My wife has a medical next month will i be allowed to attend the medical and can i have a imput ie. answering questions on her behalf. appreciate help cheers

You are allowed to attend the medical but I'm not too sure if you can have an input if she is able to answer for herself. Jim (another mod) I'm sure will be able to answer this (he's having to take things a bit easy at the moment following hospital treatment) but in the mean time you could telephone your local CAB office or local council Welfare Rights Officer. You haven't said what the medical is for, is it DLA or IB? There are guides to medicals availbale for downlaoding in the Members Section which gives excellent insight in what to expect in terms of questions and procedures.


Gareth

Thanks gareth, she is having a medical for DLA. The reason I was asking this question is that I cannot see how a medical examiner can get a all round view of someones disability when they are taking drugs to combat pain and the drugs may interfere with their ability to answer the questions., and the person doing the caring could make some cotribution towards getting a full picture of their day today needs. steve

Hi,

Presumably your wife's DLA medical is in your own home as the majority of DLA medicals are. if not you can ask for the examination to take place in your home, if your wife is unfit to attend a medical centre.

Whilst the Medical Examiner will usually put any questions to your wife, as her husband and it appears that you're her carer also, there is nothing to stop you from contributing and explaining to the EMP the extent of your wife's care and mobility needs, especially if her medication makes it difficult for her to explain things herself.

The medical for DLA purposes is not like for example a medical your GP would carry out to make a diagnosis. With DLA the name of the claimant's condition is secondary. What is paramount is the severity of your wife's mobility and/or care needs, so the EMP's examination will be to determine if your wife's needs have changed, i.e. improved or worsened. It's not the EMP who makes the decision on an award of DLA, it's done by a Decision Maker (DM) from the DWP. After the medical is complete, the EMP sends it to the DWP's DM who makes the decision.

If you wish, once the DWP receive the EMP report you are legally entitled to a copy under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The guidance given to EMP's is that they should not make decisions about a claimant's needs based on a 'snapshot' on a particular day, but should take all things into consideration. 'Guidance for EMP's' is in the members area as are the '70 Questions You’re Likely To Be Asked At Your DLA Medical' HERE

Hope this adds to what Gareth has advised.

Jim

,.High jim ., They said that they will send details of where to attend medical so I assume its at a local exaamination centre, however I do not think this is practical as my wife is in constent chronic back pain and takes the strongest prescibed pain killers possible, she also takes anti depresents because of the effects on her normal daily life. any advice is welcome. steve

Hi Steve,

As I said in my first reply, if your wife isn't well enough to attend a medical examination centre, it can be done at your home. From my experience most DLA medicals are done in the claimant's home.

Telephone the DLA Unit on 08457 123456 and ask for a home visit.

Jim