Osteoarthritis - DLA?

Terrysdelight · 11 January 2012 at 12:50PM

Hello

I wonder if there is anyone who can give me some advice on this subject and the possibility of DLA.

I have watched one of my closet friends suffer for years with chronic pain - it really affects her quality of life - she has reduced her working hours further and further. About to reduce again and she really really cant afford too. She can't bend or carry. It turns out she has it in her spine, hips, knees, ankles and hands.

I have suggested to her to claim DLA but she doesn't know anything about DLA and what criteria etc to claim.

She doesn't really want to give up work but I fear it wont be long before she is finally forced to do it.

Do you think she may be entitled to claim and would she need to give up work altogether or go on incapacity benefit?

Many thanks for advice.

rogerblack · 11 January 2012 at 1:01PM

Incapacity benefit no longer exists for new claims, she'd need to claim ESA. (Employment and support allowance).

DLA in short has several bands.
Low-rate care is if she can't reliably and safely cook a main meal for one from ingredients - involving chopping, lifting, ...
Mid-rate is if she reasonably requires care or attention to prevent danger throughout the day (even if she does not receive this).
High-rate care is similar, but for nights too.

Low-rate mobility is if she needs help from another person outside, and high-rate if she has problems that mean she has very limited walking ability.

As to ESA, again if her ability to walk is extremely limited, and she can't use a wheelchair, she would qualify.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/m-06-11.pdf are the criteria for ESA.
http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/esa/ and http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/dlanotes/introduction.asp may well be of use.

Prinzessilein · 11 January 2012 at 1:09PM

DLA can be claimed whilst still working. Many people work and claim DLA. Indeed, for many, DLA helps then to keep working.

For DLA you need to have either Care and/or Mobility needs. You need to have had the needs for at least 3 months and expect to have them for at least 6 more months. If your friend is unsure whether she qualifiew, then I suggest she keeps a diary for a couple of weeks. Make a note of what problems she has. Then she can take the diary to a benefits advice agency - I used DIAL - who will give impartial advice. They will also help fill in the forms, and will deal with asking for a reconsoderation and a tribunal if these prove necessary.

Do not be encourage your friend to pay for any help and advice. All the help and assistance she needs should be free!

I don't believe any new claims for Incapacity Benefit are being accepted. It would now be ESA. THis would be another form and a possible examination to go through. Again, she may wish to see a benefits advisor who can look at her personal circumstances.

Without knowing her circumstances, I obviously can;t make any judgement. But whenever posiible, I would suggest trying to keep working as long as health is not compromised. I am no longer able to work - but when I stopped I stopped gradually. First I asked for a change in working conditions and hours (my boss was really helpful) ; when I could no longer do that I moved to a different job....and then a diffewrent part-time job. There are a lot of benefits in working whilst you still can - not least the self-esteem you get and the daily contact with people.

Terrysdelight · 11 January 2012 at 1:27PM

Prinzessilein wrote: »

DLA can be claimed whilst still working. Many people work and claim DLA. Indeed, for many, DLA helps then to keep working.

For DLA you need to have either Care and/or Mobility needs. You need to have had the needs for at least 3 months and expect to have them for at least 6 more months. If your friend is unsure whether she qualifiew, then I suggest she keeps a diary for a couple of weeks. Make a note of what problems she has. Then she can take the diary to a benefits advice agency - I used DIAL - who will give impartial advice. They will also help fill in the forms, and will deal with asking for a reconsoderation and a tribunal if these prove necessary.

Do not be encourage your friend to pay for any help and advice. All the help and assistance she needs should be free!

I don't believe any new claims for Incapacity Benefit are being accepted. It would now be ESA. THis would be another form and a possible examination to go through. Again, she may wish to see a benefits advisor who can look at her personal circumstances.

Without knowing her circumstances, I obviously can;t make any judgement. But whenever posiible, I would suggest trying to keep working as long as health is not compromised. I am no longer able to work - but when I stopped I stopped gradually. First I asked for a change in working conditions and hours (my boss was really helpful) ; when I could no longer do that I moved to a different job....and then a diffewrent part-time job. There are a lot of benefits in working whilst you still can - not least the self-esteem you get and the daily contact with people.

Thanks totally agree. Friend doesn't want to stop working and she has done just as you, reduced hours, changed jobs, reduced hours again but it is getting worse.

I will get her to get some free advice and it will be comforting for her to know if she does get DLA or whatever it now is, she can reduce her hours in order to keep working.

Thanks for your help :-)

andrea_louise · 17 January 2012 at 7:30AM

Dear Terrysdelight,

If your friend does get DLA whilst working, and works for more than 16 hours a week, she may also be eligible for working tax credit! It's not a huge amount of money, but with wtc and dla, it will make a difference.

