Attendance Allowance question for heart patient

sweeper12

My dad had a heart attack in October, thankfully his bypass was a success. He's 74 years old and had been having funny turns since January 2010, although none of us knew why then. We applied for AA for him but it was turned down due to not being ongoing for 6 months plus. I had filled in the other info section to say that he had needed care since January but they ignored that.
The thing is, he does need care all the time. He has no idea on how to take his tablets and won't sleep unless someone is there, has panic attacks. Surely that qualifies as care. We have asked them to look at it again and then we'll just appeal.

Does anyone think this sounds feasible????

Thank you

GlasweJen

For AA the needs need to be in place for 6 full months and must reasonably be expected to last a further 6 months. As your father wasn't seen to in January 2010 they may use the first time he saw someone about his condition rather than your word that he has qualified for longer.

What is a "funny turn" and does he have warnings of when they will happen?

sweeper12

The funny turns are dizziness, he had them before the attack bu the keeps getting low blood pressure. He went to the doctors early last year but they just assumed it was more Thyroid problems.....

margaretclare

You say 'he has no idea how to take his tablets'. I don't understand this. Has he got some other condition e.g. dementia? Most of us, by the time we reach our 70s, are taking some kind of tablets for something or other. It's assumed that we know how to!

Indie_Kid

margaretclare wrote: »

You say 'he has no idea how to take his tablets'. I don't understand this. Has he got some other condition e.g. dementia? Most of us, by the time we reach our 70s, are taking some kind of tablets for something or other. It's assumed that we know how to!

You are expected to be able to take your medication, unless you have a physical or mental disability, which means you're unable to do it yourself.

dmg24

Could he ask his GP for help with the panic attacks? Claiming benefits will not help him overcome the problem.

sweeper12

He gets the tablets mixed up, doesn't read too well so my mum has to give them to him and he still suffers memory loss.....
He has the panic attacks because he had total arrest and died for a short while. He thinks if he's left alone then nobody will find him and he'll go again. I suppose that's how most people would feel and I only posted this thread to find out if there was any help my mum could get for him.

Thanks for your replies

dmg24

sweeper12 wrote: »

He gets the tablets mixed up, doesn't read too well so my mum has to give them to him and he still suffers memory loss.....
He has the panic attacks because he had total arrest and died for a short while. He thinks if he's left alone then nobody will find him and he'll go again. I suppose that's how most people would feel and I only posted this thread to find out if there was any help my mum could get for him.

Thanks for your replies

Have you looked at getting a pill organiser? Then you only need to plan them out once a week.

I understand the reasoning behind the panic attacks, but surely it would be better to find a cure for them rather than seeing him suffer?

CouponWoman

sweeper12 wrote: »

My dad had a heart attack in October, thankfully his bypass was a success. He's 74 years old and had been having funny turns since January 2010, although none of us knew why then. We applied for AA for him but it was turned down due to not being ongoing for 6 months plus. I had filled in the other info section to say that he had needed care since January but they ignored that.
The thing is, he does need care all the time. He has no idea on how to take his tablets and won't sleep unless someone is there, has panic attacks. Surely that qualifies as care. We have asked them to look at it again and then we'll just appeal.

Does anyone think this sounds feasible????

Thank you

The reasom your fathers claim was rejected could be the way that the form was filled in, this is the most common reason as people never explain things properly.

You need to contact your local welfare benefits office, this could be at the CAB or even in Social Services, there could even be a voluntary agency in your area to assist.

Needing someone for 2 minutes a day to hand over medication is not enough. The help must be regular throughout the day or day and night. Needing someone at night before sleeping would not count. To need help at night the carer would be required to be woken in the night to provide assistance.

You might get the lower AA for daytime help but you would be best to seek independent advice in your area. Depending when the claim was refused you need to have the claim reviewed, check the dates on the claim form.

Good luck

sweeper12

We were told to make a claim for help by an advisor in the hospital and a cardio nurse. Partly because my mum is really bad on her legs, Osteoarthritis and Pseudo gout. I have had to take the last 8 weeks off work to help out and we have been told there is no help available in this area for help due to services stretched to the limit. My mum is having to sleep on the sofa in the living room as my dad can only get comfortable in the chair. I've rang around everywhere for help, even just trying to get a home help or something. I thought I'd ask on here to see if anybody else had had this experience and how they managed it...

Mojisola

AgeUK or the Pensions Service will help with form-filling and doing an appeal. It can make a big difference just how you explain the situation.