Can anyone tell me if you can get a Disabled Badge on the strength of being diagnosed with COPD ? I am 80 yrs old next month and I can't walk very far these days without getting out of breath and suffering pain in my foot. I have Chronic Leukemia and a dropped foot problem which makes walking difficult. My husband has a disabled badge due to 2 previous strokes and as he's usually in the car with me I have had the benefit of that but he has been in hospital for over 6 weeks now and I would really like a badge in my own right.
Thanks for any information.
EDIT: Wow, thank you everyone for your responses x I've read all your replies with interest. I've come to the conclusion that I don't think I would get a badge on the strength of my COPD diagnosis only. It isn't that bad really. I just find, these days, that I can't get all the way round the larger supermarkets with a trolley and, obviously, if I can't park close to the entrance I'm already flagging before I start. I tend to get all my shopping delivered these days but I do miss being able to pick my own produce. I'm not under any hospital specialists for it. In fact I don't remember the last time I even had a review. I have a prescription for Salbutamol inhalers which don't seem to do much. I think it's just really down to old age and a few other things I suffer with, which I didn't go into, but no one thing that could be regarded as needing a badge. I don't use any walking aids or get Attendance Allowance. I was just wondering if a diagnosis of COPD was an automatic "pass". I think that age 80 should be an automatic pass really ... lol.
A friend of mine in Wales advised me to apply for Attendance Allowance as "everyone gets it" and she told me that her sister and her husband (who both go to work) are getting it. I looked at the form for that and I couldn't honestly answer "yes" to needing the help they enquired about and can only assume that people lie! I know when my husband applied they sent somebody round to assess him and he was awarded the higher rate. I assume that Wales is much more relaxed about handing it out without evidence. Talk about abuse the system.
Anyway, thanks for all your help and advice xxx
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Copey399
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Hi Copey399, if you go online to the GOV.UK website you will find lots of information for the criteria required for a Blue Badge. The Citizens Advice Bureau can help with form filling if required.
Good luck and best wishes to you and your husband. Xxx
Hi Copey. I got my first Blue Badge 6 years ago. At that time I had severe COPD and osteoarthritis in my hip. When I filled in the form I went for my worst day scenario along with spirometry results.
If your are getting any disability benefits, due to not being abled to walk far, or would be in danger walking far, eg heart conditions - You should get your badge, if not if you can't walk good and you GP will back you, that's the way to go.
In my area they want a copy of a letter from a consultant giving the name of your medical condition, a GP letter is not sufficient. Along with filling out the form, it’s useful if you have been provided with a Walker or wheelchair by your local community service, and if you are getting PIP or attendance allowance.
I have one too, for pulmonary fibrosis and autism (the latter affects my ability to find parking spaces and navigate long distances without help).
I had to have a physio assessment as I was initially refused and I appealed because on a bad day I can barely walk to the loo without getting breathless.
I also mentioned that I keep having to stop when I cough (constantly when I first start walking), which means it takes me twice as long to walk anywhere even without the breathlessness.
I would imagine my age (46) had something to do with needing the physio assessment.
It’s quite an easy process to fill in the online forms (at least it was in my area, it may be different systems for different councils). And you can upload photos or documents to support your application. As someone else mentioned though, you can ask CAB or a friend to help you if you need it.
Hi Copey399, Most people with COPD do not automatically get a blue badge. If you have other than COPD that helps. i.e lower limb arthritis, sight defects, heart condition or disability payments at higher rate for mobility. But you do need a Drs report on how your walking is affected or if you are terminal . The GOV.UK page is very good at explaining. There is no mobility component to disability payments if you are passed retirement age which is another hitch to blue badge requirement. I believe they are changing mobility rules for those who are retired sometime soon. So worth a bit of research. Good luck with it. PS if you use oxygen thats another help towards blue badge requirement I am advised a consultants letter is better than a GPS
Unless this is something new Katie, you dont automatically need a doctor's report on your walking. Im on my third (fourth?) blue badge and have never been asked for this. So perhaps this varies according to your local authority (who issue the blue badge).
Someone further up the thread said they filled in the BB form with details of their worst scenario and that's what should be done. I think 50 yards is the cut off point so I always say I can walk less than that which is true when I am unwell. I also say I need to take my partner's arm when walking and take frequent rests and that uphill gradients are a major problem.
