DLA Refusal cos they are stupid!!

TOBRUK

I agree with munchings-n-crunchings. I don't quite understand that your GP doesn't know what is going on (by the sounds of it) because how were you referred to the psychiatrist? Surely your GP would be kept informed about your condition, meds etc?? If anything happened and you needed to see your GP he/she would need to know all your meds etc.

You don't seem to like the psychiatrist either

They wrote to my GP who I never see about my problems as it is too difficult to see them when you need them, and my psychiatrist, who basically messes about with meds once a month.

These health professionals ALL need to know your illness and how you are. I see my GP every 6-8 weeks and she knows exactly how I am. All this is important when you are applying for DLA, you need to be open and honest on the form and give them contact information of all consultants, GP, and any other health professionals you see or have seen.

[Deleted User]

advice to anyone applying for DLA as soon as you do go and discuss your care/mobility needs with your gp and inform them you have applied for it
to the OP see welfare rights for help with your appeal ASAP

metalgal

ramsas wrote: »

Perhaps you should have asked your social worker who sees you on a regular
basis to fill in part of your form or written a letter for you to attach to your DLA claim,along with this letter she/he would have left a contact address/tele number for the DLA team to contact should they need further information..Seems to me that you failed to supply them with sufficient information for your claim..Suggest you try again by way of appeal (but make sure you can get further information on your needs first} or submit new claim
whichever you deem to be the best alternative.

When i submitted the form i had put my SW down as the "person who knows you" and had also put down the psychiatrist and my GP. I signed the forms for them to contact them but i would have thought that my SW would have been the first port of call. Im seeing her tomorrow and will ask for her to write a report myself and then sent it to DLA office. They way it seems to work is that the SW speaks to the psychiatrist that im having problems. I see her then go to GP with a letter for new meds. Im very rarely in with her for more than half and hour.


thanks for everyone's help in this matter will keep you posted.

newleaf

metalgal wrote: »

When i submitted the form i had put my SW down as the "person who knows you" and had also put down the psychiatrist and my GP. I signed the forms for them to contact them but i would have thought that my SW would have been the first port of call. Im seeing her tomorrow and will ask for her to write a report myself and then sent it to DLA office. They way it seems to work is that the SW speaks to the psychiatrist that im having problems. I see her then go to GP with a letter for new meds. Im very rarely in with her for more than half and hour.


thanks for everyone's help in this matter will keep you posted.

You will unfortunately probably still need to appeal. Contact the number on the decision letter and ask them to 'look at your claim again' - this info is in the decision letter. This will buy you a little extra time in which to submit your appeal.
Send your SW's report with the appeal document, and on the form say that you had expected the SW to be contacted, and give that as the reason for the late submission of evidence.
I'm sorry, but they have a very fixed way of working, and they do need as much evidence as possible 'up front' in order to make the correct decision. There would be a lot less need for time consuming and expensive appeals if this simple fact were better known.
Good luck.

Oscar_The_Grouch

woodbine wrote: »

advice to anyone applying for DLA as soon as you do go and discuss your care/mobility needs with your gp and inform them you have applied for it

Totally agree with you on this one Woodbine. When you apply for DLA it's important that everyone you are putting on the form knows you are applying and what your current needs are. The GP will make notes on their system so that even if you are at a practice with multiple doctors and someone else writes the report, they will see that the last entry was "current status of patient" or something similar.

I'm not sure whether social workers will help you fill in the form or not, but as others have said, they can write a report to go with it. As you say, OP, they know you best so are in a position to confirm what your day to day needs are.

I hope your appeal goes well.

laury_2

I suffer/have suffered from mental health issues for twenty years and the services helping me have always kept in contact via update letters after every appointment. GP's are kept up to date via this method when medication changes, diagnosis changes and if there is any other relevant information they need to know and this is kept in your records.

Your GP will always be the first port of call because they receive the reports from all the different agencies and bring the whole picture together. DLA do consider other peoples reports but if the information is inconsistent and patchy it throws up doubt. You and your helper need to get together with your GP and specialist to make sure that they are aware of the problems you have and aware that you are making a claim and that you need their support.

