dla

[ords]

why is it that the house of lords did not listen to the woman who is trying to fight for ppl on dla that they did not even take anything she said into account whats next for us having doctors what dont no anything about our condition saying if we are entilted to dla or not the system is so unfair and i would much rather see my own ruma doc than another who does not no how i cope from day to day what now for ppl on dla

[LavendarLady]

Hi Ords, don't panic for the moment - there is a long way to go before any decision is finally made about DLA. The House of Lords is scrutinising the proposed legislation by the Commons which is their job to do so. They don't normally take representations from people outside the Lords or the Commons.

And don't forget, there will always be an appeal procedure as well. They are suggesting that any new or existing claimants called for interview, should have the DLA (or whatever the new one will be called) approved by their GPs/consultants rather than at present, when all you do is fill in that awful form and send it off and 9 times out of 10 no check is made with your doctor.

My GP had to complete a form for the DLA confirming that I had RA and its effect. They also had copies of reports from my consultant and hospital as well but that is quite rare.

There are many people claiming DLA who don't need it, bad backs, drug and alcohol dependency (usually self inflicted), dizziness for which no medical has ever been done. and all sorts of vague claims. Those are the malingerers that the government is targetting not the genuinely ill and disabled with this wretched disease.

LavendarLady x

[ords]

thank you for your nice kind words xxxxxxx

[allanah]

Hi,

I just got RA in March and have had a rough time with it, not being able to walk and difficult to dress and so on. I so far have had an assessment for a blue badge for the car. I was taken to see an assessor and as I waited in the room there was another 4 people. They all walked well up and straight and quickly into the room. I'm afraid I was judgmental (i know not all people have outwards signs of disablement.) However it mad me think i was right in asking for help of the badge. They also contacted the rhemy and my gp and it was very thorough.

. I was completely put off asking for any more help however as i found the experience very stressful and was even more sore after the interview. However it may save the nhs money on bogus claims but i left feeling stressed and quite miserable about working for so long and being afraid to apply when i might be due to the benefit. Axx

[LavendarLady in reply to allanah]

Hi Alannah, you are certainly right in applying for a blue badge. Mine has been a godsend over the last 3 1/2 years.

It is sometimes difficult to tell how a person is feeling from seeing them walk in and out of a room for instance.

I have days when I can walk a little further than normal (But suffer for it after) and also days when I am in a lot of pain and shuffle along. I still have to use a wheelchair at airports for example as I cannot stand for very long and would collapse in a heap in the security queue and can't walk to the plane as it is too far.

Don't be afraid to ask for the help you are entitled to. Have you applied for DLA yet? CAB will help you with the forms if you want them to. You can claim it whether you are working or not. I use mine to pay a cleaner to do the heavy work for me which I can't manage any more and also to help towards the cost of running my car which is vital to me.

Also Social Services can come and do an assessment of your home to see if you need any aids to help. They came out to me and I have grab handles on doors to get up and down steps, and high toilet seats to help me in the bathroom + grab handles over the bath. I can't use a bath any more but useful for the shower.

LavendarLady x

[Beth58 in reply to allanah]

So sorry all this has stressed you, your experience is yet another example of disabled people being punished due to fraudulent claims and abuse of the blue badge scheme. They used to contact your GP to confirm health needs and make a decision from that.

If you having problems with daily living DO apply for DLA but get the support of your consultant and local welfare rights as the forms are horrendous. but do apply if your struggling and feel your entitled, this benefit entitles you to all sorts of other benefits.

Beth xx

[allanah in reply to Beth58]

Hi Beth, I think i will see what CAB say and then I might feel a bit more confident. I cant believe I have run companies but at the moment am unsure as to how i fill in a DLA form.. so confused. And I just got awarded incapacity benefit although i hope to go back to work when allowed, and now read even this will change, I am a bit afraid for my future.

[Beth58 in reply to allanah]

Yeah me too at the minute. I found I lost a lot of confidence after having to leave work, feelings of hopelessness and my self esteem took a nose dive. It's hard enough for us to cope with the disability without all the other emotional feelings too.

If you do decide to claim make sure you mention the emotional impact your disability has had on your mental health this has had. People often to forget to include this side of things and we don't like to admit these sort of problems, but sadly we have to in order to get the benefits we're entitled too.

Remember small steps first to help build confidence.

Beth xx

[julieporter]

Hi

Don't panic -from what i hear the government is having trouble passing all their legislation through Parliment and they may have to make changes to get them through.The assessment is tough but it has to make sure that the money goes to those who have the care and mobility needs only,not just the diagnosis.

Julie x

[Hidden]

I know alcoholism and other stuff is self inflicted and I feel equally exasperated at a system that seems to prop up these conditions and adictions rather than tackling them at the source. But there are conditions such as fibro and ME and some mental health disorders which many in the medical profession are also cynical about. I think it must be awful to have something that people are so sceptical about.

I know of a woman my friend volunteers for who lost her DLA because they said that her fibro was not debilitating enough so now she has to pay to get on the bus to job seekers interviews for jobs she couldn't possibly do with her illness - which is seriously debilitating to her. If the assessors are so rigorous and thorough why do they appear to get it so wrong sometimes? Having said that I know there are grey areas but I doubt anyone whose mobility is affected by RA will be turned down because it's an accepted medical condition.

[julieporter]

It's not a great system especially with conditions that can vary day to day.I wish thay would use the info they get from patienrs own consultants and then just do a medical if there are any doubts.All i can say is get help filling the form in and appeal if your'e not happy with the desicion.

Julie x

[Beth58]

Am I worried about my DLA:

Yes I am, I've claimed this benefit since 1994 (lifetime award) been reviewed twice (my request) and had it increased. Yet now I'm at risk of losing it with the governments attack on the most vulnerable in our society.

Sadly the government is determined to push through changes to DLA regardless of consultation and opposition from major disability organisations and sadly some reports claim it will increase suicide amongst disabled people who will re-evaluate their own life and feel it's not worth going on.

If the proposed changes go though, DLA will cease to exist in 2013-14 and will be replaced by the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for new claims in April 2013. The government also proposes that during 2013/14 it will start a programme of re-assessing pre-existing DLA claimants under the new PIP rules.

The plans are to cut 20% of the DLA caseload.

The reality is less than 1% of DLA claims are fraudulent (DWP figures), though this can only be guess work as the true figure can never be known. But this proves the government is not about stopping fraud and more an attack on the most vulnerable in our society.

Everyone claiming DLA will be migrated to the new benefit similar to what's happened with Incapacity Benefit (IB) migrated to Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

The Spartacus Report was launched last week after studying the consultation response from disabled people and it delivered a massive slap in the face to government. The report produced by disabled people was a massive hit amongst disabled people, disability organisations, on the internet etc.

For detailed up-to-date information sign up for Benefits and Work newsletter. I believe this is one of the best sites helping/supporting people with benefit claims/appeals and campaigning against government reforms. Also worth reading is the Spartacus Report downloadable from the site too.

Beth xx

benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/...

benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/...

[LavendarLady in reply to Beth58]

Thanks Beth. Just had a look at the website. Very interesting. LavendarLady x

[Beth58 in reply to LavendarLady]

Cheers LL, I think the way forward has got to be a legal challenge to governments Welfare Reform, problem is disability organisations get a large amount of funding from central government, so that may be what's putting them off.

The chaos caused by IB/ESA changes and additional costs due to the number of successful appeals should serve as a lesson but typically this government choose to ignore the warnings. x