Vol. 337 No. 11
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he considers that the number of medical referees available for examining claims for disability benefit is adequate; the number of such referees; and the average number of claims for disability benefit received each week in his Department.
359.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the duties of medical referees employed by his Department; and if they deal only with cases referred to them as a result of a complaint or if they carry out any form of spot check on a random basis on medical certificates submitted in support of claims for disability benefit.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 358 and 359 together. The duties of medical referees employed by my Department consist mainly of providing independent medical opinions on persons claiming disability benefit. They also assess the degree of disablement in occupational injury benefit claims.
The disability benefit cases referred for examination by medical referees are selected on a systematic basis having regard to the nature and duration of incapacity, age of claimant, recent history of claiming and other relevant factors. This method of selection was devised as a result of consultation with the Medical Adviser of my Department and is kept constantly under review. A relatively small number of claimants are referred for examination on the basis of confidential information furnished by medical certifiers or by employers. Sickness visitors who visit claimants in their homes also recommend for examination cases in which it appears to them that the claimants are fit and active or are not complying with the rules of behaviour for persons claiming or in receipt of disability benefit. In view of the nature and scope of the existing method of the selection of suitable cases for medical referee examination it is doubtful if any useful purpose would be served by a system of spot checks on medical certificates submitted in support of claims for disability benefit. The number of medical referees at present serving is one Medical Adviser, one Deputy Medical Adviser and 15 Medical Referees.
I consider that the present medical referee strength is not adequate and I have recently made arrangements to increase the number of medical referees by four in an effort to ensure that a second medical opinion will be obtained as early as possible on all cases considered suitable for medical referee examination.
The average number of claims for disability benefit received each week in my Department so far during 1982 was 5,550.
