daughters gp has refused a supporting letter as adviced from dwp they no longer can offer these ...
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    You have to be asked at each appointment whether you want a copy of feats sent to your GP. You may have to remind them. GPs cannot charge for access to medical records, They can for individual reports. The big question is always stat gap does a report fill. A report can talk diagnosis, prognosis, medication and treatment. If you’ve already spelt those out in your claim pack - abc you should have - then what is a report adding? Anecdotal evidence is the winning strategy in all cases bar LD or MH.
    Hi Mike - never been asked.

  • cokeen43
    cokeen43 Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    My dr gave me a supporting letter and all my medical notes from 11 years old, and a list of all the medication i take, i smiled when read my notes from the age of 18 its depression and anxiety, which my report stated ive never had:) 
  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    Since I have been to hospital appointments my GP and I had received a opyof the consultant reports and physo letters which I have kept and send copies  to  who ever requires them.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    All I can say and repeat again is that this was all news to me at the time. I literally don't have anything that could be said to be a report from anybody. I did have two from 2011 and 2012 but following the report from the DWP early last year when I was clearly told that they were of little use due to the age of them, I destroyed them.

    Mind you I do know that my GP had a report from the Community Mental Health Team for Older People that actually runs into 7 pages which I have physically never seen but the GP continues to refer to it. That related to two full days of assessing and testing by them together with brain scans.  

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