Wrong Information by our GP to DWP

[Halfman]

Our Nine year old son Receives DLA High rate care and low rate Mobility from the DWP.

His mobility condition has changed and he is being referred for Surgery on his Achilles tendons by his Paediatrician, so I informed the DWP.

The DWP wrote to our GP who we never see and asked for a report on him,she phoned me and asked some very basic questions and submitted a report that totally contradicts the Paediatrician.

I have spoken to the DWP and was read the Doctors report and it is total rubbish, the Doctor who we have never seen has said our son can literally walk and run like a normal child.

I have asked for a Mandatory Reconsideration, and asked that any information they need should be obtained from the Paediatrician not our GP.

Can someone point me to where I can request all the details about our Son from the DWP, so I can confront our GP with her report.

[BankFodder]

Have the DWP told you that they are not prepared to give you the report? I would have thought that you should be able to get it from them within 20 days and free of charge under the Freedom of Information Act – unless someone tells us here that the DWP is specifically excluded from the Act.

 

Even without the report, I think I would make an immediate appointment to see the GP with your son and also with a copy of the paediatricians report. Get your GP to examine your son and ask if she still stands by her report. Of course, she will be defensive that she has given a serious report without ever examining the patient. I don't know if this is normal practice but it sounds very sloppy and lazy to me.

 

I think that after I had seen the GP and in the event that she turned out to be unhelpful and really defence of her own position, I would then begin a complaint about the GP to the practice. Here is a link which tells you something about that procedure http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-complain-if-youre-unhappy-with-your-gp-or-gp-surgery

 

At the same time as asking the DWP for a copy of the report, I think that I would ask the GP as well and if she refused then I would include that in the complaint to the practice.

[Halfman]

Thanks BankFodder

 

I will phone the DWP Monday and ask for a copy of the report and when I have it will make an appointment with the Practice Manager and take it from there.

I have a recording of the call to DWP and having listened again to what they say is in the report and it is just a " This is what I think" type of report.

 

Thank you for the help.

[ericsbrother]

trouble is that the opinion of a doctor cannot be challenged as a matter of fact like financial records etc can. If your doctor puts in your notes that you are a chronic alcoholic who smokes 100 a day (so they get extra govt money for offering quitting services) then that is what you are and you cannot get that changed. You then have to go down the legal route to claim damages for telling porkies and that is a rocky road as doctors dont want to help you sue another doctor.

Seek a second opinion from the doctor you trust and explain why and I bet that the original opinion will get updated (no, not altered, they never made a mistake).

[Halfman]

One of the major problems is the Practice we are registered with has at least a dozen Doctors and when we need to see one it can be any one that's available,and they only go on information that's on the computer system.

But I was asked over the phone about our son and told whoever it was( did not recognise the Doctors voice)the current state of my son ,it seems she did not really listen to me and made up her own mind about him.

Come Monday we will be chasing this up.

[fletch70]

Remember you should be able to send a SAR to the DWP on behalf of your son. The DWP do not change but it does tale a long time, well over the 40 days because they have to send you forms which you then have to send back.

 

It is indeed a problem when they fill out a form based on what is on the computer

[BankFodder]

If it is a large doctor's practice then there will be a practice manager and there may will be senior partners. I think that you need to discover whether the status of your GP is simply as an employee one of the senior partners. If she is simply an employee then you have a very good chance of getting a complaint to the partners – even if they don't really want to put their hands up to you, they will take it seriously enough and make sure that it is dealt with. However, get ready for the defensive position.

 

Certainly, you need to get a second doctor's opinion as quickly as possible – as advised above. Why don't you contact the paediatrician, explain exactly what has happened and see if they can recommend a doctor who will corroborate their opinion. I'm sure that they will not have been pleased to have been gainsaid by the GP

[Halfman]

I requested the necessary paperwork from the DWP and it came very quickly ( quite a shock).Was already to confront the Doctor.

Also in the same post came a report from the Paediatrician that our son is being referred to the hospital.

 

Strangely I received a call from the Doctor concerned, she apologised and said the report she sent in was based on old information on their system,which has now been updated after receiving the latest information from the Paediatrician and would forward the new information to the DWP.

 

So maybe things will turn out O.K in the end.

[Halfman]

Just received in the post A Mandatory Reconsideration Notice dated 23/11/16 their decision is unchanged.

Even though new information was sent by registered post and received 24/11/16 it seems there is nothing more I can do at the moment.