Psychiatric Report

Hello All

I am 60 and have suffered from almost lifelong ocd and anxiety problems which have led to excess use of alcohol. I worked in an extremely stressful job until FEB 2008 and then basically came home one night and never went back. I have been on IB since and my case is due for review. I have physical problems as well but the main reasons for my claim are mental issues. I mentioned a supporting letter to my Psychiatrist in July and he was distinctly lukewarm about the idea, quoting the usual research about the benefits of work, with which I disagreed as my work and stress had caused the problems in the first place. He suggested stacking shelves ( I was a childcare solicitor )I did not get a copy of the review notes until my gp gave me one and I find that my comments have been completely distorted which has also caused me to check previous notes and I have now re-checked previous notes and found other discrepancies, omissions and contradictions. I have drafted a letter to him (he is Greek but been in the UK for years) correcting all of what he has written and propose sending a copy to my gp, who would be happy to do me a letter when the time comes. Is this the correct way of dealing with it and is the lack of assistance from my psychiatrist likely to severely prejudice my migration onto ESA? I presume the DWP will contact him anyway so I may be looking at grounds for appeal before Form ESA 50 has even been completed!!? Can anyone please advise?Thanks. Sorry to be long - winded.

Peridot

Peridot wrote:

Hello All

I am 60 and have suffered from almost lifelong ocd and anxiety problems which have led to excess use of alcohol. I worked in an extremely stressful job until FEB 2008 and then basically came home one night and never went back. I have been on IB since and my case is due for review. I have physical problems as well but the main reasons for my claim are mental issues. I mentioned a supporting letter to my Psychiatrist in July and he was distinctly lukewarm about the idea, quoting the usual research about the benefits of work, with which I disagreed as my work and stress had caused the problems in the first place. He suggested stacking shelves ( I was a childcare solicitor )I did not get a copy of the review notes until my gp gave me one and I find that my comments have been completely distorted which has also caused me to check previous notes and I have now re-checked previous notes and found other discrepancies, omissions and contradictions. I have drafted a letter to him (he is Greek but been in the UK for years) correcting all of what he has written and propose sending a copy to my gp, who would be happy to do me a letter when the time comes. Is this the correct way of dealing with it and is the lack of assistance from my psychiatrist likely to severely prejudice my migration onto ESA? I presume the DWP will contact him anyway so I may be looking at grounds for appeal before Form ESA 50 has even been completed!!? Can anyone please advise?Thanks. Sorry to be long - winded.

Peridot

Hi,

Sadly we do not really deal with intra medical correspondence on the forum.

All I can really suggest is either asking the Practice Manager at your GP's surgery, or your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at your local PCT who should be able to advise you on the procedure.

Pete

In my view a helpful GP letter might be better than trying to prise a unwilling letter from a Consutlant Psychiatrist. In fact the GP may well have a greater in depth knowledge of you that would carry more weight
Also, if you were a childcare solicitor, it means you are legally qaulified and ought to be able to easily use the guides on this site to best effect as well as know how to approach your doctors/pct to acheive the best possible outcome as regards supporting medical evidence.

Hi All

Following on from the above and following the discovery of various errors in my medical records, I have been advised to make a complaint against my psychiatrist which I have done. At the present time he remains my care co-ordinator and I am due to see him again in January. I intend to make a request for a change of co-ordinator but am not optimistic that this will happen before then. In completing Form ESA 50, what is the best thing to do? - not to enter him as my consultant or to put his details in and see what happens? Any guidance appreciated. Thanks.

Peridot

I beleive you have various options and I would advise that not puttin g the Consultants name is definately not a good idea. The GP may be approached and give his/her name and then you would look like you had delibately witheld information even though you did it for sincere reasons of your own
.
Better is to focus on your own detailed descriptions of your problems wheh you complete the forms, and try and acheive a change of Psychiatrist. You could get your Gp to support you, he/she could elude to the fact you and the Psychiatrist have a clash and to outline the GP's treatment and view of your prognosis. If your GP is not agreeable then you would need to c onsider a change of GP within the practice, or indeed a change to another practice

I can assure you that complaints within the NHS is not transparent like the courts, it is often a very frsutrating and disappointing process, and where possible, is best avoided. if you can at all find a different strategy then try that, such as in the above paragraph

The Consultanmts opinion that you could/shoiuld do some work is not neccesarily malicious, Often they feel in the best of faith that an individual will be helped by work in that it will be therapeutic. Of course, I appreciate from my own experience that it is equalluy possible to worsen conditions

If you are certain or very suspicious that the Consultant will give an unhelpful picture then you can explain your concerns once you have seen what he has written. You can ask for copies of what he/she writes.

As you are a former solicitor, I would expect you can express yourself with precision and tactfully

I suspect that the consultant might also be confusing the potential benefits of an hour or two of stress-free activity with the reality of a full working week!