Sleeping

[deandean69]

I have congestive heart failure, I can't sleep due to this properly, is it vital to sleep alone and try to get a good night's sleep?

[GracieOS]

I think you just need to do what you can to aid a good night's sleep, alone or otherwise. Speak to your heart failure nurse if you have one.

[deandean69 in reply to GracieOS]

Thank you for your reply.

[deandean69 in reply to deandean69]

Will my heart failure nurse help?

[Alison_L in reply to deandean69]

HF Nurses are all-knowing

[Alison_L]

Are you disturbing your partner's sleep as well? No point 2 people getting no rest, particularly if they are supporting you.

[deandean69 in reply to Alison_L]

Yes I am and thank you for your reply.

[GracieOS in reply to deandean69]

She/he can help advise on a whole range of problems or worries, so yes give them a call.

[deandean69 in reply to GracieOS]

The council are trying to kick me out of my flat with my wife as we have two bedrooms and they saying we only need one even though I suffer with heart failure, they saying we can sleep in 2 single beds in one room even though I can't sleep and I think I'm classed as disabled with my condition

[Hidden in reply to deandean69]

You have to be able to prove you need the second bedroom on medical grounds, and it can be quite a tough thing to prove to a local authority’s satisfaction. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try, ‘but because neither of us sleep well in the same room’ just isn’t going to cut it, even though everyone knows that sleep deprivation causes all sorts of problems. This is the most up to date information on extra bedroom rules in relation to disability or health needs:

‘For you and your partner to be considered as being unable to share a bedroom due to health reasons, the following conditions must be met:

1) you or your partner (whichever one has the health conditions) *must* be getting the higher rate of Attendance Allowance, the middle or the higher rate of the care component of DLA, either rate of the daily living component of PIP or AFIP - AND -

2) the local council must be satisfied that you or your partner (whichever one has the health conditions) are/is, because of your/their disability, not reasonably able to share a bedroom’

Assuming you meet the first criteria, to prove number 2, they would almost certainly want some kind of professional evidence, so letters or reports from nurses or social workers etc. stating that it’s their professional belief that you can’t share a room and then giving the reasons this is the case. The council are within their rights to come to the conclusion that you can have two single beds in one bedroom in the absence of evidence that demonstrates otherwise: unfortunately, the onus is on you to prove their conclusion is wrong. Reasons an LA would accept that would go against the two single bed argument are fairly few and far between, but would include things like the room being physically too small or there being too much medical equipment required in one room to also house two single beds. Under the equality act 2010, you would be considered disabled, but that actually has very little bearing - as with applying for disability benefits, what counts is the demonstrable impact of the disability, not the fact that you’re disabled.

Hope that helps a bit.

[deandean69 in reply to Hidden]

Yes it helps, thank you very much Charlie.