You do need to list the medical personnel involved with your healthcare but my local authority has never to my knowledge contacted my GP, consultant or oxygen nurse.
Hello O2trees, I have never had to prove any factors as the DR from Nottingham disability centre came and examined me. I have High rate mobility , was assessed on my walking at the hospital as I have COPD,lower limb arthritis and visual impairment. The 50 yards is only 20m now or is that the same.? I cannot walk unaided I use stick or crutch wheelchair or rollator.Some days I can't rise from a chair. it is true each council makes their own rules , but at the end of the day a blue badge is for parking close to where you want to go nothing really to do with health benefits . Blue badge is a parking concession and most councils charge for it. If you are getting mobility benefits it just helps you get a blue badge. The severity of mobility issues does have a bearing on getting a blue badge and who better to confirm that than a GP, Physio or Consultant. Where does the 50yards come into it? they are rules used by the DWP for benefit purpose.
Many people with blue badges are wheelchair users.
Hi are you getting Attendance Allowance? If you get the highest award you automatically qualify for a blue badge. Not sure about if you get the lower one or not at all.
I was merely answering your statement where you said that you weren't sure if people on lower rate Attendance Allowance could get a blue badge. I live in Wales and the process seems much easier here.
Will try one last time. Whether or not you automatically get a blue badge depends on whether YOU get Attendance Allowance in your own right ie in your name.
If you do then apply for one. If not then I am not sure of the procedure. Its not what illness you have but how it affects you.
Hypercat, you are talking to Welshcatlady who has already stated that both she and her husband have blue badges. I was the original poster of this question and I have noted what you say x
No worries .. lol x I could just see that you both were at cross-purposes. I don't get Attendance Allowance and having looked at the application form I wouldn't even apply for it as I don't need assistance with personal care or at night time etc. I couldn't answer "Yes" to any of the questions.
I did have some great news today though. A letter from the Pensions people. As I am soon to be 80 I will get the princely sum of 25p per week extra pension 😂😂 Don't know why they bother.
I have one (OPD severe) and it's an absolute boon. If you have a COP team in your area contact them, or as others have sugested, Citizens Advice will help you. It sounds as if you would qualify easily...go ahead, do it!
Yes, I got mine about 9 years ago aged 71. I went for an assessment in Norfolk. Then, when I moved to Essex I went for another. It is incredibly useful.
Good luck. It sounds as if you qualify. It is very helpful to get the Citizens Advice or some other well qualified body to help you fill in the form. They will make sure you stress your worst days and don't underplay your difficulties.
If you are under state pension age you apply for PIP. Under this there are 2 elements - the care one and the mobility one. One of the criteria on the mobility one is how far you can walk. You then keep PIP when you get to state pension age.
If you are of state pension age and are making a new claim then you apply for Attendance Allowance instead. This is very similar except there is no mobility element. Its care only.
The care component on AA can be the lower rate or the higher one depending on your circumstances.
Both these benefits are based not on what illness you have but purely on how it affects you. And what if any other conditions affect you too.
Like others have said pick your worst day.
One of the essential criteria is not necessarily what you can do but CAN YOU DO IT SAFELY AND IN A TIMELY MANNER.
If for example you can walk 100 yards but it takes you say 10 minutes and you need an hour to recover and are in pain for a while afterwards. So put yes to any questions like this and explain fully.
The more questions you answer yes to (but don't lie of course) the better the chance of getting it.
I have moderate COPD and spinal stenosis and use a mobility scooter. I get the full Attendance Allowance which is just over £100 a week. This is not means tested either. (Occasionally it is but not usually).
I didn't get this by putting no, but yes on my worst day.
Another example I was asked do you need help during the night. When my SS is bad and I get sciatica with it then yes I do. Whether or not I have someone to help me at night or will get someone is irrelevant.
The money is to pay for your needs due to how your illnesses affect you.
In England getting the higher rate of each benefit means automatic qualification for a blue badge. Like I said not sure if you only get the lower amount or none at all.
You will have check this out for yourself. Also Wales could be slightly different from England but the basics don't change.
my husband has had one for a few years now, he had to go for assessment at hospital and a walking test, but he was no where near as bad as he is now, but got the badge, but we understand that now its not so easy to obtian one, they are being far more stringent in who can have one, i think they have been misused in the past and this is why. p.s. my husbands mobility now though is very poor, hardly any distance i.e. 10 steps and he cant go on further.
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