DLA decision unsuccesful not sure what to do now

Trasthmatic

Lady_K wrote: »

I'll try next week at the hospital appointments but I did ask and it just seems they only fill in for dla. I was told they are not allowed to by hospital themselves I think its all money related as they get paid to fill in forms for dla. I will try while I'm there though

Whereas GP's get a set fee for every report they complete, there is an agreement between the DWP and the NHS to provide reports. Hospitals do not get paid a fee each time a report is completed.

Lady_K

I remember now, when I enquired they said they are not allowed to fill in forms for patients or give copies of reports only to the gp they told me that at the hospital department they said it was a set rule

Zziggi

Lady_K wrote: »

I remember now, when I enquired they said they are not allowed to fill in forms for patients or give copies of reports only to the gp they told me that at the hospital department they said it was a set rule

But could you not get round the 'copies of reports' problem by asking to be cc'd into all correspondance between the hospital and your GP? In my NHS trust area, patients are allowed (Freedom of Information act?) to request copies of all mail between them and the GP. You sign a form and then from then on, you are just cc'd. i do this because (a) i want to know what is going on and (b) i then have copies of letter which i can choose to photocopy and send to the DLA people with a renewal form.

Lady_K

Zziggi

How do I go about doing that? I'd like to give it a try as I believe we all should be able to know whats happening with our treatment or conditions if we wish to know.

My hospital is Queens Medical in Nottingham I'm not sure if that trust is the same I'm not good at that kind of thing

mum2one

They do reconsider and it can be positive, I went from high rate mobility, low care to them saying no to either, I appealed, and had it reinstated without going to a tribunal or anything.

Like I said before theres always going to be horror stories, it would be like asking 10 mothers to describe labour......

Emmylou_2

What you need to do is write them a letter (a long one if necessary) setting out exactly where they've gone wrong in their assessment of you - point by point...

I was on LRM and HRC (bipolar) with a renewal due in December. They lost my form twice :mad: and it wasn't until I emailed it that they managed to get it! They then denied everything, saying that I basically don't have any problems (I'm currently going through the diagnosis for ME as well as the bipolar).

I sent in a 10 page letter explaining where they'd got things wrong - for example, they said I wasn't at risk of self harm, so I explained that although I have coping strategies in place, sometimes I do want to self harm and so on those occasions I can't be on my own or near pointy things . Another example - they said I slept comfortably - I pointed out that I have hallucinations which are worse at night, and that my medication causes side effects etc.

I also got my best mate (who I live with) to write a letter which set out the care she gives me and what she thinks of the letter refusing benefit.

I'm now waiting (11 weeks :eek: they said it would take) for the reconsideration. And if I don't get it I'll go to appeal. And to Court if necessary.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Lady_K

Emmylou wrote: »

What you need to do is write them a letter (a long one if necessary) setting out exactly where they've gone wrong in their assessment of you - point by point...

Thing is because I was so shocked by getting a total refusal I couldnt think straight and didnt give myself time to think it through or even take the letter in properly I just wanted to get on the phone to ask why they had stated this and that on the form when I had told them different and I wanted to see the report from my gp as fast as possible so I just rang. Because I rang straight away she put it through to reconsideration from Weds/yesterdays date in a split second without even giving me chance to agree or tell me the alternatives. When I realized this I asked her a number of times to explain to me what it exactly meant by her doing that but she didnt really explain it properly, I felt she was rushing it through as though she didnt want me to send any kind of letter of appeal or my opinion on what they had decided.

I really didnt understand it and still dont, I just tried to ask her how they can reconsider when they dont have my opinion on the results of this so far as I havent been able to make any comment and she just came out with a load of stuff that didnt seem to make any sense I felt she just wanted to get me off the phone

I would gladly write a letter but I don't know if I can now because it was put through straight away, I dont want to take a lot of time writing a letter and getting into a state doing that only to find its too late and the reconsideration has been done. I was under the impression that if a reconsideration was requested it extended the time to appeal from 4 weeks to 6 as the first 2 weeks is taken up by the reconsideration but I asked her about these time limits and she just said I had 4 weeks from the date on the letter which is 30th March

I dont know if the person above was my actual decision maker as when I rang the first time the person I spoke to took my details and said she would get in touch with 'her' as she said it and get her to ring me back which is what she did, so it could have been my decision maker but I'm not sure.

lolababy

Hi Iv said this before but benefits and work site is fantastic. Its eighteen pounds for a years menbership and well worth it. Its got the best guides that Iv come accross.
Iv got bi polar and the head of the mental health team Im under, filled in a part of the form. Have you asked the mental health team to give you a letter of support . Also getting as much evidence on your condition and the risks when you are unwell
Dont give up my partner has won his a tribunal and thats after 23months of fighting.

purplecatlover

lolababy wrote: »

Hi Iv said this before but benefits and work site is fantastic. Its eighteen pounds for a years menbership and well worth it.

i agree, well worth it.

sheeps68

LADY k. hang on in there! Suspect by your calling they will look again and could well change their minds. After all this is what they do if you appeal anyway but do get your advice sorted etc in case it doesnt go the way we hope. By the way I called and said I wanted to appeaL FIRST TIME. They looked at it again and I sent in extra letters and got a good result.