Case Study: GP provided information that was overlooked

Mr L is an older man with severe peripheral vascular disease. He walks slowly with two sticks, and has to stop after 20 yards due to severe pain in his calves, which is the result of very poor circulation.

He is considered to be in too poor health to be operated on, so there is no prospect of any improvement. He also has a severe degenerative problem in his lower spine, which has been proven on a MRI scan. Again, this cannot be operated on. He cannot sit for more than a few minutes without having to move due to severe pain. This is despite his being on strong painkillers around the clock.

He was assessed by Atos and deemed to be fit for work. In their paperwork, the assessor stated that he could walk 200 yards without difficulty. His GP believes that this is not true and feels that the information he provided was completely overlooked. He is now in the process of appealing the decision.