GPs' LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

bkmla

My question is regarding GP’s legal obligations. Can anyone give me advice or point me towards an organisation who could advise me on this issue (free of charge)?

My friend is, until 14 August, employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, who have decided to terminate his contract on the grounds of capability due to ill health.

Recently, he made an application to the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) for ill health retirement benefits from the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme (Scotland). They, however, rejected his application but advised that if he forwarded information regarding his health conditions they would reconsider.

I quote from their letter:

‘It may be that he might meet the pension criteria…but I do not consider that the medical evidence currently submitted is sufficient to support that the criteria are met. I suspect that there is further medical and functional information which I would like to see if available.

‘You may wish to consider this as interim guidance until it is established if:

‘• the GP/specialist is able to provide further information about his underlying conditions, the main medical causes of his incapacity, symptoms and the treatment plan

‘• The GP / specialist is able to provide further information regarding the fatigue, any investigations that have been undertaken, the likely cause and the treatment plan

‘• The GP/ specialist is able to provide further information regarding his referral to weight management and the outcome in terms of any support with weight management

‘• The GP specialist is able to provide further information regarding the stroke and the nature of any residual symptoms

‘• The GP/ specialist is able to provide further information about why further treatment is unlikely to lead to significant further improvement’

His GP has refused to supply the SPPA with this information on the grounds that it is ‘not his job’.

My question is this: Can he legally compel his GP to provide the SSPA with this information?

This matter is important, because if he is awarded early retirement benefits it would make a significant difference to his standard of living.

 

 

Gandalf644

bkmla said:

My question is regarding GP’s legal obligations. Can anyone give me advice or point me towards an organisation who could advise me on this issue (free of charge)?

My friend is, until 14 August, employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, who have decided to terminate his contract on the grounds of capability due to ill health.

Recently, he made an application to the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) for ill health retirement benefits from the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme (Scotland). They, however, rejected his application but advised that if he forwarded information regarding his health conditions they would reconsider.

I quote from their letter:

‘It may be that he might meet the pension criteria…but I do not consider that the medical evidence currently submitted is sufficient to support that the criteria are met. I suspect that there is further medical and functional information which I would like to see if available.

‘You may wish to consider this as interim guidance until it is established if:

‘• the GP/specialist is able to provide further information about his underlying conditions, the main medical causes of his incapacity, symptoms and the treatment plan

‘• The GP / specialist is able to provide further information regarding the fatigue, any investigations that have been undertaken, the likely cause and the treatment plan

‘• The GP/ specialist is able to provide further information regarding his referral to weight management and the outcome in terms of any support with weight management

‘• The GP specialist is able to provide further information regarding the stroke and the nature of any residual symptoms

‘• The GP/ specialist is able to provide further information about why further treatment is unlikely to lead to significant further improvement’

His GP has refused to supply the SPPA with this information on the grounds that it is ‘not his job’.

My question is this: Can he legally compel his GP to provide the SSPA with this information?

This matter is important, because if he is awarded early retirement benefits it would make a significant difference to his standard of living.

 

 

Although you would have to check if the situation is different in Scotland, in England  as part of their NHS contract GP's are not compelled to provide pension providers with such information. They may do so outside of their NHS contract for a fee though, albeit it is upto the GP if they want to (most will usually do it for a fee but they can decline).

An alternative route is to submit a Subject Access Report to the GP surgery asking for a copy of your medical records, or specific parts of your report relating to whatever condition/time and hope the pension provider accepts this. Also submit one to the hospital//specialist if necessary.

If you wish you could privately ask a consultant for a private report based on your SAR data and submit that (again a fee is usually involved as it is a private request).

Flugelhorn

I am fairly sure that the pensions agency will have medical advisors for this - might be best to get copy of notes as suggested above and submit these.

re whether the GP can be compelled to do this - suspect the answer is no as  it is outside the GP / NHS contract, there are very  few cases where providing such info is a statutory requirement 

PS just looking at the England NHS pensions agency - they want the part C form done by an occupational health doctor if it can't be done by them they it may be done by consultant / GP (at a cost) https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2017-05/AW33E Part C (V13) Digital - 05.2017.pdf

elsien

If it’s been referred on weight management and stroke specialist, would they not be better place to answer the questions being asked?

Flugelhorn

elsien said:

If it’s been referred on weight management and stroke specialist, would they not be better place to answer the questions being asked?

certainly stroke specialist would b e relevant. the key is that the questions are about the functional ability to do the job - that is really Occ Med

Undervalued

Gandalf644 said:

bkmla said:

My question is regarding GP’s legal obligations. Can anyone give me advice or point me towards an organisation who could advise me on this issue (free of charge)?

