How far back will DoC look at medical evidence

I’m helping a friend with a PIP claim and I need advice re medical evidence.

During the ‘Troubles,’ here in Northern Ireland he was shot and almost died, that’s going back 20 plus years and as a result of that and a few other incidents he developed PTSD (it has been medically diagnosed) but he was unaware until we spoke that he could receive PIP and if granted it wouldn’t have an effect on other benefits. He never mentioned PTSD to me in the past.

I understand that he can request medical records from his GP (this would include dates etc of operations and letters from his psychiatrist - yes?) this shooting which happened a long time ago would, probably, have been a contributory factor to his PTSD but how far back will our Department for Communities look at medical evidence, will they look at that historical information and other events, directly, or indirectly, flowing from it when considering his case.

Hi Kevin. At my last PIP renewal I included all ‘relevant’ GP notes (which included photocopies of hospital correspondence) from a very young age. I am a Survivor so all was relevant and gave credence to my C-PTSD diagnosis.
Although different circumstances, all info from ‘The Troubles’ onwards is relevant. I would go through all their medical records from this time [with permissions obvs] onto the present day. It then gives a concrete history. ‘No specialised input from MH services’ is a HCP favourite.. This will shut that down.
I have never received MH points before. This made the difference. 4 points for ‘engaging with others’ and 10 points for ‘mobility’.

Hi Kevin,
I recently submitted a SAR (Subject Access Request), to the Health Records Team, asking for my medical records and I have received documents going back as far as 1988 (when I first had treatment through the NHS). Hope this helps.

Thanks for your replies to date, we are sitting down to look at the form tomorrow. I have been going over the Handbook, searching on line and put a few notes together

I’m a bit confused as regards medical information. Do I go through my own GP or SARS. I can see why you might go through SARS, they have to reply within a time frame and GP’s might charge and I assume it’s the Dept of Health over here

Is there a template letter anywhere requesting information from the relevant body