Benefits an hospital stays

[Surfer01]

My wife was admitted to hospital in early August and discharged 17 days later.  We both get carer's allowance which changes the amount of pension credit I receive.  DWP was notified and my pension credit was reduced.  It took them 3 weeks to reinstate it.

 

Unfortunately 6 weeks later end of September my wife was admitted back into hospital as the first time she was misdiagnosed and probably discharged too soon.  DWP notified and within 3 weeks they reduced my pension again.  My wife was in hospital for 32 days and discharged on 2nd Nov.  We are still waiting for the benefit to be reinstated and every week when we have phoned in we have been told it is in a queue.

 

Yesterday the person that we spoke to said that because she had been in hospital in August this was link to her stay in hospital in Oct as it was within 3 months of her previous admission.  I have tried searching to verify this information, but no such luck so not sure if they are telling porkies or not?

 

We were under the impression that if the break was longer than 28 days then the clock would start ticking again on the second admission and would not be linked to the previous admission which was more than 28 days?

 

Can anyone please advise as the reduction of over £110 a week is having a big knock on effect on us.

[unclebulgaria67]

I would suggest you go back to query this and if they tell you the same thing, ask them to email you the DWP guidance to confirm what they are saying.

 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Found some Carers Allowance guidance online, which may explain what you we're told. Seems to suggest that there can be loss of entitlement if there is more than one hospital stay within a period.

 

Breaks in care of the severely disabled person
[See DMG Memo 06/20]
60045 A week when a person does not satisfy the “caring condition” is treated as a week in which that  
condition is satisfed, if that person
1. has only temporarily ceased to satisfy the “caring condition” and
2. has satisfed the caring condition for at least 14 weeks in a 26 week period. The 26 week period ends  
with the frst week that person no longer satisfed the caring condition and
3. would have satisfed it for at least 22 weeks in the 26 week period described in DMG 60045 2., but for  
the fact that
3.1 either that person or
3.2 the severely disabled person
was undergoing medical or other treatment, as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution1
.
1 SS (ICA) Regs, reg 4(2)
60046 The effect of DMG 60045 is that a temporary break or series of temporary breaks in care may be
ignored. Entitlement to CA will continue provided that the temporary breaks do not amount in total to  
more than
1. twelve weeks - where the claimant or the severely disabled person has spent at least eight of those  
weeks undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution or

 

2. four weeks - if the temporary break in care is for any other reason in any period of 26 weeks ending  
with the frst week of the temporary break in care.
60047 Where a break in care
1. is for any reason other than hospital in-patient treatment and
2. lasts for more than four weeks in the 26 week period
no further breaks in care can be ignored in that 26 week period, even if they are in hospital.

[Surfer01]

Thanks not sure I understand it fully, but maybe you can offer so more insight.  Wife and myself are regarded as disabled and both get the carers allowance for one another.  She was in hospital in Aug from 5th until 22nd and then again from 30th Sept to 1st Nov.  She should never have been discharged in Aug which is why she was readmitted urgently on 30th when she almost died. 

[unclebulgaria67]

Don't fully understand what it says. The last bit seems to say that as the second stay in hospital was within 26 weeks of the first hospital stay, that Carers Allowance cannot ignore the break in care. In other words the Carers Allowance stops being payable from 30th September.

 

Did they tell you that you stopped being eligible for Carers Allowance from 30th September ?

 

Suggest asking for mandatory reconsideration of the decision, which will force them to explain the decision.

[Surfer01]

6 hours ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

Don't fully understand what it says. The last bit seems to say that as the second stay in hospital was within 26 weeks of the first hospital stay, that Carers Allowance cannot ignore the break in care. In other words the Carers Allowance stops being payable from 30th September.

 

Did they tell you that you stopped being eligible for Carers Allowance from 30th September ?

 

Suggest asking for mandatory reconsideration of the decision, which will force them to explain the decision.

 

I have already asked them about reconsideration and I got nowhere as it seems they do not understand the rules fully either as all they tell me is that it will be back paid. 

 

However even so it is now 7 weeks since my wife was discharged from hospital and still no sign of the benefit being reinstated although we are entitled to it and it has been confirmed that it will be reinstated eventually, but no idea when.

 

The rules are very confusing and not exactly clear and are opposite to what we were told previously.  If they had diagnosed my wife correctly the first time instead of discharging her too soon, there probably would be no issue

[Surfer01]

Although we both get PIP they also removed the "Severe disability element" for some strange reason.  According to their rep that I spoke with yesterday this should not have been removed and they will be investigating.  It has now been nearly 3 months since they stopped it.  They were very quick to stop the benefits, but extremely slow to reinstate them!