Doctors support letter

Hello, Could anyone please advise me regarding the importance of a letter of support from my GP, iv'e received the DLA to PIP forms been in receipt of DLA approx 20y not had any recent treatment from the hospital or health care professional i do visit my GP on a regular basis however i have just spoke to the receptionist to discuss a letter of support from my GP and she has told me no way i can have an appointment for that an if the DWP want any information they will have to contact him, im worried that i will have no supporting evidence to send with my forms how damaging could this be to my claim, are they likely to take evidence from my GP into account anyway or do they rely on the findings of a face/face, would be very grateful if anyone can advice and thank you in advance.

Hello jmac

There's two ways to deal with the absence of support letter from your GP. First of all you could speak with the practice manager at your surgery and explain to him/her your situation and ask whether it's possible to get such a letter from your GP (just in case the receptionist was being awkward). If this doesn't work then you can ask to see your medical records for the past twenty years and select documents that you can copy to support your claim. There must be records of your diagnosis and treatment at hospital/clinic on file and these might be useful, even if out of date

You are entitled to see your medical records, and if you do, someone has to be with you to explain what the records are saying. This could take a considerable amount of time, and the possibility is that they may decide providing you with a supportive letter is easier than sitting with you over that long period of time. searching for information. It's worth a try.

If you have used the guides whilst filling in your forms, you have already given yourself the best chance of success; remind yourself what you have written about your illnesses and what impact they have on your day to day life in readiness for your face 2 face; maybe keep a diary for a few days in order to show how difficult you might find certain activities.

Other than that. there is little else to be done. Once you have had your face to face ask for a copy of your assessment and go from there; if your award is not what you want then you need to request Mandatory Reconsideration; if this happens get back to us and we can help you with the next step

If you bookmark this page then you will be able to get back to us easily and we will be able to find your past posts and help you more quickly.

Good luck with the face 2 face

Hi,

When you book an appointment with your GP you do not have to explain reason for your appointment to the receptionist as its none of their business .

If I were you phone the doctors and book an appointment and then if the GP says no to a letter at least you tried . I had appointment with my GP last week for exactly same reason.

Many thanks for the reply's, SHELAM very interesting regarding medical records i think i may have to follow that route, RH not sure if it's just my surgery but when you call for an appointment the receptionist ask's for the reason why you need an appointment then the nurse at the surgery calls to see if she can help first before giving you an appointment to see the GP, ive often thought this was wrong i suffer with PTSD and it's very difficult when you have to explain the reason for a appointment to two other people before i get to see my GP. anyway enough of my moaning now thank you again for your advice.

I phoned my surgery and asked them to put a note on my file that if the gp received a request from ATOS for a report, they must contact me before filling it out.
Today I've had a message asking me to make an appointment with my gp to discuss the report. So it might be worth you doing the same.
At my surgery you have to see whoever is available which means there's little continuity of care and most of the gp's have no idea how my condition affects me
Good luck