Blue Badge Parking - HELP!

welshcakes

newleaf wrote:

He says they have been asked to clamp down on authorising them because of an increased abuse of the system!!!

He is in danger of abusing the system himself if he is knowingly refusing a certification for a condition that is deemed as fulfiling the criteria for a BB application. Fair enough that doctors are being reminded to use careful discretion when signing applications off but that would be irrelevant where a patient presents chronic or evidential mobility problems that are supported by a patient notes history.

I would make an appointment for your mum to see one of the other gps and go along with her.

peter999

newleaf wrote:

I would love to get a BB for my mum, she is 74 with mobility & heart problems, but her GP is an absolute Git and will not sign the form. He says they have been asked to clamp down on authorising them because of an increased abuse of the system!!!

Everyone wants a Blue Badge because of overzealous parking enforcement.
Government & Council policies are forcing people into abusing the system.

Yes, these people should not abuse system, but Councils are obsessed with raking in money from parking schemes. They change parking schemes to their advantage with little consultation (apathy, too few people know), increasing size of zones, removing free parking options.

My council has tried to introduce a parking zone in one area number of times, the residents have rejected. The council just comes back a year later & tries again.

It's no good thinking the problem is the Blue Badge holders/users or people abusing system.

Government & Council policies have created this problem.
Their solution is to tighten system with increased surveillance of Badge holders/users.

If traffic wardens start checking blue badges, they will pick on people who do not look disabled, just like the general public would.
Could become very upsetting for these badge holders/users.

peter999

newleaf

welshcakes wrote:

I would make an appointment for your mum to see one of the other gps and go along with her.

Unfortunately she is frightened to death of him and will not see any of the other partners because he told her when she registered with the practice 'You will see only me'. I offered to speak to the Practice Manager on her behalf, but she is so frightened that she may have to see him again in an emergency, she will not let me do it. God knows what she thinks he could do to her?
I'm a nurse and I knew him when he was a junior doctor. He was always an arrogant piece of work. :mad: Sorry, know this is off topic, will shut up now

peter999

newleaf wrote:

I would love to get a BB for my mum, she is 74 with mobility & heart problems, but her GP is an absolute Git and will not sign the form. He says they have been asked to clamp down on authorising them because of an increased abuse of the system!!!

Can only your Doctor authorise ??

Check forms to see if authorisation can be done another way.

peter999

LondonDiva

welshcakes wrote:

He is in danger of abusing the system himself if he is knowingly refusing a certification for a condition that is deemed as fulfiling the criteria for a BB application. Fair enough that doctors are being reminded to use careful discretion when signing applications off but that would be irrelevant where a patient presents chronic or evidential mobility problems that are supported by a patient notes history.

I would make an appointment for your mum to see one of the other gps and go along with her.

Actually not really no. GPs are only obligated to sign certain forms, mainly for the DSS. Anything else they sign or don't sign is up to them in their professional capacity.

If he wants to or believes it, he can with perfect truth state that he refuses to sign the form as he believes her request to be a misrepresentation of the facts and that he does not want to be party to fraud or assisting someone to claim a benefit to which they are not entitled.

He can even accept the form, put this statement on and send it in to the council (I know a GP practice whose drs were being manaced by a family into signing a form and this is what they did).

A GP who knowingly signs something like this that he does not agree with lays himself open to charges of gross misconduct and fraud from the council and the GMC that would result in a warning and has in the case of IB led to prison/attempts to revoke a liscense.

LondonDiva

peter999 wrote:

Everyone wants a Blue Badge because of overzealous parking enforcement.
Government & Council policies are forcing people into abusing the system.

Not an excuse for claiming something you're not entitled to. The money comes in out of all our pockets.

peter999 wrote:

Can only your Doctor authorise ??

Ring the council and ask if they have an assessment centre she can go to - many have set these up to get around GPs being pressurised into signing forms or because they were getting a lot of forms that were a bit iffy. They will look at the paperwork / records and do simple assement that the council will use if they need further information.

LondonDiva

newleaf wrote:

Unfortunately she is frightened to death of him and will not see any of the other partners because he told her when she registered with the practice 'You will see only me'. I offered to speak to the Practice Manager on her behalf, but she is so frightened that she may have to see him again in an emergency, she will not let me do it. God knows what she thinks he could do to her?
I'm a nurse and I knew him when he was a junior doctor. He was always an arrogant piece of work. :mad: Sorry, know this is off topic, will shut up now

Why not contact her PCT and find out which practices cover her address and get her to change practices? She doesn't have to give a reason or explain herself to anyone, she can just turn up and register with the new practice if they have an open list. (Bear in mind that some practices have regular days/times when they register people and check before going)

margaretclare

We both have a blue badge. In our council area it's still necessary to pay a parking charge to park in any of the council's car parks, blue badge or not. This even applies in the 2 designated blue badge spaces outside the GPs' surgery. However, we can park free on double yellow lines in the town centre.

Margaret

newleaf

Thanks for all your suggestions, but it's a no win situation really. I have already been to the Council. They will only issue a BB if the GP supports the application - in fact they told me to go to the GP and check he would sign before they would even issue me with an application form!
My mum is very obstinate. As stated, I am a nurse myself and I am fully aware of the right to change GP without explanation. My mum will not see any of the other partners in the practice, and this is the only practice which covers her area. The nearest alternative is my own GPs practice 6 miles away, and they won't take her because she is not in their catchment area. I can't go to the Practice Manager behind mum's back, and I have pleaded with her till I'm blue in the face but she is really worried about making a fuss and 'what will Dr So & So say/think/do'. Unfortunately, she is of the generation raised to accord unconditional respect to doctors and the like. He knows darn well about her problems, he prescribes all her medication without any argument - in fact he is always adding some new tablet or other to her cocktail. I believe he is just enjoying excercising his 'authority' over someone whom he percieves is not in a position to argue.
Parking in town is a nightmare because we live in a very hilly area. IF you can find a space in the town centre the cost is double the usual, and the spaces are only for 1 hour maximum stay. Because she struggles to walk, especially uphill, she is v e r y s l o w and an hour is not long enough to get anything done.

peter999

LondonDiva wrote:

Not an excuse for claiming something you're not entitled to. The money comes in out of all our pockets.

Parking enforcement is an industry created by the Government & Councils.
Clamping scams are now appearing on every piece of private land & car parks.

10-20 years these did not exist.

The problem has been created by the Government & Councils.
Blue Badge holders/users & others are reacting to this regime.

peter999