Supporting information for SRTI

The supporting information to confirm a terminal illness diagnosis is either a BASRiS form, an SR1 form or a DS1500 form. The BASRiS form can only be completed by a registered medical practitioner (RMP) or registered nurse (RN) with a licence to practise.

Social Security Scotland will accept the SR1 form or DS1500 form used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to confirm a terminal illness diagnosis. All references to the BASRiS form or the clinical judgement in this guidance also refer to the SR1 form and DS1500 form.

The supporting information confirming a terminal illness diagnosis may alternatively be provided over the phone (the clinical judgement or ‘verbal’ BASRiS) or in a clinician’s letter. The registered medical practitioner (RMP) or registered nurse (RN) should subsequently submit a BASRiS form to Social Security Scotland within 28 days.

A Social Security Scotland practitioner may be required to contact the RMP or RN to request or clarify the clinical judgement verbally. On receipt of this verbal confirmation a case manager can progress to payment.

Where a verbal BASRiS has been received, the case manager does not need to wait for the electronic (pdf), webform (digital portal) or paper BASRiS form to arrive in order to process the payment.

Only a registered medical practitioner (RMP) with a licence to practise or registered nurse (RN) with a licence to practise can complete a BASRiS form. The RMP or RN must meet both these criteria (PADP regs, reg. 18(9)(a)(i) and (ii)):

• be involved with the diagnosis or care of the person who is terminally ill
• be acting in their professional capacity.

If an individual does not live in Scotland, and resides in an EEA state, Gibraltar or Switzerland and meets the eligibility criteria (PADP regs, reg 14 and reg. 18(9)(b)), an appropriate healthcare professional in the country they reside in can make the diagnosis and provide the BASRiS.

The healthcare professional must be equivalently qualified to a RMP or a RN in an EEA state, Gibraltar or Switzerland.

This healthcare professional must have a licence to practise and be registered with a professional body equivalent to the General Medical Council or Nursing and Midwifery Council in their country. They must be involved in the care or diagnosis of the patient and must be working in their professional capacity (PADP regs, reg 18(9)(b)).

Normally a healthcare professional in an EEA state, Gibraltar or Switzerland would take account of the CMO guidance. However if the particular circumstances mean it would not be reasonable in the circumstances to insist that they use the CMO guidance then Social Security Scotland can still accept their clinical judgement (PADP regs, reg. 18(8)).