DLA rejection

sunnyone

I helped someone with a DLA application last week, it was posted back to Blackpool last Thursday and the award letter was recieved yesterday for the correct amount of DLA in her case. We sent in two reports from two of her consultants, they fully supported her case.

If you fill in the form fully and truthfully and send in supporting evidence to prove your case the system works well, if you dont answer the questions fully, tells lies or base the form on your worse day or have no evidence to support your case you will fail to get an award which is correct or benefits would be given to just anyone who felt like applying!

I cant see how knowing other family members can come into, DLA claims are about the claimant only.

Muttleythefrog

sunnyone wrote: »

I helped someone with a DLA application last week, it was posted back to Blackpool last Thursday and the award letter was recieved yesterday for the correct amount of DLA in her case. We sent in two reports from two of her consultants, they fully supported her case.

If you fill in the form fully and truthfully and send in supporting evidence to prove your case the system works well, if you dont answer the questions fully, tells lies or base the form on your worse day or have no evidence to support your case you will fail to get an award which is correct or benefits would be given to just anyone who felt like applying!

Problem of course is getting the supporting evidence. I didn't even have a GP who'd admit to filling in the GP factual report form (with lots of relevant sections left blank or poorly answered). My criticism of DLA is that expectation of supporting evidence... it took a couple of years for me to be in a situation where I had a specialist who was basically prepared to regurgitate my claimed problems upon request (I gave them a single side document detailing key relevant problems)... and of course when they did so I got award although I note that even many corroborated claimed problems were rejected. One heck of a horrible road to get to that point...I even asked the DWP to send me to a medical assessment... the reports I collected en route appear to have been rejected as evidence even despite relevant information being pointed to in the claim form. All a bit of a joke really.. I had to engage the NHS for 2 years in effect to receive DLA... insisting upon treatment and diagnoses in order to get access to MH specialists. I was fortunate in that I understood the criteria and how to complete the form. Despite requests to GP1 and GP2 and various psychiatrists etc none were prepared to create any document to support a DLA claim.. although some did say they would if the DWP contacted them to do so. And I think that's the problem... entitlement to DLA is probably often determined by how lucky you get in terms of local NHS services and attitudes of HCPs. Still.. I suppose with PIP imminent then these discussions become redundant as new methodology shifts emphasis to that similar to for the WCA of ESA.

sunnyone

Muttleythefrog wrote: »

Problem of course is getting the supporting evidence. I didn't even have a GP who'd admit to filling in the GP factual report form (with lots of relevant sections left blank or poorly answered). My criticism of DLA is that expectation of supporting evidence... it took a couple of years for me to be in a situation where I had a specialist who was basically prepared to regurgitate my claimed problems upon request (I gave them a single side document detailing key relevant problems)... and of course when they did so I got award although I note that even many corroborated claimed problems were rejected. One heck of a horrible road to get to that point...I even asked the DWP to send me to a medical assessment... the reports I collected en route appear to have been rejected as evidence even despite relevant information being pointed to in the claim form. All a bit of a joke really.. I had to engage the NHS for 2 years in effect to receive DLA... insisting upon treatment and diagnoses in order to get access to MH specialists. I was fortunate in that I understood the criteria and how to complete the form. Despite requests to GP1 and GP2 and various psychiatrists etc none were prepared to create any document to support a DLA claim.. although some did say they would if the DWP contacted them to do so. And I think that's the problem... entitlement to DLA is probably often determined by how lucky you get in terms of local NHS services and attitudes of HCPs. Still.. I suppose with PIP imminent then these discussions become redundant as new methodology shifts emphasis to that similar to for the WCA of ESA.

Without proof no one should get any benefit, you need a birth cert. for CB for instance, I dont live far from you yet I have had very diffrent experiance of MH care, Im not doubting your experiances and Ive never claimed any benefits for my MH problems, I do have supporting paperwork covering the past twenty years though as I keep everything.

I have had clinical depression and PTSD/secondary PTSD and associated conditions and I was offered councilling within weeks of diagnosis, we even have services you can self refer to get help, are their not similar things near you? There is a branch in Darlo of the service I used (you dont have to go to the premises, the visit you if need be), they were very good.

sunnyone

Ellejmorgan wrote: »

She goes to church with my DD's old Foster carer, I wasn't able to tell the CAB worker the truth..
I am aware that this person does have a tendancy to gossip, I'm not williing to get involved with the LA again..

As I said I didn't provide evidence and didn't wait for my support workers help..

I believe all CAB's have confidentiallity rules, she would loose her position if she gossiped about you or could you not have asked for someone else's help because she is know to you?

