DLA / Decision

[wmd]

Hello all as i have said before on this forum that i get dla (high rate mobillity)
and as i did not know about the care side of it i put in a request to have a look at my claim
again for care got form sent out on26/07/12 and sent back with in 3 days got reply to say
they will look at all the information they have and it can take 11weeks for decision( 01/08/12)
then got a letter dated 11 sep to say we ara sorry we have not given you a decision on my claim yet
and will write to me as soon as they can with more information,Then got another letter dated 25 sep
saying we are sorry that we cannot give you a decision on the claim for dla yet as our enquiries are
taking longer tham usual because we have requested a report from your GP. Now the bit that gets me
is i seen my GP today and asked her if she had a request from DWP for a report on me only to be told
by her that she did not know and maybe one of the other gp may have and that she had no way of knowng
as she can only see my me medical file so how have find out if they sent report and what it said as gp said she has no way knowng if request was made.Do you have to wait the 11weeks + for decision.

[Carneucopia]

Yes I'm afraid the wait could easily go on. You are lucky really that the DWP have sent you extra updates! There could easily be a delay with them getting your GP report - sometimes things do genuinely go missing in the post. The DWP usually allow so long for a reply and then write to a GP again.
I think I would be more concerned about the lack of information from your GP - and inclined to ask the Practice Manager if in fact the DWP form was received there.

[RaeUK]

I am often staggered by the comments I read both here and in other forums about the hassles people have with their GP. Clearly, I am most fortunate with mine! For a GP to state they don't know if the DWP has written to them or that maybe it went to another GP at the practice is quite incredible. I would not be happy with that level of service. I don't know that much about the computer system that my surgery uses but, as intimated in the OP, the information is hierachical depending on who is viewing it. So the receptionist can see a bit, a practice nurse can see a bit more, but my GP is sat at the top of the tree and can see everything.
When I applied for DLA the DWP notified me that they would write to my GP for a report. Not a problem. Just to make sure my surgery was prepared for this, I phoned them up. I spoke to the receptionist and explained that I wanted to leave a message for my GP that the DWP would write to her. No worries Rae, she said, I can see a request has come in already. I then asked if I could have a copy of the report. Again, the response was no problem. A week later when I popped into the surgery, a copy was waiting for me at reception.
The reason I wanted a copy of the DLA report my GP sent is that, as far as that pesky ESA is concerned, it's another piece of evidence about my illness. And an up to date one at that. (Four years on the assessment rate and you soon learn to gather every scrap of info you can!). I recommend you ask for a copy.
Another tip is that, once you have a decision on the level of DLA awarded, let your GP know. When I last saw her I mentioned DLA and it transpires that they don't inform your GP of the award. So I let mine know I was awarded HRM and MRC, all duly logged into my medical record.