Can anyone help, I need asap some caselaw regarding DLA/AA and reasonableness in respect of attention.
My Client is an elderly lady with arthritis who manages alone but is in a lot of pain whilst doing so.Case hasn't been helped by GP writing that she thinks she does manage but isn't sure whether she is in pain or not!!
Can anyone help?

Have a look in the Disability Alliance Case Law pack http://www.disabilityalliance.org/digest.htm

Towards the end, about adjudication, tribunals and evidence. A good place to start

Good luck.

The following, taken from the DM Guide to Medical reports, may be of some use - as it says, GP reports are not helpful when it comes to assessing day to day care needs .........

There is more, referring to the treatment of Hospital and EMP reports.

51. FURTHER EVIDENCE AND ADVICE
51.1 Contents Paragraph
Introduction 51.2
Sources of Further Evidence 51.3
Advice from Medical Services Doctors 51.4
51.2 Introduction
51.2.1 At various points in this book suggestions are made concerning the sources of further evidence which are most likely to be of assistance in particular types of case. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the various sources of further evidence and to indicate the sorts of information which can be obtained from each one. Providers of further evidence should not be asked to answer direct questions on whether the qualifying conditions for the benefit are satisfied. In general terms they can be asked for information which will fill gaps in the evidence which would otherwise be incomplete. They can also provide evidence which will help the adjudication officer deal with inconsistencies or contradictions in the information already held.

51.3 Sources of Further Evidence

51.3.1 General Practitioner Factual Reports (GPFRs)

(i) A special fee payable to individual GPs has been agreed whereby factual information based on a patient's clinical records will be provided.

The fee does not extend to the provision of an opinion and so, unless the information is already contained within the clinical records, the GP will not be in a position to provide it.

It has to be understood that individual entries in a patient's clinical record are relatively brief and will usually concentrate on diagnosis, clinical findings and treatment plan.

The records will not really contain any meaningful information relating to care and mobility needs. In general therefore GPFRs can provide useful information on the diagnosis and overall severity of a person's disabling conditions. It will not usually be appropriate to ask specific questions about the help a person requires unless there appears to be gross under-or over-representation of those in the claim pack.

(ii) Where a person has a number of different conditions which are being investigated and treated by a variety of hospital departments, the GP's records will be the place where all this information is co-ordinated. In these circumstances the GP may well be able to indicate the relative importance of the various conditions in terms of their effect on the patient's day to day life.