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Sunday, 22 November 2009

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Disabled people

Disability Living Allowance medical examination - what happens next

The Disability and Carers Service will make a decision about your benefit, taking into account the doctor's report. You will be told about the decision once it has been made. If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for it to be looked at again by someone else.

Making a decision

Medical Services will send the report to the person at the Disability and Carers Service (DCS) who is responsible for making a decision on your claim. DCS is part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The decision-maker will consider the report along with all the other information provided for your claim and decide whether to approve your claim and what level of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) you may receive.

You will receive a letter stating their decision.

Confidentiality

All the medical information related to your claim, including the doctor's report from the medical examination, is confidential and will not be released to anyone outside the DWP.

Sometimes the doctor may want to send some information about your medical examination to your local doctor (GP). In that case, Medical Services will write to you and ask if you are happy for them to give your doctor the information.

They will not pass on the information to your doctor if you do not want them to.

When you will hear about your benefit decision

It normally takes about 40 working days to process a DLA claim, from the day the DWP receives your claim form. You can check the progress of your claim by contacting the Disability helpline.

Telephone: 08457 123456

Textphone: 08457 224433

The helpline is open from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm Monday to Friday.

Email: DCPU.Customer-Services@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

If you are unhappy with the medical examination

If you are unhappy with the way the medical examination was carried out, you can complain to Medical Services. The complaints procedure is explained in the letter you received about your medical examination. You can also complain to the doctor at the time of the examination. If they cannot resolve the problem, they will give you a brochure explaining the formal complaints procedure.

You can contact the Disability helpline for advice on making a complaint to Medical Services.

If you disagree with the benefit decision

If you think the decision about your benefit claim is wrong, or you disagree with the level of benefit you have been awarded, you can:

ask the office who made the decision to explain it
ask to have the decision reconsidered by another decision-maker
appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal

How to appeal against a benefits decision (general money, tax and benefits section)

The doctor's report

You can ask to have a copy of the doctor's report sent to you at any time.

If you appeal against the benefit decision, you will be able to see the doctor's report as part of the appeal process.

Repeat medical examinations

Your Disability Living Allowance award will be for either a fixed or an indefinite period. The decision-maker will set the length of your award depending on whether your disability or illness is permanent or your needs may change.

If your award is for a fixed period, you will be invited to make a new claim before the award runs out. This is called a 'renewal claim'. Renewal claims are processed exactly the same way as new claims, so you may be asked to attend a medical examination again.

If your benefit award is for an indefinite period, you will not usually have to make a renewal claim. Indefinite awards can sometimes be reviewed and you may need to have another medical examination as part of the review.