I have to say I hate going to my GP because it always seems like I am just going in to moan, but it keeps him up to date with what is going on in my life and the problems I am experiencing. I have never claimed DLA for my mental health issues so no idea what criteria is needed to qualify, but it might be worth looking online for others who have and discussing it with them, the other alternative is www. benefitsandwork.co.uk

Laury

LindsayO

my GP has telephone appointments. I have MS and I always ask for a telephone appointment whenever I have a relapse/flare up. That way I know the GP has it documented and I can check in case the symptoms might be something else other than the MS.

It might be worth checking to see if your surgery offers telephone appointments as they might be a bit easier for you. Even though my surgery is just round the corner I find it very hard to get to especially in the winter

caela_2

McKneff wrote: »

Doesnt your social worker/psychiatrist write to your doctor regarding your progress.

If you dont go to see your doctor, doesnt that mean that you dont need to see him. If you really needed to see him you would go no matter how difficult it was. So i find that a tad confusing.

Sorry but I really can't believe how ignorant that reply is! GPs are really bad dealing with mental health problems, they are general practicioners and not psychiatrists and it's very difficult arranging appointments with mental health problems. It certainly by no stretch of the imagination means that person does not need help, it may mean in fact they need far more help because they are unable to actively seek it!

I know you weren't trying to be rude but I have only just really seen the depth of ignorance regarding mental health problems after it took me nearly 30 years just to understand my own, so it's been a frustrating journey. Sorry to rant, I just hope people can see how these throw-away comments are so hurtful when you don't mean for them to be. Hope I haven't offended you, don't mean to get on my high horse, but it's been these face-value interpretations which meant I also had to take DLA to tribunal and it took a whole year to get any of the money I was duely owed. The DLA is so bad with mental health, they have only literally just this year in 2010 geared questions to accomodate mental health problems as well as physical problems in their new forms. Baby steps I guess. Sorry you had to take the brunt of it, but it's really this simple straight-forward and logical thinking which doesn't apply to mental health which is all about disorganisation. It's the nature of the dissease!

caela_2

metalgal wrote: »

i received a letter yesterday saying that my claim for DLA has been refused. I applied on the basis of depression and anxiety. The thing about my refusal is they wanted to write to anyone but the medical person who knows me and my problems the best.
Can i fight this decision as they refused to talk to the person in charge of my care??

Fight them every step of the way and know we are here to support you. You are completely within your right to ask to see a tribunal, where they'll have 3 people (e.g. a doctor or disability worker) discuss your case with you. They'll try to trick you and get you to say things so be on your guard. It's appalling we are treated like criminals when applying for help!

They do make the process quite confusing and I know with mental health problems it can be virtually impossible to organise yourself and visit GPs etc. to keep them updated. They will look first to medical professionals for evidence, over SWs. That is why it is so annoying sometimes. However, you can get your SW to help you fill in the form or to provide evidence which you can submit yourself. You will just have to explain in the tribunal that your GP and shrink are not fully briefed on your mental health problems due to the fact that they see you infrequently and you can collect as much evidence from people who do know you to provide at a tribunal. You might also be better off visiting your GP to explain your situation and update him with your difficulties so that he can better inform the DLA.

I would also ask to see a copy of the GPs report. If your GP is aware that you have depression, for example, he should logically explain that whilst he hasn't seen you for your mental health, you have been diagnosed with depression which has such and such an effect on people. For example, explain you have depression and outline the symptoms of depression (such as lack of motivation).

If you have any difficulties with the process please don't hesitate to contact me. I can send you my email address if you want and help you if you want to go to tribunal (I have all the notes from my case). Better still, if you can contact them (I know they have limited office hours) but CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) and DIAL are pretty good too.

caela_2

sh1305 wrote: »

You can't make them contact certain people. It's your responsibility to get extra information.

Actually, it's not. They will write to the people you have mentioned on your form. I have asked my GP to write me a letter for DLA before and he said he would only do so if they contacted him directly.

You are right though that if you wanted to send in supporting information, you are free to do so in order to support your claim. It's also unlikely, as you said, that they'll contact the people you asked them to, unless you made it clear on the form that they are not allowed to contact your GP etc.