Medical reports for ESA appeal - only with permission of DWP!!!!

LondonDiva

andyandflo wrote: »

Also, what is this obligation to provide medical records? Does that include both of the two hospitals that look after me, both consultants and my GP?
What do I ask for? I have no letters/results/treatment details etc- these are generally sent to my GP for their records, and not to me as I would not understand them. All I have are appointment letters for Consultant Outpatients.

It's a DPA request that will need to be made to each hospital or practice, at a cost of up to £50 + postage per organisation.

andyandflo

LondonDiva wrote: »

Nothing to do with the PCT / NHS contract, so PALS cannot help. Individual decision by the consultants / GPs re private work, so nothing a PCT or anyone else can do to intervene.

Ooops just noticed your reply, thanks. Well that closes that door!!

So not much I can do then other than pay up (goodness knows how) or accept a report commissioned by the DWP/Tribunal Service (that's if they agree to them)!!!!!!!

Still would like more info on how to get my medical records from the hospital and the GP. Maybe the best of a bad job is to present that info myself to the appeal hearing.

andyandflo

LondonDiva wrote: »

It's a DPA request that will need to be made to each hospital or practice, at a cost of up to £50 + postage per organisation.

Thanks, posting crossed!!!

DPA??? how would I go about that please?

LondonDiva

andyandflo wrote: »

Thanks, I have no idea if it now is official policy or indeed, as you say, just the county. PALS is a good place to start looking for answers.

If it has to be at the request of the DWP/Tribunal Service, no doubt it could be - you get what you pay for!
I can see your point re a private consultant. Would he/she have access to the whole of my history? The cost does frighten me.
Unfortunately or fortunately depending how you look at it, my two consultants (Professors) are actually both world renowned experts in my problems. So any other Consultant would be lacking their 'clout'. In fact one was the consultant surgeon that went over to the States to treat Patrick Swaze and was the leading surgeon looking after Pavarotti. Both suffering from Pancreatic Cancer.

PALS can do nowt as the decision by a GP or consultant not to provide a private report has nothing to do with the NHS. If they refused to provide a statutory report to the DWP or under related statutory regulations, then PALS could help.

OP needs to see if the consultant is willing and if the fee for the service is worth it.

LondonDiva

andyandflo wrote: »

Thanks, posting crossed!!!

DPA??? how would I go about that please?

http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_113206.pdf

Email PALS at each hospital to ask for the access to health records form, estimate of how much your records would cost, who you make the cheque out to and who the access to health records manager is.

Ring the practice & write / email the practice manager asking the same questions.

andyandflo

LondonDiva wrote: »

PALS can do nowt as the decision by a GP or consultant not to provide a private report has nothing to do with the NHS. If they refused to provide a statutory report to the DWP or under related statutory regulations, then PALS could help.

OP needs to see if the consultant is willing and if the fee for the service is worth it.

Thanks, yes I see that. But they failed to even issue an ESA113.

Oh yes, both the GP and both Consultant's would be willing to write the reports, but only if I paid their charges.
What I was looking to do hopefully, was ask the DWP/Tribunal Service to do it for me at their cost!! Yes I know I'm cheeky, but I can't afford the sort of money that is being mentioned here.
Is it a question of having the money buys the best evidence?

dmg24

LondonDiva wrote: »

Nothing to do with the PCT / NHS contract, so PALS cannot help. Individual decision by the consultants / GPs re private work, so nothing a PCT or anyone else can do to intervene.

The OP has suggested that it may be a PCT wide decision, and as such PALS would be able to advise if this was the case or not. I have seen PALS get involved in matters to do with DWP reports because most patients perceive them to be an NHS matter. Even if you don't get anywhere with them, there is no harm in asking the question, especially if it may save time and money.

DPA requests are up to £50 for manual and computerised records, or £10 for computerised records. I know for my GP everything is computerised, but for a consultant this is less likely to be the case.

dmg24

andyandflo wrote: »

Thanks, yes I see that. But they failed to even issue an ESA113.

Oh yes, both the GP and both Consultant's would be willing to write the reports, but only if I paid their charges.
What I was looking to do hopefully, was ask the DWP/Tribunal Service to do it for me at their cost!! Yes I know I'm cheeky, but I can't afford the sort of money that is being mentioned here.
Is it a question of having the money buys the best evidence?

I think it is a case that money can buy the best evidence, but there is no reason why reports given by a proficient NHS medic by DWP request should not be perfectly sufficient.

The beauty of private over NHS is that when paying for treatment/ assessment, the medic has much more time than their NHS equivalent. Therefore they can be that bit more thorough. However, plenty of people get through the ESA process solely with input from NHS medics, so I would not worry too much about that.

cit_k

At a guess, write to the tribunal service stating further medical evidence, required for the tribunal is available, but that they have to request it, include copies of the rule, and any correspondence from GP to that effect. (and names/address of who to contact to request the evidence).

Perhaps, also go back to your GP and ask if they can provide a letter to that effect, saying you will ask the tribunal service, but it would be easier if they can produce a letter from the GP/Surgery which states they will provide the report for X amount, and a form for the tribunal service to fill in agreeing, so they can send that back with payment.

If they go ahead with the tribunal without obtaining the medical evidence, then I would say that would be a clear breach of duty, a clearly unfair trial, which could be set aside as they failed to obtain the evidence as per their duty.

Make that clear in the letter also.

Send everything special delivery, and ring up to confirm everything was received, and that they understand.

stazi

Although Tribunal Rule 16(b) allows a Tribunal to ask anyone anything/more info, in the vast majority of cases, a Tribunal will make a decision that day on the evidence presented to it. The Tribunal Service, like all public service, is busy enough, and the OP's appeal is just one of many it has to deal with that day.

I would think that the Tribunal Judge would say that the appellant has had X months to produce any new info. It's not the Tribunal's role to provide the evidence for the appellant, and the date of the hearing is not the time to start gathering any new evidence.

http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/Tribunals/Documents/Rules/GRCRulesConsolidated.pdf