Help Urgent New GP's and Sick Notes

[RaeUK]

Ok, with you now, thanks. I'm curious as I'm awaiting the DLA verdict ...

[coolgeo5]

Hi Guys,

Nystagmite I wouldn't even apply for DLA as they knock back every one these days but also I don't think I would be entitled to it as I can walk 200 meteres unaided although I might be a bit breathless due to my asthma,

Regarding your problem with your ears most health centres or your local hospital have audiology clinics, ask at your health centres reception what days these are held and make an appointment to go along you can usually do this direct without seeing your doctor they will thoroughly examine your ears or phone the audiolodgy department of your local hospital they will give you an appointment or say your doctor needs to refer you, failing that tell your doctor that you want your ears checked as you are still having problems and insist he takes action.

 

Hensteeth you can count yourself very lucky that you have never had a problem getting sick notes and that your doctor asks how long you want it for but I bet your attitude would be very different if you saw a doctor you have never saw in your life and he started hesitating over wither he should give you one at all.

I am aware it is for the GP to decide if you are entitled to a sick note and I don't think I know better than the GP but facts are facts when you have a condition like athritis and are in constant pain these conditions only deteriorate they don't just go away next week,

So when you see a doctor who you have never saw in your life and he hasn't even examined you and he is dithering over wither to give you a sick note I feel you are perfectly entitled to say to him politely that I have athritis I am sick, I'm attending physio my sick note is due for renewing after all if I was not sick I would be signing on for JSA,

I do not receive any other money and after experiencing not being paid for 6 weeks before I wasn't prepared to go through that again if I don't get my sick note in I have nothing to live on and no one to rely on to help me out plus its not my fault I can't ever see the same GP at my practice.

 

Slatted regarding your thread..............But I do wonder, having read many such threads about worries about seeing and approaching GPs for help whether they also have degrees of courage as some GPs are prepared to stick by their principles and treat the person and their condition(s) and provide sick notes if they believe them necessary regardless of how long the illness has been going on...or whether they have not passed WCA or whatever....six weeks, six months or six years ongoing...

 

Illness does not respect timescales laid down by medical professionals in my experience..and we are often told we are individuals and therefore what is a simple matter in one may not be in another......and it certainly does not obey the Govt guidelines as to how fit we are to perform work related tasks....

 

Slatted you are 100% correct in everything you said in the above thread especially about people being worried to approach their GP's and their attitude to giving sick notes,

also the latter part that illness does not respect timescales laid down by medical professionals in my experience..and we are often told we are individuals and therefore what is a simple matter in one may not be in another......and it certainly does not obey the Govt guidelines as to how fit we are to perform work related tasks.

100% Spot On !

[joeblogs]

Personally I have never had a problem with my GP issuing sick notes. With what is wrong with me, their general comment is " there is no point in me asking how you are - how long do you need one for"

 

As for I said I am sick so therefore you should give me a sick note, maybe you have forgotten who the doctor is and why they are there?

 

It is for the GP and the GP only to decide first of all if you are too sick to work or could work given a few changes and secondly for them to describe what are the functional effects of your condition and thirdly for them to decide if you will or will not be entitled to another certificate at the expiry of this sick note.

 

Clearly some patients seem to think that they are better placed to quantify these facts than the prescribing GP is.

Why not then just have stocks of MED3 forms at the Post Office for the patient to fill in themselves.

 

Hensteeth, as you have stated in the above post 'It is for the GP and the GP only to decide first of all if you are too sick to work' so it begs the question as to why your GP asks YOU how long you consider you need a sick/fit note for. I take it you are not a doctor.

[Nystagmite]

Nystagmite I wouldn't even apply for DLA as they knock back every one these days

 

They don't. Unless you fail to provide any evidence or don't fill the form in properly.

[worried33]

They don't. Unless you fail to provide any evidence or don't fill the form in properly.

 

Whats filling in the form properly?

 

I think the DLA form is the one I have put the most detail in my life on any form I have filled in. gave very specific details. Multiple sources of evidence also supplied.

 

If I understand right you have the CAB to fill in your forms? maybe they know certian key words that trigger succesful reward.

 

Sadly there is no face to face advise I can seek in my area, all the places are overwhelmed. So I have never had personal assistance filling in the form, in my mum's area she had someone come round her house to help her fill in a form.

[Nystagmite]

If I understand right you have the CAB to fill in your forms? maybe they know certian key words that trigger succesful reward.

 

CAB do exist around here. However, last time they messed me about; so I don't bother with them any more.

 

By "properly" I mean detail. I was once told to fill the form in the following format:

- why I can't do something

- what happens if I do

- an example of the above (ie, "on March 5th I attempted to cook a meal and ended up burning my hands because...")

- why I need help from another person

[hensteeth]

Hensteeth, as you have stated in the above post 'It is for the GP and the GP only to decide first of all if you are too sick to work' so it begs the question as to why your GP asks YOU how long you consider you need a sick/fit note for. I take it you are not a doctor.

