Disabled - what benefits?

Honey9036

Hello

I'm hoping that the knowledgable people on this board will be able to advise me here. My cousin was recently struck down with a severe case of Guillan Barré syndrome whilst working as an English language teacher in Prague (he had been there a couple of years I think).

The illness was severe (he was paralised and on a ventilator for 2 months!) and his prognosis is as yet uncertain. He is currently wheelchair-bound and has no feeling in his lower legs/feet and also has limited mobility in his arms and hands (ie he cannot feed or dress himself, etc). He has only just returned to Glasgow from Prague, after being deemed fit enough to travel. And he's now in hopsital for the next stage of his recovery (intensive physio and god knows what else!). At the moment he has been told that the chances are that he will be left permanently disabled.

In the meantime, his mother (my aunt) has phoned the Benefits Agency helpline to find out what he is and/or will be entitled to in the way of financial help. They have told her that because he was not in residence in the UK for the past 6 months he will not be entitled to any kind of disability benefit, but that he may get Income Support.

I don't know what is going to happen when he leaves hospital because technically he doesn't have a home (although I'm sure his parents will care for him - the trouble being that their house is not wheelchair-friendly).

I suppose what I'm trying to ask is, does this seem right? Is there not any kind of financial assistance that he would be eligible for? (My aunt hasn't asked me to find this out for her by the way, but I just wanted to try to help because she has been under so much strain with all the worry.)

I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who can offer any advice.

Many thanks in advance!

Lori
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seven-day-weekend

Hi there.

Sometimes it can be difficult to get benefits if you have been non-resident.

Did he have any ties with the UK when he was in Prague? (Like a bank account or a private dentist), or did he pay any taxes to the UK? Or NI contributions? If so, he may be able to argue that he always intended to come back to the UK and be eligible for more benefits (although Incapacity Benefit is dependent upon NI contributions).

I'm not at all sure though. The best people to ask are the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

Good luck.

Three_Dancing_Dragons

Sorry, this is a bit complex due to question of residency. Normally someone in Britain could apply for Incapacity Benefit (based on Contributions) Income Support with one or two Disability Premiums on top and Disability Living Allowance for mobility and care.

Best people to ask are CAB as recommended by 7dayweekend or the Welfare Advice section of his local council - every council has one and in my experience they've been quite good.

LondonDiva

As he was resident abroad for 2 years andonly came back for medical treatment and care, I'd be doubtfulthat he'd qualify straight away. You need to see what they will do in the meantime and call the benefits people.

Slightly off topic, how much is he being charged for his hospital stay?

Honey9036

seven-day-weekend wrote:

Did he have any ties with the UK when he was in Prague? (Like a bank account or a private dentist), or did he pay any taxes to the UK? Or NI contributions? If so, he may be able to argue that he always intended to come back to the UK and be eligible for more benefits (although Incapacity Benefit is dependent upon NI contributions).

I'm not sure about any of the above, but I do know that he always intended coming back here to live and work. I've checked the dates from his blog and he actually went out to Prague in May 2005 (and fell ill Aug 2006).

I'll pass all info and comments onto my aunt and advise her to speak to Citizens Advice.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

Lori
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PS LondonDiva, when you say "hospital stay" do you mean in Prague or Glasgow? As far as I know he received free treatment in Prague, although he had to pay for his own wheelchair and accessories. And I'm assuming that he'll be treated on the NHS back here in Glasgow.

wolfehouse

Hiya
My husband had Guillian Barre about 5 years ago and I also stay in glasgow so maybe I can help answer some of your questions.

One good thing to do is to get in touch with the GBS support group. they have a free helpline 0800 374803 and can answer a lot of medical type questions and questions about picking up life afterwards. they also can send someone who has had it out to visit- but the person must request it.

His mother should definately get in touch with your local carers organisation. In some cases they will help you out with the applying for financial benefits etc. (princes trust runs most of the glasgow ones but some are quarriers)

He can't apply for dla until he's been disabled for 3 months. Definitely worth getting help with exact wording of his application. With GBS it is usually a matter of 'virtually unable to walk' (because of pain). If he's in the pdru he might be in for a stay of up to 6 months anyway. That's the good case scenario. In my husband's case they wanted to send him from the neuro ward to the vicy(in an inappropriate ward) until he could walk and they said they don't usually send people home using wheelchairs... (he checked himself out back to home).

Adaptations to his parents house can be done by the OTs. They will not be keen to do this if his needs might decrease. The hospital OTs usually then have to work together with the OT from the local community and that all depends on the area in which he lives. I have known people to insist all adaptations be done or they refused to have the person home...the squeeky wheel does seem to get the grease. If it can't be adapted, seems he may have to apply for housing.

You can go to the glasgow disabled persons housing service for help. (0141) 550 4455. (Housing advisor's name is Karen Ann Doherty)
they can help him apply (or be given a mandate to apply for him)to different housing associations and also probably know the ins and outs of presenting as homeless, benefits etc. They also keep a list of housing associations with adapted properties to fill.

Hope this is of some help. You can PM me if there is anything else I can answer.

Honey9036

Hi wolfehouse

Thanks for your helpful and detailed reply, it's much appreciated. I will pass all the info on to my aunt for her to follow up.

You didn't mention how your husband is now, but I do hope that he is fully recovered.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Lori
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