I gave you the link to the pdf version of the DLA forms months ago, you could have filled them out taking your time a few minutes a day even, speech software is built in to most operating systems (though its useless when you you're deaf) so typing isnt needed, I also dont understand why you couldnt have gathered the information needed to support your claim since you knew your DLA award was running out last November, surely you see specialists about your health problems? You also get assessed for ESA every six months so you need the evidence for that too.

I advise everyone to request copies of all corrispondance about them between (cc) their health care professionals and their GP's, its free and the best way to gather the information needed to back up any sickness/disability benefits claimed.

Muttleythefrog

sunnyone wrote: »

Without proof no one should get any benefit, you need a birth cert. for CB for instance, I dont live far from you yet I have had very diffrent experiance of MH care, Im not doubting your experiances and Ive never claimed any benefits for my MH problems, I do have supporting paperwork covering the past twenty years though as I keep everything.

I have had clinical depression and PTSD/secondary PTSD and associated conditions and I was offered councilling within weeks of diagnosis, we even have services you can self refer to get help, are their not similar things near you? There is a branch in Darlo of the service I used (you dont have to go to the premises, the visit you if need be), they were very good.

Without evidence people shouldn't be able to get benefits like these.. I agree.. but I feel the burden should be on the state to facilitate the evidence... and that's not quite what seems to happen with DLA. Note that for ESA they gave me a medical and awarded the benefit... for DLA they gave my GP a form to complete and little effort was made to convey information he largely wouldn't know... no information.. no award.

Regarding services... they seemed to change while I was being assessed. Basically I was diagnosed with anxiety and told that counselling would be arranged. I was repeatedly promised by GP this had been applied for... I was repeteadly then told it hadn't been. Changed GP and she is good.. while getting drug treatments that never worked she wanted to get me a regular CPN who I could see locally on frequent basis... that service no longer exists so before I got one it was withdrawn. Got assessed for self help.. determined too ill. Got diagnosed with anxiety, depression, OCD, phobias by CPN. Another CPN referred me to psychiatrist.. psychiatrist didn;t seem interested but referred me to psychologist for therapy assessment... psychologist completely misunderstood me but determined psychotherapy not suitable. Insisted on seeing a psychiatrist for full diagnosis.. saw one and got 2 PDs diagnosed... suggested new psychiatric appointment after discussing with team. He left employment of hospital and hospital determine that with PDs I couldn't be treated and therefore appointment unneccesary. I disagreed... in anger as they'd tried to do this behind my back with GP. Got psychiatic appointment.. had few session with psychiatrist who also referred me to another psychiatrist for second opinion, tried another drug... exhausted drug options.. I refused to engage further with the other psychiatrist because I felt like he was the patient etc... but he did make one important observation.. I am looking for a witness to my circumstances and not engagement. Agreed with psychiatrist that she'd be there for me as evidential backup for benefit claims and now see only my GP. At no point did I ever feel treatment would work and at no point did I seriously consider treatment an option. I never went to the NHS for treatment... as per the psychiatrist who diagnosed SPD he was surprised to see someone like me attending NHS services. That's basically my experience... aside from the constant problems of them misrecording facts like family set up and address etc. 2/10..lol. My issue now of course is that I'm getting no treatment and seeing no MH specialist so it might appear I'm not ill.

Ellejmorgan

sunnyone wrote: »

I believe all CAB's have confidentiallity rules, she would loose her position if she gossiped about you or could you not have asked for someone else's help because she is know to you?

I gave you the link to the pdf version of the DLA forms months ago, you could have filled them out taking your time a few minutes a day even, speech software is built in to most operating systems (though its useless when you you're deaf) so typing isnt needed, I also dont understand why you couldnt have gathered the information needed to support your claim since you knew your DLA award was running out last November, surely you see specialists about your health problems? You also get assessed for ESA every six months so you need the evidence for that too.

I advise everyone to request copies of all corrispondance about them between (cc) their health care professionals and their GP's, its free and the best way to gather the information needed to back up any sickness/disability benefits claimed.

That's great for someone who is able to manage this, that's what i'm trying to tell you but you are not getting it..
I was supposed to wait for my support worker to help, I didn't, of course I see health professionals, I attend the back clinic every 3 months,
I tried to do it alone, and couldn't..

The main reason I left a gap in between claims is because it was unclear if I was having steroids, physio or surgery, and also because I don't have the ability to write or manage the form..

princessdon

I was rather amazed at how easy the AA claim was for my GM. She has not had any assessment and haven't contacted her GP.

I did, however, enclose a copy of all her consultants letters - that supported her claim, the report from the social worker (who put the care plan togehter) and copies of the bills paid for care.

But I did expect her to been - she wasn't