to appeal or not to appeal

[rachmac83]

hello all,

 

i have recently had my DLA assesment and have been very lucky to receive HRM and LRC however i feel i meet the criteria for MRC which is also important to us so that my OH can clam carers allowance as now that he is at home with me we've realised how badly i was managing and how much it was affecting his health trying to work full time and care for me.

 

anyway the DWP's reason for not awarding me it is that with living aids my care needs would be reduced, but some of the aids are not suitable for me or my bed particularly. in addition to this last time dla told me i needed aids i went to the gp for help from the NHS and they literally laughed in my face. ive checked out the requirements for my local SS and seem to be under the threshold for help from them.

 

so although some of recommended aids could help me considerably i seem to have no way of obtaining them without purchasing them myself which is way out of my financial possibilities with esa and dla being our only income.

 

i don't know if its worth appealing and risking what ive already got when they are not really wrong in their idea of aids being helpful but its not realistic i fear at best it may be an effort in futility.

 

so what do you guys think is it worth the risk, and if anyone has any info on getting these aids it would be very much appreciated .

 

thanks guys

rach

[Slatted]

I think a carefully drafted appeal is always worth trying...have you looked on the B&W website? They have good info on how to approach DLA applications and appeals....if the aids will only help a bit then you really need expert information to support that point of view.

 

And have you found out if there are any organisations around that may award one-off grants? I know we have one here....

 

Also has your partner joined a local carers group (Princess Royal Trust for Carers have groups all over and they often have advocates that can help), they give moral support but also have experience that may mean they know where you can go for help funding the aids....

[estellyn]

hello all,

 

i have recently had my DLA assesment and have been very lucky to receive HRM and LRC however i feel i meet the criteria for MRC which is also important to us so that my OH can clam carers allowance as now that he is at home with me we've realised how badly i was managing and how much it was affecting his health trying to work full time and care for me.

 

anyway the DWP's reason for not awarding me it is that with living aids my care needs would be reduced, but some of the aids are not suitable for me or my bed particularly. in addition to this last time dla told me i needed aids i went to the gp for help from the NHS and they literally laughed in my face. ive checked out the requirements for my local SS and seem to be under the threshold for help from them.

 

so although some of recommended aids could help me considerably i seem to have no way of obtaining them without purchasing them myself which is way out of my financial possibilities with esa and dla being our only income.

 

i don't know if its worth appealing and risking what ive already got when they are not really wrong in their idea of aids being helpful but its not realistic i fear at best it may be an effort in futility.

 

so what do you guys think is it worth the risk, and if anyone has any info on getting these aids it would be very much appreciated .

 

thanks guys

rach

 

The risk with an appeal is that you could lose part or all of your existing DLA award.

 

saying that, if you do appeal for middle rate care, there are things you can do to help.

 

You'll need to show that the aids mentioned are not reasonably avialable to you - maybe a letter from the doctor or OT. Then I would advise keeping a diary for a week, writing down every time your OH helps you with any personal care and what they help you with. You need to include the time and how long you're helped for each time. Frequency is the most important thing for daytime care. For night time care, I think you need help at least twice, or for at least 20 minutes.

 

write an appeal letter to go with the GL24, stating that the aids are unavailable to you on the NHS and you cannot afford to purchase them, therefore it is not reasonable to expect you to have those aids available to you when assessing your needs. State that as you have either frequent care needs during the day (or repeated or prolonged care needs at night, whichever is appropriate) as shown by your diary evidence.

 

Another thing that you can do is have ask your doctor if they will look at your diary and then (obviously only if they agree this is true) that the needs detaioled in your diary are as your doctor would expect from what he knows of your condition.

 

Hopefully that helps. There is risk, but only you can decide if the risk is worth it. There is far less risk of the DWP taking your existing award away, the risk is greatest in front of a Tribunal. I have known people go through the process with the DWP and then withdraw the appeal just before the Tribunal.

 

Of course the best way to know whether an appeal is worth it or not is to get advice from an experienced benefit adviser.