My friend is, until 14 August, employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, who have decided to terminate his contract on the grounds of capability due to ill health.

Recently, he made an application to the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) for ill health retirement benefits from the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme (Scotland). They, however, rejected his application but advised that if he forwarded information regarding his health conditions they would reconsider.

I quote from their letter:

‘It may be that he might meet the pension criteria…but I do not consider that the medical evidence currently submitted is sufficient to support that the criteria are met. I suspect that there is further medical and functional information which I would like to see if available.

‘You may wish to consider this as interim guidance until it is established if:

‘• the GP/specialist is able to provide further information about his underlying conditions, the main medical causes of his incapacity, symptoms and the treatment plan

‘• The GP / specialist is able to provide further information regarding the fatigue, any investigations that have been undertaken, the likely cause and the treatment plan

‘• The GP/ specialist is able to provide further information regarding his referral to weight management and the outcome in terms of any support with weight management

‘• The GP specialist is able to provide further information regarding the stroke and the nature of any residual symptoms

‘• The GP/ specialist is able to provide further information about why further treatment is unlikely to lead to significant further improvement’

His GP has refused to supply the SPPA with this information on the grounds that it is ‘not his job’.

My question is this: Can he legally compel his GP to provide the SSPA with this information?

This matter is important, because if he is awarded early retirement benefits it would make a significant difference to his standard of living.

 

 

Although you would have to check if the situation is different in Scotland, in England  as part of their NHS contract GP's are not compelled to provide pension providers with such information. They may do so outside of their NHS contract for a fee though, albeit it is upto the GP if they want to (most will usually do it for a fee but they can decline).

An alternative route is to submit a Subject Access Report to the GP surgery asking for a copy of your medical records, or specific parts of your report relating to whatever condition/time and hope the pension provider accepts this. Also submit one to the hospital//specialist if necessary.

If you wish you could privately ask a consultant for a private report based on your SAR data and submit that (again a fee is usually involved as it is a private request).

Exactly this ^^^^

A friend of mine was in a similar position of needing detailed information and a report for his employer, from his GP, for which his employer was quite willing to pay. However, due to "pressure of work" his GP surgery was declining all private work and insisted (probably quite correctly) that what was requested did not fall under their NHS duties.

In the end the only solution was to effectively start again with a private GP and require the NHS surgery to make all records available. In his case the NHS surgery didn't insist on a formal subject access request, just the patient's authorisation, which did speed things up a little. The employer ended up with quite a bill from the private doctor!

LinLui

To be fair, if his condition is such that it warrants ill health retirement (which is very different from the criteria for incapacity terminations) then anything a GP could say would be additional to specialist information. GP's are not in a position to be able to provide detailed comment on complex conditions to the point where they are able make judgements as to future capacity and prognosis - that is why there are specialists. For example, a stroke can leave someone permanantly incapable of work, or they might be fully functional at some point in time - or anywhere in between. Even a specialist would struggle to predict that with certainty, but they would make a better estimate than a GP because of their specialist knowledge. 

If we are talking about the NHS, hopefully he is in a union? Because this is exactly the sort of situation that you pay your fees for. 

bkmla

Yes, he is a member of Unison and is waiting for a reply from them regarding this matter.

Danien

As has been said, a copy of gp records should be sufficient- it will cover everything gp has done. Specialist info is more important anyway, it's well worth asking the specialists to write something - mine have always been willing to do that, even offering without me asking.

Flugelhorn

Danien said:

As has been said, a copy of gp records should be sufficient- it will cover everything gp has done. Specialist info is more important anyway, it's well worth asking the specialists to write something - mine have always been willing to do that, even offering without me asking.

the GP's notes will include hospital letters which often include the clinic note - so there might be quite a bit of useful info 

DullGreyGuy

Report writing isn't an NHS service and so its private work that you'll have to pay for. I've not come across GPs declining private work (England) as it's fairly lucrative but in principle it could happen. 

Presumably they are under the care of a consultant? In most cases I'd be going to the specialist for this rather than the GP wherever possible. GPs have a hard job but aren't specialists and I've known too many doing half jobs on trying to summarise various years of consultant letters etc and making a hash of it. Indeed there is a case over on the Insurance forum where a GP has given an insurer the wrong date of diagnosis resulting in a declined claim. 

Speak to the consultant first, else it may be a need to commission a private consultant report.