Can I get help for C-PAP machine costs?

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

Hello

Strictly speaking this isn't a disability issue, but I've scrolled through the forums and think this is the nearest one on which to ask my question. If it's not, perhaps you could advise me? Here goes......

Does anyone out there know if its possible to apply for help in connection with the overnight use of a C-PAP machine, i.e. help with electricity costs? I know that to some, in the grand scheme of things, this may sound quite insignificant, but to us at the moment any help would be of great value.

Thank you in advance.

GlasweJen

I've never heard of anything like that sorry. I do have a work colleague who uses a machine and she's never mentioned it before even though I was helping her with an SOA before I went off sick.

rogerblack

As I understand it, the costs should be fairly small.
The CPAP machine will likely use under 50W (see if you can find a label on the power supply)
If used 8 hours a night, this is 2900 hours a year. 2900*50 = 146000Wh = 146kWh = ~18 quid or so.

Answering the question asked - I'm not aware of any schemes.

wiccanlou

Ofgem would be the best people to contact about this but I believe their schemes only cover life essential equipment like oxygen machines so unless you can prove that you c-pap is keeping your airways open because you might suffocate in your sleep they probably won't help you as they will see that as just something to stop you snoring.

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

rogerblack wrote: »

As I understand it, the costs should be fairly small.
The CPAP machine will likely use under 50W (see if you can find a label on the power supply)
If used 8 hours a night, this is 2900 hours a year. 2900*50 = 146000Wh = 146kWh = ~18 quid or so.

Answering the question asked - I'm not aware of any schemes.

Thanks for this rogerblack, I hadn't realised the running costs would be that small.

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

wiccanlou wrote: »

Ofgem would be the best people to contact about this but I believe their schemes only cover life essential equipment like oxygen machines so unless you can prove that you c-pap is keeping your airways open because you might suffocate in your sleep they probably won't help you as they will see that as just something to stop you snoring.

Thanks for your post wiccanlou, I might approach ofgem. In this case the machine is used to keep a family member's airways open during the night & to keep them breathing, so its not just to prevent snoring, so maybe this could be considered as life essential.

owenandharrysmum

I use a CPAP machine every night and it isnt to stop me snoring but to actually maintain my airways and to keep me breathing. The machine pumps pressured air down my throat and is not a fashion statement, ultimately it means that I breathe and LIVE another night. I do not know anyone who uses it for snoring.
Apologies for the rant but people are very unaware of CPAP and can make hurtful comments.

wiccanlou

I am very aware what a C-PAP is for as my partner has had all the tests done to see if he has obstructive sleep aponea which although he stops breathing up to 4 times an hour and his heart races up to 200 beats per minute up to 30 times an hour he doesn't need one but his best mate who was recorded as stopping breathing 20+ times an hour does need one as obviously there may be that one time he does start breathing again. Its just that some people have them don't have it bad enough to call the cpap unit life saving whereas some people do thats all I am trying to point out and that the utility companies may not be aware of the differing levels of severity.

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

owenandharrysmum wrote: »

I use a CPAP machine every night and it isnt to stop me snoring but to actually maintain my airways and to keep me breathing. The machine pumps pressured air down my throat and is not a fashion statement, ultimately it means that I breathe and LIVE another night. I do not know anyone who uses it for snoring.
Apologies for the rant but people are very unaware of CPAP and can make hurtful comments.

owenandharrysmum, thanks for your post, you've got it in a nutshell! My family member is in exactly the same boat as you (by the sounds of it).

I would say, although I'm by no means an expert, that if a sleep specialist concludes that a person needs a CPAP machine their case must be serious; the NHS surely can't afford to hand them out willy nilly just because a person snores?
I think that the flurry of TV documentaries on sleep apnoea in recent times has raised awareness of this condition and as snoring can be a symptom its inevitable that some might assume that the machines are simply given out to people who happen to snore.

Anyway, I'm aware that I'm digressing from my original question and am very grateful to everyone who has helped me.

MightyB_2

Are you claiming any type of DLA? This money is meant to be to pay for the additional costs associated with having a disability and the electricity costs should be met from this.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

MightyB wrote: »

Are you claiming any type of DLA? This money is meant to be to pay for the additional costs associated with having a disability and the electricity costs should be met from this.

Obstructive sleep apnoea doesn't always result in care or mobility needs. Especially when the CPAP can potentially deal with the condition well enough to make someone safe to drive legally.