Doctors support

fedupn45 wrote:

If my Doctor is outraged at the Decision Makers decision, and says that he will put a strong letter forward to support my appeal, will this have any weight in my appeal? He was shocked and appauled that they consider me fit for work when he sees me on a regular basis.

It will really depend on how it is worded.

The DWP and ATOS tend to depreciate your GP statements on the basis that the GP is primarily concerned with what you cannot do, whereas the ESA assessment looks at what you can do. Also ESA is based on very specific assessment criteria, which most GPs do not refer to.

So if your GP just says that you are not fit for work, then it will be considered, but you should not expect it to carry much weight with the Tribunal panel.

However, if your GP says, as an example, that you have problems walking and should not be expected to walk more than 50m without significant discomfort or pain, then this would have a lot more wight, as is specifically addresses one of the ESA criteria.

Hope this explains it.

Gordon