Terrysdelight · 27 January 2012 at 10:01AM

andrea_louise wrote: »

Dear Terrysdelight,

If your friend does get DLA whilst working, and works for more than 16 hours a week, she may also be eligible for working tax credit! It's not a huge amount of money, but with wtc and dla, it will make a difference.

Thank you, that is most appreciated.

margaretclare · 27 January 2012 at 10:26AM

I take the view that 'you can only ask, they can only say no' but it is worthwhile asking.

It sounds as if your friend could not bend to get a casserole out of the oven i.e. her ability to cook a meal is severely affected.

My daughter gets DLA and she works as a PA in a university department. She can't walk far so has to have her car, but her brain is not affected, nor her skills, so she can do this busy and demanding job. She wouldn't, for instance, be able to work in a supermarket on her feet all day or moving heavy boxes of goods. It did help her that in a previous job she'd been a disability/benefits adviser for a local authority so was well used to completing any number of official forms.

eighties_girl · 1 February 2012 at 11:50AM

My husband suffers with the same and he gets high rate mobility and lower rate care. We got help with the forms by cab they were great. He also had mri scans to prove just how bad it was so that helped loads.

uponahill · 1 February 2012 at 1:01PM

Hi, first time I have replied on this site but have on others. This subject interests me. My wife has Osteoarthritis and has had it since it was first diagnosed in 2001. Then she was diagnosed with Sciatica in Feb 2002. Then again in June 2010 she was diagnosed with Arthralgia of multiple joints.

So far we have had the CAB, DIAL and myself submit 3 DLA applications (2001, 2003 & 2010) all of which ended up at a Tribunal. In all three cases the Tribunal refused citing that she could use adaptions around the house to solve her problems.

What made it worse that the best treatment for Osteoarthritis is plenty of exercise. She can't do that, but the Tribunal said she should be able to.

My wife has now given up making the claims as it is clear that Osteoarthritis, Sciatica and Arthralgia of multiple joints are conditions that do not qualify you for DLA.

I wish you luck and hope that you get a better result than my wife did.

I have just found the report my wife had:

Osteoarthritis cannot be cured, but treatment can ease your symptoms and prevent them from affecting your everyday life. The main treatments do not involve medication and consist of exercise to improve your fitness and strengthen your muscles and weight loss.

She is prescribed pain killers and has been on them since 2001.

rotoguys · 1 February 2012 at 4:33PM

uponahill wrote: »

Hi, first time I have replied on this site but have on others. This subject interests me. My wife has Osteoarthritis and has had it since it was first diagnosed in 2001. Then she was diagnosed with Sciatica in Feb 2002. Then again in June 2010 she was diagnosed with Arthralgia of multiple joints.

So far we have had the CAB, DIAL and myself submit 3 DLA applications (2001, 2003 & 2010) all of which ended up at a Tribunal. In all three cases the Tribunal refused citing that she could use adaptions around the house to solve her problems.

What made it worse that the best treatment for Osteoarthritis is plenty of exercise. She can't do that, but the Tribunal said she should be able to.

My wife has now given up making the claims as it is clear that Osteoarthritis, Sciatica and Arthralgia of multiple joints are conditions that do not qualify you for DLA.

I wish you luck and hope that you get a better result than my wife did.

I have just found the report my wife had:

She is prescribed pain killers and has been on them since 2001.

The conditions you mention can and do create needs both care and mobility!

Either your wife does not have those needs because the conditions are not severe enough or that the application forms have not been prepared correctly.

I am surprised that you have had three refusals - have you sent in up to date medical reports?

Unfortunately a lot of people do not get what they are entitled to. Not because they don't have the needs but because they don't help themselves with not having the right evidence.

rogerblack · 1 February 2012 at 7:52PM

rotoguys wrote: »

The conditions you mention can and do create needs both care and mobility!

Either your wife does not have those needs because the conditions are not severe enough or that the application forms have not been prepared correctly.

I am surprised that you have had three refusals - have you sent in up to date medical reports?

Unfortunately a lot of people do not get what they are entitled to. Not because they don't have the needs but because they don't help themselves with not having the right evidence.

Again, you're assuming that all decisions look at all the available evidence, and that people actually have the skills, ability to gather fresh evidence.
This is _not_ the case.

My DLA form completely outlined my care and mobility needs.
The additional letters and information supplied detailed my original diagnosis, as well as a letter from a relative who has recently seen my condition over several days, and a daily diary.

The _only_ evidence used was the ESA medical I'd had recently. No notice at all was taken of what I'd put on the DLA form.

My GP sees me every several months, when I cannot avoid it - getting out is _really_ hard.
On these occasions, I do not generally discuss my day-day condition, so they don't know it. This is simply as there is nothing they can help with, and nobody they can refer me to.

Osteoarthritis - DLA?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free