For doctors, social workers, CPNs and other professionals

Guide to writing useful evidence for Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance appeals

This page is written for doctors, social workers, CPN's, occupational therapists, and other professionals who might be able to tell the appeal panel what they need to know. It explains how to write helpful evidence for this kind of benefit appeal.

Evidence from a doctor or other professional helps the tribunal to come to the right decision more than anything else. We have written this section because we want to help ensure that the time you spend writing this evidence is efficiently spent. Your evidence doesn't need to be long or typed, but it would be most useful if it included everything you are aware your patient/client needs help with.

Whether your patient or client is entitled to DLA or AA is decided by how much help they need. They may not get this help, many people 'manage', but these benefits are based on help they should really have, in an ideal world.

It would be helpful if your evidence started by confirming any diagnoses, and any treatment that they receive.

Then you need to go into the detail. If they cannot physically walk even short distances without discomfort, or if they are very slow please say.

Equally, if you are aware that they have difficulty going out on their own to places that are unfamiliar, please say that. They should be able to get to their local shop or GP surgery alone - but if they would need help to find their way, become anxious, or might put themselves in danger if they had to go to another town alone, the Tribunal needs to know that.

Next, look at the help they need in the home. Do they need prompting, encouragement, or physical help to do any of the following:

• get up
• get washed (this means have a bath or shower, as well as wash their face, teeth, shave etc)
• go to the loo
• get dressed and undressed
• move about indoors
• stay safe
• cook a proper meal
• communicate with other people (this includes reading, hearing, and speaking)
• take part in leisure activities (meeting friends, playing games, reading, watching TV)
• go to bed
• do they need help overnight? This might be help to sleep, stay in bed, to go to the loo, to calm down if they get distressed, etc

If they can do any of these things on their own but it takes a very long time, causes them pain, or may put them (or somebody else) in danger - the law sees this as needing help.

• Do you think that they can (and do) cook themselves a proper meal? This means a 'meat and two veg' style meal they cook from scratch, not just beans on toast. If they have issues with depression, or motivation, and don't generally cook themselves a proper meal, this would suggest that they can't be relied on to do it without help or prompting.

Please say if you have any concerns that your patient or client doesn't look after themselves very well. Do you have any reason to believe that they don't always wash or eat properly? Please do not leave things like this out for fear that it might offend your patient, as it will help their case.

If you are aware that they have been hurt, or could have been hurt, as a result of their condition, you should say so. Perhaps they have fallen or had violent seizures, burnt themselves, self-harmed, or attempted suicide.

If you are aware that they have trouble taking their medication, remembering to take it, or sometimes purposefully don't take it, that would also be very useful.

Do you have any reason to believe that, if left entirely alone for long periods, they might be a danger to themselves or somebody else? If you are aware of a time when they have posed a danger to themselves or somebody else it would be most useful to include this.

Lastly, does their condition fluctuate? If it is bad on some days but better on others, it would be useful to make that clear.

If the person you are writing evidence for is a child - you need to compare what their needs are against the needs of another child the same age.

September 2008