 

My GP used to ask me how long I would want the certificate for (I don't need one now as I am in the Support Group) because be it one month or six months, nothing is going to change with my health and there was no point in giving me one for 2 weeks every time I went, much better for me to give a reason for it and the anticipated length of time it needed to cover.

 

I suppose it would have been different if my health problems were such that they were variable and/or treatable.

[hensteeth]

They don't. Unless you fail to provide any evidence or don't fill the form in properly.

 

I can vouch for that advice! I too am not able to find any help with the completion of the forms. But I did my best and didn't send any evidence in (simply because I didn't have any to start with!) All of the consultant's reports go direct to the GP - I never see them.

 

However the DWP wrote to my GP for a report which to be honest was useless - only because, whilst he knows everything about me, he doesn't have a clue if I need help to wipe my b*****de or how far I can walk.

 

I received a copy of the GP report from the DWP and went to see him. We had a long chat and he gave me copies of various consultant reports he had received in the previous 6 months. The following day I dropped off a typed list of all of my problems (care & mobility needs) that he asked me to do for him.

 

I sent off the consultant reports, then had a telephone call from the DM who said he was increasing my LRM to MRC & LRM. We had a chat and I told him that I was not happy about that and explained that my GP now has all of the evidence to confirm that I virtually cannot walk. The DM said that he would send out for another GP report and about three weeks later I received a letter from the DWP telling me that I had been awarded MRC & HRM Indefinitely.

 

So without good evidence you will fail. The evidence given to me and for me by the GP was enough to increase my DLA from LRM to MRC & HRM.

[Slatted]

Coolgeo5 glad you appreciated my comments . the courage element was meant as much about the courage of GPs to stand by their training and convictions and not bow to pressure from DWP etc not to continue to provide sick notes when WCA failed etc..I do agree that each time we have to see a GP it takes courage to have to go through it all again especially if we know the GP to be particularly unsympathetic or it is one we have never seen before.

 

I also fear that we are judged on what and how we present ourselves and they may suspect some of over-egging symptoms etc....I bet they do not always empathise at all...which does not make it easy when you are tired and ill and scared you will be left fighting the system for even a few crumbs because you cannot handle the requirements of JSA (and sometimes JSA is denied because, ironically, you are not deemed well enough to work!!).

 

I would also say that having been the person who completes the forms for my disabled husband I managed to get him full care DLA with low mobility and have it successfully reassessed twice, the second with an increase to high rate mobility, without help from CAB...it is possible to do it yourself...just tough. I suggest looking at the information on this site...as well as the B&W website guides (a small fee for a years membership..currently deals available I believe and well worth a look even for basic non cost information in my opinion)...for how best to approach matters.

 

Again it seems to be not what you say and do but how you say what you can and cannot do as well as how you present things at any medical..it certainly does not pay to show a stiff upper lip...rather to say it as it is....and show pain if you feel it (something that the genuinely ill often learn to stop doing, sadly).

 

It is also worth appealing too....as long as you have sufficient grounds...nothing to be lost is there? No worse off if rejected at appeal other than, of course, emotionally spent perhaps? But personally I find I need to know I have done my best.....

 

I would have thought using crutches and being in pain when walking 200 metres was sufficient grounds for appealing the mobility portion...I thought the desciptors were about fatigue and ongoing ability over time too...it is never as black and white as they would have us believe.

 

It is a real shame that our GPs are not really clued up on how the applications are geared to HOW they say not just WHAT they say in reports as it can be that words are open to misinterpretation and clearly these days if the DWP can take it the wrong way they seem to do so...

 

I am not sure if you can ask for a copy of the decision makers reasons also, I know you can in ESA. That might give more insight.

[Nystagmite]

I would have thought using crutches and being in pain when walking 200 metres was sufficient grounds for appealing the mobility portion...

 

If you swing through crutches, then I seem to remember you're classed as unable to walk. The distance is before any pain, discomfort, etc. sets in.

 

If your only way of getting about is to swing through crutches then you will be considered unable to walk.

 

From - http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/dlanotes/unable%20to%20walk.asp

[worried33]

this discrimnates against people who have bad GPs as well, I remember when I was in locum hell when the DLA people tried to contact my GP they simply got no response. My issue is mainly due to having had an ATOS doc involved as because my GP surgery didnt respond I had a medical booked which concluded what in my view a wrong diagnosis. This should now be different fo rme as I complained to the PCT and now seeing a permanent GP.

[house3]

I agree fully with you cool,i feel like am begging when i go to my dr and ask for a sick note,i hate it,am a very proud person,dont really like talking about myself to much even though i got a lot of health problems,all i want to do is pick up my blood pressure tablets and painkillers and lock myself in my flat away from it all,i wish i would of tried D L A before i claimed support allowance,what a nightmare its been...my dr took pride in telling me i had failed my medical we atos,he was loving it i could tell,so will see another doc to try get a fit note to continue my appeal ....

