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GP’s overwhelmed with requests for supporting evidence
A Birmingham LMC poster is reported to read -
‘GPs provide medical care to their patients and are not in a position to administer nor to police the benefits system. It is not appropriate for the GP to be asked for letters of support or letters to confirm housing or care needs.’
Just saw this in ‘news’. Whilst I can absolutely understand how they feel and whilst I do try to bother GP’s as a last resort when it comes to gathering evidence, I know I’ve been doing it more frequently recently. It’s not just WCA & DLA appeals (and goodness only knows what it’ll be like when PIP appeals start) but the need for supporting evidence for DHP requests, etc. Sometimes there just isn’t any viable alternative sources of evidence/support and some (not all) of the local LA’s we deal with have a tendency to dismiss out of hand DHP requests involving health issues where there’s no independent evidence of the likely effects on health if DHP is not awarded. With mandatory revisions also looming it’s going to be even more important to gather as much helpful evidence as possible at an early stage. There was a time (before the demise of LSC contracts) when we could cover the cost of GP letters via disbursements but those days have gone.
It’s a debate we’ve had before I know, but would be interested to know what others think and whether anyone has a cunning plan to get around the problem.