dla appeal

rgamage

my husband first tried for dla in 06 and had a visit from an emp. he was refused dla so we left it and reclaimed again in april 07 with help from a welfare benefits advisor. he was knocked back again and this time we had reports from our gp and the specialist at the hospital so we went for an appeal . they refused his claim for dla they were taking into account what the emp said in december o6 the emp said that my husband could walk 50 metres without stopping even though he only saw my husband walk from the living room into the bedroom which is only next door about 3 metres away ( which was for another claim). we took it to the commisioner and he granted leave for another appeal board and he said that the appeal board had to "take into account what our own gp and the specialist at the hospital said". they kept going on about the emp report. they refused again. what can we do now . my husband has emphysemia and osteoarthritis in both shoulders. his lung function is very limited so he can only walk about 30 metres and that is with stopping 3 or 4 times to catch his breath and he suffers with pain in his chest when he gets very breathless. it takes him at least ten minutes to walk this far. he cannot manage stairs because of his breathing problems i have to help him bath /shower .i also have to help him with his toilet needs.
i think my husband has been treated badly here .:mad:

Oldernotwiser

Sorry, I don't know what an emp is so can't answer your question.

My husband has very severe emphysema with a lung function of less than 20% and unless your husband's is worst than that I can't see why he'd need help with toiletting and only help with showering when having an exacerbation. How old is your husband and is he on LTOT?

As another point (and not meaning any criticism here) you do realise that exercise (however little) is the best thing for emphysema? Your doctor will be able to send him on a programme of respiratory rehabilitation where he'll learn to manage his breathing and educate him on diet and exercise techniques. This programme can be an absolute lifesaver.

Sorry I can't answer your question; we felt my husband wouldn't be eligible for DLA, although he does have a Blue Badge. My comments were meant to be helpful, rather than critical.

healy

rgamage wrote: »

my husband first tried for dla in 06 and had a visit from an emp. he was refused dla so we left it and reclaimed again in april 07 with help from a welfare benefits advisor. he was knocked back again and this time we had reports from our gp and the specialist at the hospital so we went for an appeal . they refused his claim for dla they were taking into account what the emp said in december o6 the emp said that my husband could walk 50 metres without stopping even though he only saw my husband walk from the living room into the bedroom which is only next door about 3 metres away ( which was for another claim). we took it to the commisioner and he granted leave for another appeal board and he said that the appeal board had to "take into account what our own gp and the specialist at the hospital said". they kept going on about the emp report. they refused again. what can we do now . my husband has emphysemia and osteoarthritis in both shoulders. his lung function is very limited so he can only walk about 30 metres and that is with stopping 3 or 4 times to catch his breath and he suffers with pain in his chest when he gets very breathless. it takes him at least ten minutes to walk this far. he cannot manage stairs because of his breathing problems i have to help him bath /shower .i also have to help him with his toilet needs.
i think my husband has been treated badly here .:mad:

From what you have said it does sound like you have taken the latest claim as far as it can go now so the only thing you can do is to apply again if you think that he qualifies.

healy

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Sorry, I don't know what an emp is so can't answer your question.

My husband has very severe emphysema with a lung function of less than 20% and unless your husband's is worst than that I can't see why he'd need help with toiletting and only help with showering when having an exacerbation. How old is your husband and is he on LTOT?

As another point (and not meaning any criticism here) you do realise that exercise (however little) is the best thing for emphysema? Your doctor will be able to send him on a programme of respiratory rehabilitation where he'll learn to manage his breathing and educate him on diet and exercise techniques. This programme can be an absolute lifesaver.

Sorry I can't answer your question; we felt my husband wouldn't be eligible for DLA, although he does have a Blue Badge. My comments were meant to be helpful, rather than critical.

An EMP is an Examining Medical Practitioner.

Oldernotwiser

healy wrote: »

An EMP is an Examining Medical Practitioner.

That's what I love about MSE; you learn something every day!:beer:

rgamage

hi my husband has osteoarthritis in both shoulders which restricts his movements he cannot lift his arms to wash his hair and has problems just trying to wipe himself after using toilet because he cannot move his hand round the back and he also has difficulty dressing himself , he also cannot lift pans so he wouldnt be able to cook a meal he also has arthritis in his hands so he cannot even peel a potatoe.

Oldernotwiser

rgamage wrote: »

hi my husband has osteoarthritis in both shoulders which restricts his movements he cannot lift his arms to wash his hair and has problems just trying to wipe himself after using toilet because he cannot move his hand round the back and he also has difficulty dressing himself , he also cannot lift pans so he wouldnt be able to cook a meal he also has arthritis in his hands so he cannot even peel a potatoe.

Thanks for your explanation; I hope you didn't think I was prying.

rgamage

your ok i didnt think you was prying. i just dont know what we can do. at the appeal they said my husband wasnt breathless but he had been sat down for quite a while and that he had his inhalors just before he went in the room they dont have to live with him. i am with him 24 hours a day and over the past year he has got worse

Titch89

Do you keep a diary of what each day is like?

rgamage

we have handed diarys in but they keep refering to the emp report and the commisioner stated that they had to take into account what his doctor said and his specialist. i just wish they had sent another doctor out because since dec 06 when the emp came out my husband has deteriorated a lot.

[Deleted User]

I suspect that as has already been said the only way forward will be a new claim,have you ever had help from cab or welfare rights officer in completing the application?With DLA its sometimes not what you say but how you say it that makes a difference to a successful claim,it might be worth investing the £19 it cost to join benefits and work (just google it)they have excellent advice,yourable is another (free)forum thats really helpful.
good luck
John