[hensteeth]

I do wonder if the reasons for some GP's not giving 'sick notes' are because of the changeover from the old MED3 to the more comprehensive one and the bad press that GP's have had in the past about issuing the old 'sicknotes' out like conffetti made even worse by the DWP making issue that they no longer trust GP's to be impartial.

 

From an honesty point of view, my GP is not impartial; If I went in and told him that my back aches, he would ensure that I was referred to a consultant and if the DWP ever wrote to him asking about a bad back, he would confirm the same - even though there would be no medical evidence at the time to confirm or deny that there is in fact a problem. When he retires I have no idea what I will do!

Edited July 8, 2012 by hensteeth

[house3]

Am hopeing when i see my other doctor tomorrow ,i got 3 i can see,well i hope she be more willing and concerned for my health then the other doctor,who refused to do me a fit note..I will let you know how i get on tomorrow..ive still got aches and pains and all my other health problems,so being fit for work right now i am not...

[coolgeo5]

Hi Guys,

I went for my ATOS Medical on Wednesday 12th July as it's all new to me and this is my first one reading the posts of people saying they said one thing and the ATOS staff said they said another and things that did/not happen I thought I would be prepared, I went to Atos Medical Centre I set my iphone4 to record and just popped it in the outside pocket of my handbag and let it run.

 

The nurse called me in and introduced herself and said we would go through my medical conditions and she would do a hearing test, we spoke about my arthritis and I told her that all the discs in my neck had collapsed into each other welding into one and that I had bones that had fused in my shoulder, I said I was in pain every day in my neck, shoulders and upper back as well as my lower back, the nurse asked about numbness and tingling I told her my right shoulder in particular was often numb or is numb in places.

she asked if I had told the doctor this and if I had seen a specialist or had any scans I said I have told the doctors about the numbness and I have asked for an MRI scan lots of times to all different doctors but they are all penny pinching all singing from the same hymnn sheet they say you don't need an MRI scan we know you have osteo arthritis an xray showed that I said but now my lower back just keeps going for no reason at all and its agony very painful and it's happening more frequently so I'd like a scan they say no as they don't want to spend the money.

The nurse said well the numbness and tingelling could be nerve related like trapped nerves. we spoke about my deafness that I wear a hearing aid since 2005 and my asthma then she said to me I want to speak to the other nurse about your shoulder and the numbness so she went away and came back she said I've spoke to the neurologist nurse and I'm very sorry but I think you need to be seen by a neurologist and I've not got experience in this and it wouldn't be fair on you for me to continue this report so what I am going to have to do is make you another appointment for you to see a neurologist nurse thank you for being so nice about it but I feel it's only fair to you to get a proper thorough report she took me back to the reception to make another appointment where the receptionist said something about the nurses not having experience or having to have 6 months experience in certain fields. the receptionist said I could have another appointment for another day or I could wait at the end of the queue of people that was already waiting.

I opted to wait as I had already been there for about an hour and spent about 25 mins in with this first nurse and contrary to what the nurse thought I was not happy to go away and come back another day I wanted it over and done with after all they gave me the appointment they should have the staff to see me.......

 

I waited another hour then was called in with this second nurse the neurologist who to me just mumbled through some of what I had went through with the first nurse

(I prefered the first nurse she was thorough and spoke clearly) the second nurse just spoke quietly and lazily she went throught the you have arthritis where do you get pain,

me : neck, shoulder, upper back and lower back her : how often me : every day I'm in pain and some days it's worse than others but every day.

The nurse then goes on about my hearing, asthma etc then done a few tests told me to lie on the bed lift my legs as high as I could she told me to push my feet to the bed with her hands under my ankles, she told me to put my hands behind my back as if I was getting hand cuffed I told her it was sore on my shoulder, she told me to put my arms straight out then put them straigh up above my head, I put them straight out and said I can't put them over my head as It would hurt my shoulders that was it really.

 

The neurologist never mentioned the numbness. tingeling in my shoulder at all, she never done a hearing test that the first nurse mentioned to me I think she was lazy and just went through the motions she ticked the boxes and done what was required in regards to filling in the form on the computer there was no thoroughness that the first nurse mentioned I came out of there and wondered why I had spent 3 hours in there when the first nurse could have dealt with it all as the second one was useless and didn't ask half the questions the first one said she would anyway I have it all recorded on my phone plain + clear and sods law what happens on friday night my lower back went I have been in agony since Friday taking up to 8 tramodol a day still couldn't get an appointment for the dr today but got one for tomorrow but no doubt as the pain is easing I have spent the whole weekend ill in pain in bed now why can't that happen when it is time to go to Atos ........now just awaiting my nil points letter from them telling me I need to go sign on lol. CoolGeo