Cost of obtaining medical records?

strokecarer · July 2020

Hi, I had obtained my husband's medical records in 2019 for a PIP appeal. We decided to cancel the appeal, then opened a fresh claim for PIP, as he'd had further medical issues since the first claim. He was turned down, but I decided not to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. The problem is that since our GP surgery gave us a free copy of his medical records in 2019, they now want to charge £250 to print out more records (even just records to cover 2019-2020). How often can you ask for free medical records?We live in Northern Ireland, if that makes a difference.

strokecarer · July 2020

Thank you for the links, mikehughescq. I found this from an NHS website:

"access to your medical records has been given, you do not have a right to see your records again until a 'reasonable' time has passed. What is a reasonable time will depend upon the type of records and how often they are changed."

It's pretty vague!

janer1967 · July 2020

Hi and welcome to the community great to have you on board.

I would suggest you have a good look at the advice as continually applying for PIP will not mean you get awarded unless there has been a change in condition that affects his ability to complete daily tasks.

Also they say less is more with evidence I have only sent off OH needs assessment, prescription list, confirmation of visual impairment and physio report with my claims and was awarded enhanced both times

Good luck and if you need any further advice just ask

strokecarer · July 2020

Thank you both for your replies.

Mikehughescq, I will ask for a mandatory reconsideration, as you suggested. This latest PIP claim was denied just under a month ago, so I will try to get the MR letter to them on Monday. I had originally thought asking for a reconsideration was a lost cause because if it goes to appeal, I won't have access to his medical records from 2019 and 2020, but if it comes to it, I'll try negotiating with the GP surgery again!

I put in this most recent claim for my husband because he has had a couple more medical issues crop up since the last claim. He did at least get points in one category, but the point I really tried to get across in the claim is that he has cognitive impairment from a series of 5 stroke episodes which affects his ability to manage so many different things.

It's hard to prove cognitive impairment, but with his claim, I included entries from a journal I kept to illustrate how this affects him. The assessor countered that my husband isn't seeing a memory specialist. I had no idea there was such a thing. The problem is that my husband doesn't want help from other people and probably would refuse to see a memory specialist anyway. He relies heavily on me, though, and I have to do all of the liasing with all the different consultants, order and dole out all his meds, etc, among other things.

Sorry for the long-winded post! I'm feeling frustrated with the process. I'm reading what the assessors are saying and thinking maybe they're right. Then any time I consider taking on more hours at work, I think how would my husband cope if I'm not there to do this and that for him...so then I'm back to thinking he obviously does need help.

strokecarer · July 2020

Thank you, mikehughescq- excellent advice! Honestly if I hadn't chatted with you, I wouldn't have bothered asking for the MR. I'm feeling hopeful now :-)

chiarieds · July 2020

Hi @strokecarer - Nothing much I can add to the excellent advice given above. It's hard, but do try to forget the assessor's report. They come up with some standard 'cut & paste' responses. Mine was that as I didn't see 'a pain management nor physiotherapy specialist,' I could walk further than I stated without being in pain. Hmmm... well I happen to be a physiotherapist, which I'd stated 3 times in my claim form, at my assessment, & my GP had mentioned in his supportive letter (also mentioning that pain medication was ineffective in those with my disorder). So I hope you can see that being deemed to 'need' to see a specialist, or are not seeing one, doesn't mean much at all in the assessor's report.

My MR was successful in awarding me the award of PIP I thought appropriate. As mentioned, you now need to concentrate on where your husband should have gained points in any applicable activity, explaining why any such activity is difficult, what happened when it was attempted, what problems occurred, what assistance did he need, etc?

Just in case you haven't seem them, & my apologies if you have, here is a link to the descriptors. Please see: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/Scores-for-PIP-Descriptors-2020.pdf

Go from there, & link your husband's difficulties with these. Please also read the notes at the end about the 'reliably' concept, namely can he do an activity safely, to an acceptable standard, as often as someone without his disability would normally be able to do, does it cause pain during/after an activity, etc.

This anecdotal evidence is your way forward, as mentioned.

strokecarer · July 2020

Thank you @chiarieds!

Cost of obtaining medical records?

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