GP Template letter

I just wanted some quick help with the GP template letter have on file. Its probably me and PIP exhausting me (familiar story). Just confused when a question asks "cannot" do something, particularly in the planning and following a journey ...lots of cannots...if we "cannot", ,do we put 'yes' or 'no'? (Sorry I seem to lack common sense too apparently.)

The other thing the info on there when I last looked regarding dressing and undressing and how to score points has changed due to the recent Upper Tribunal decisions lately. It would be great to have clarity around these too:

"The Upper Tribunal has previously said that the PIP test for dressing has to consider whether you can dress yourself in normal everyday clothing - not just really easy clothes like jogging bottoms and t-shirts. But the Upper Tribunal has also said that people can be expected to use practical alternative clothing which is is easier to wear, such as wearing a cardigan rather than a pullover to avoid having to raise your arms over your head.
In this case, the Upper Tribunal has said that slip-on shoes are one of the reasonable alternative types of clothing which people can be expected to wear if they have problems tying laces. In other words, you can't claim points under PIP if you can't tie or untie your own laces or need an aid to do them up."

I am a bit worried now that they see someone with a physical disability who has to wear really loose fitting clothes like track bottoms or shorts (even in winter) and flip flops as practical alternatives or are they just citing cardigan over jumper and slip on shoes as practical alternatives that are reasonable to wear? Thank you in advance.

Thanks Gordon for clairfying all these points.

With the GP letter that I got from B&W files, I was intending to fill it in for my partner's GP first. Then to discuss it with him in a double appointment.

At our surgery in Blackburn most of the GPs are really helpful fortunately.....I don't know if the fact that they are self-employed and are part of a great Health Centre gives them more morale...anyway when I asked a GP from the same surgery to do a letter for my PIP I gave her practically what I wrote in my PIP form (which was quite a lot) and she was very grateful as it saved her from doing a lot of work. She even halfed what I had to pay her. As you have rightly stated Gordon GPs don't necessariy know how our conditions affect our daily lives so the fact that she accepted this was great and possibly the best way forward (I think).

At this point I hadn't discovered your GP letter template so I didn't include what boxes to tick. So just hoping that this GP will be OKay with it. It will save this GP a lot of work. I will let you know how happy he is with this.

Hopes this helps other members too.

Just another quickie. I've heard from someone that even at appeal because they put in so much about their mental health condition that doctors and judges thought he could not be that ill if he could detail this out. So he lost his appeal. Obviously I am concerned as I wrote 85 pages for my ESA and 60 pages for my PIP (both excellent award results) but I feel I might be unlucky if I meet someone who does not understand mental health or autism and might be equally penalising. I have been told up North that I had too much initiative so that I could not be ill. As B&W so rightly say we need to put in as much detail as possible (that is relevant) on our PIP forms so how can tribunal get away with this?

As usual very very grateful for your advice or ideas.

Thanks Gordon for coming back to me so quickly on my last questions. Thank you for letting me know about the Further Information Section.

Could I take it then that the more clarity and information you give (as long as it is extremely relevant to the question) the better your chances? (I have spent a great deal of time to get clarity of my partner's conditions, especially when I do not have them myself!!)

Back to GP letter: Is anybody able to go into the file on the wordprocessor and edit this? I am only asking because it might be useful for one or two questions if the "comment" box was bigger and if the typists at the surgery wanted to type out the comments could they do so?

Or with your GP letter template (which is the best I have seen yet) the GP is expected to handwrite a response?

Seeing GP this Friday so always really appreciate your speedy responses. Thank you.