Attendance Allowance medical examination - what it involves

Your Attendance Allowance medical examination is designed to give a general picture of how your illness or disability affects you over time, not a snapshot of your health on the day of your appointment.

What the medical examination involves

It's important to tell the doctor if your condition fluctuates and whether this is a good or bad day for you.

Before your medical examination, it's a good idea to think about how your illness or disability affects your everyday life. You might like to think about:

how much help you need during the day and during the night
if you can do more on some days than others, what a typical day is like for you

What you need to have with you

The doctor will ask to see some identification before the examination starts, to make sure you're the person they've been asked to visit. A cheque book, cheque card, full driving licence, passport, birth certificate or building society passbook is sufficient for this purpose.

Your medical examination may include a sight or hearing test, if this is relevant to your disability. The doctor may want to observe you using any aids you would normally use.

What happens at the medical examination

Length

As a rough guide, you should allow about an hour for your examination. Sometimes medical examinations can be completed in much less time, especially if the doctor is looking at only one specific problem.

The interview

The doctor will interview you about the kind of help you need during the day and during the night. It’s important to give the doctor as much detail as you can. If someone else is attending the medical examination to support you, the doctor may ask for your consent to interview that person separately.

The doctor will write a statement to record what you said in the interview. This information will provide the decision maker with a clearer picture of your needs.

The physical examination

The doctor may decide a physical examination would be helpful. They should always explain what is involved first and check that you're happy for the examination to go ahead. It's important to tell the doctor if you feel any discomfort. They will not ask you carry out any action that causes you discomfort.

The doctor's report

The doctor writes a report of findings from the examination and returns it to the Disability and Carers Service. This report is usually written after the examination and you will not normally see it before it is submitted to the decision maker. You can request a copy of the doctor's report from the Disability and Carers Service. They will send it to you by post.