A few months ago we published a set of PIP GP Notes in the members area. These are a copy of the PIP descriptors you can take your GP to ask them to select which ones they think apply to you, add any comments and sign and date as evidence for your claim or appeal.
We’d be grateful for any feedback about whether you’ve used them, how helpful you found them and any changes you would suggest before we decide whether to create a similar resource for ESA.
Many thanks to Gordon for taking the time out of his demanding moderation schedule to create the notes for us.
Comments
I've just completed an application for transfering DLA to PIP. On the day I posted it I recieved a Capability for Work Assessment form to be returned by 07 January 2020. I've being sick since 1998. I'm under the care of three different consultants and the GP. I don't have a positive history with the surgery so I'm not confident that the GP is the best professional to represent me fairly. Also the current GP has only known me in the last five years. I last saw him in October and as I said goodbye he said "don't come back". He said it jockingly but the relationship has been tetchy and I'm trying to avoid seeing him let alone ask for favours. Unlike the PIP form, the ESA form only ask for Details of the GP. I am worried that the GP will not be very supportive. I see two conultants for the two main medical issues. I see them three times annually and more frequent when necessary. They have know me since 2010, are supportive and may provide a support letter. I have requested a letter from one consultant and I'm waiting for his response. Is it possiblie that I can give the details of a consultant rather than the GP on the ESA form?
I had pencilled in the answers and comments. She just wrote over it in ink.
I had an initial appointment and nervously mentioned the form as I really thought she/they wouldn’t have the time + would say so! However, she then told me to book a double appointment + not only completed the form but added loads of stuff I hadn’t even thought of!
I used your GP notes and my doctor completed them, he ticked the descriptors that he thought but only added short comments in a couple of them. I cannot say if they made a difference to my claim because when I attended my PIP F2F the HCP told me and my partner that they had not read all of my paperwork, he went on to say that I should have not been called for a F2F as anything you send in is checked by a nurse first to avoid unnecessary assessments.He also went on to say that if I did not get an award I should appeal straight away !
Is there a search box I can use, which will give me the link?
Many thanks
Firstly Click on members only guides. Then Click on PIP .And underneath the title PIP resources the fifth one down you will see in bold blue , PIP GP Notes , Click on this to reveal contents
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip#claims
If a PIP adverse decision ends up at an appeal tribunal and a GP says "Mr/Mrs .......... tells me....." when referring to the descriptors, there is a distinct possibility that the tribunal will dismiss it out of hand as not being independent, and therefore render the information useless.
Bearing in mind a claimant may have to pay a substantial fee for the GP to complete a descriptor form, if it is rejected, it will prove to be a waste of money. I am not saying that all appeal tribunals will adopt this attitude, but from experience they tend to be sceptical when a claimant requests information in support of a claim/appeal, and mayl ask if an appellant has simply "put words into the GP's mouth" rather than their own actual knowledge of the patient? However, it will be for the tribunal to weigh the (medical) evidence and say why it accepted or rejected it?
There is, as mentioned in a previous post, that a GP may refuse ooint-blank to complete the descriptor form, in which case it will be for an appellant to persuade the tribunal that they are entitled to a Personal Independence Payment