What evidence is available?
| Sources of Evidence | Information Provided | Limitation of Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant/carer | First source of information | May not be objective, does not have specialist knowledge. |
| GPFR | The GP will be able to confirm that a brain tumour has been diagnosed.
Even once intensive treatment is complete all children are followed up in a ‘late effects’ clinic. The child may be seeing other specialists about their problems; the GP should be able to provide a broad overview of all the issues affecting the child but may not see the child themselves. |
At the time of diagnosis the GP may not be able to provide a histological diagnosis or details of the proposed treatment particularly the duration of treatment and recovery which may be several years in the under 3s. Following treatment the GP may not see the child regularly as they will continue hospital follow up in the late effects clinic. |
Hospital FR – best source of evidence
|
During diagnosis and the initial stages of treatment, the hospital consultant and the specialist nurse will be able to provide the most up to date information on diagnosis, treatment plan, current disabling effects and prognosis of disabling effects.
Once treatment is complete all surviving children will be followed up in a ‘late effects’ clinic. The consultant or other specialist from this clinic is likely to be able to provide the most complete and up to date assessment of residual disabling effects such as cognitive impairment or learning difficulties. |
Once the child has finished active treatment the original specialist may not be up to date with the child’s progress. The late effects clinic will be the most appropriate source of evidence if for example; the child is diagnosed with learning difficulties and provided with a SEN after radiotherapy to the head. |
