DLA Home medical visit

Hi there hope someone can give me some advice,my partner has been diagnosed with ME/CFS, Fibromalagia 3 years ago and a heart abnormality (6 months) which is still at investigation level, although this may be connected to ME but its hard to establish. GP is very supportive and has filled in a report and sent it off to DWP sometime last week, i sent her the assesment sheet from here to help her with her report, she mentioned that it was very helpful. On saturday we received a letter stating that a doctor would be in touch soon to arrange a medical assesment at home. i called the DWP today and they havent recieved the GP report yet.My partner is worried sick about a doctor coming to the house, at the moment he is unable to do anything and spends the day in his bed as toilet is upstairs etc, should he try and get up sit downstairs for the doctor coming or just stay in bed as normal. Also can anyone tell us if the doctor will ask him to walk outside.
is this normal to have a home visit before they read a gp report, or could it just be that the gp has taken too long to get back to them, and the home visit could be cancelled if they recieve the gp report in time, the original claim went off in early june.
this is causing my partner to stress and hes really worried about having to meet with a stranger in the home, can i be present.
Many thanks

Hi,

Do check out the guides for more info about what happens at a DLA home medical.

If the DWP had received your GPs report in time and considered that it contained sufficient information they might not have decided to send an Atos doctor. However, for conditions like FM they very often do send an Atos doctor, especially if higher rate mobility may be at issue, regardless of whether other medical evidence is available.

Yes, you most definitely can be present at the visit and - again - check the guides because there is much more about this issue in them.

My own opinion is that if your partner does not feel well enough to come downstairs then he should not do so - but it is only my opinion.

Good luck,

Steve

Thanks steve just wasn't sure if i could be there or not. Dont have a date through yet so hopefully will have plenty of time to arrange time off etc.

Hi,
I am in the same situation I have the same conditions as your husband M.E. ect and have been ill for about 3 years now.
We had a home visit from a doctor reference D.L.A. week last Wednesday.
I spend about 4 days a week in bed and the rest in a chair in the sitting room which is where I was when the doctor arrived.
My wife let him in and he was very nice and polite and asked a few questions about my avererage day, and what I could and couldnt do.
He then asked me if I could lay down for some checks and he helped me into the bedroom, ( we live in a flat) I lay on the bed and he asked me if I could raise my legs I said only a little way as I have pain in the hips and other joints. We spoke about the fact this is a fluctuating condition, some days are much worse than others.
That was it for the checks he then spoke to my wife about help she gives me and said thank you and left.
So from my experience there is nothing to worry about but as we all know every Doctor is different and with M.E. it quite often is just a case of wether the Doctor belives or understands the condition as to the outcome.

lauranjohn wrote:

Hi there hope someone can give me some advice,my partner has been diagnosed with ME/CFS, Fibromalagia 3 years ago and a heart abnormality (6 months) which is still at investigation level, although this may be connected to ME but its hard to establish. GP is very supportive and has filled in a report and sent it off to DWP sometime last week, i sent her the assesment sheet from here to help her with her report, she mentioned that it was very helpful. On saturday we received a letter stating that a doctor would be in touch soon to arrange a medical assesment at home. i called the DWP today and they havent recieved the GP report yet.My partner is worried sick about a doctor coming to the house, at the moment he is unable to do anything and spends the day in his bed as toilet is upstairs etc, should he try and get up sit downstairs for the doctor coming or just stay in bed as normal. Also can anyone tell us if the doctor will ask him to walk outside.
is this normal to have a home visit before they read a gp report, or could it just be that the gp has taken too long to get back to them, and the home visit could be cancelled if they recieve the gp report in time, the original claim went off in early june.
this is causing my partner to stress and hes really worried about having to meet with a stranger in the home, can i be present.
Many thanks

This is a tricky one, I have spotted something in your post which if turned on its head would be better from the point of view of dealing with many drs based on the fact people often post on here the problems with esa and dla claims when having ME/CFS it does not change anything but IMO might make matters easier to deal with

so here goes hypothetically speaking I would ask my dr if the me/cfs symptoms could be caused by the heart ? IMO see your dr get advise from experts |I know nothing

hi there thats such a good suggestion, no-one has ever mentioned or indeed thought of that, due at constultants on 25th aug and cardiologist soon after will explore
thanks again