MSE News: Half a million could lose disability benefits

ineed

danielanthony wrote: »

No-one is being punished for anything, less money coming in = less money going out. I'm not disabled but I pay more in taxes now than I did in 2007 due to changes in the personal allowance and national insurance increases. I'm surprised that more people have not complained about that but then I'm probably one of those rare individuals who don't claim any cash benefits (including tax credits) from the government.

Yes, the severely disabled should be looked after but there's a lot of people who say they can't work when they actually can. My granddad lost some fingers in the war and never claimed DLA or anything he probably would have been entitled to, just because you're entitled to claim something doesn't mean you should automatically claim it.

And if you were disabled your attitude would change in a heart beat. I only claim DLA and IB, because I'd rather not starve to death in agony because I can't afford my medications or my help. I used to have a life and a very promising future, I'm only 24 so I hope with treatment to recover enough to have a normal life. some people are to old to recover and work, some won't get better. We need to make these people a priority, everyone deserves a certain standard of living.

You can't use one persons condition to judge everyone, every single illness affects individuals differently. I agree assessments are needed, all i care about is that it's done fairly. I'm sorry to hear about your grandad losing some fingers in the war that's awful.

ineed

POLO_BINT wrote: »

aww it was such a fantastic experience!!! bloody hot though, that coupled with flushes from meds meant i was sweating like a mad woman! everyone was so attentive and kind, couldn't have helped you any more! the scenery was second to none! So glad I managed to experience travel! 5 weeks later we took DD to disneyland paris! now that was a nightmare!!!! Wanted her to experience going abroad also as she couldnt come to india with us. she had an amazing time bless, but so much was spread out all over the place and struggled with wheelchair their. but glad we did it as will never be able to experience any of it ever again. was back in hospital the week we got back and so it started again :rotfl: nice to have life memories and i urge anyone in my position to travel at least once!

Oh nice, I bet she loved it yeah I know all about Disney land, when I was 11 my family went to Disney land in Florida, my nan had a wheelchair and getting everywhere was awful. We had to go slow and missed a few things but I didn't mind that, It was an amazing holiday .

clemmatis

danielanthony wrote: »

the severely disabled should be looked after but there's a lot of people who say they can't work when they actually can. My granddad lost some fingers in the war and never claimed DLA or anything he probably would have been entitled to, just because you're entitled to claim something doesn't mean you should automatically claim it.

Sigh...

1. DLA is not an out of work benefit.

2. I doubt your grandfather'd have been entitled to DLA because he lost some fingers, and anyway, it wasn't introduced till 1992.

3. Tell David Cameron -- he claimed DLA.

laptop80

Wouldn't life be better if we all tried to assume the best about people rather than the worst? Disabled people are entitled to a life too and unless you're very close to the situation it isn't always easy to recognise the difficulties they might be experiencing. Just because there are no crutches in a photo doesn't mean the person walked there under their own steam and no photo or video shows pain.

The most famous disabled person in the world is probably Stephen Hawking; a man who is severely disabled but has travelled the world and even gone on a sub-orbital space flight, floating around in zero gravity. He can only do these things with a lot of help, but he does do them. Good job he doesn't post on here. :rotfl:

Hope you had a good time Polo.

zzzLazyDaisy

BJV wrote: »

She has been on DVLA for six years now and has just had another review.

In the review they said they she try and get a job!
There really has to be a fair way of assessment!

I doubt that the assessments are for DLA as that is not an out of work benefit. It is much more likely to be ESA.... and yes, sadly, your friend's experience is not at all uncommon.

anguk

POLO_BINT wrote: »

yeah it was an amazing holiday! (2 years ago now) I had never traveled before, I was in between operations and went with crutches also. I had doctors notes for my meds and also a note for all my metal work plate fixations etc which was a godsend as kept bleeping in mumbai airport lol. (post 13 of that post) we had a private car and driver which was also fab as hardly had to do any walking! - was a once in a lifetime experience and one i know i will never have again! My bf proposed at the taj mahal at the time, 3 days after we come back he admited cheating on me so that didnt last long:rotfl:

:eek: So he waited until after the holiday to tell you! I wonder why?

anguk

laptop80 wrote: »

Wouldn't life be better if we all tried to assume the best about people rather than the worst? Disabled people are entitled to a life too and unless you're very close to the situation it isn't always easy to recognise the difficulties they might be experiencing. Just because there are no crutches in a photo doesn't mean the person walked there under their own steam and no photo or video shows pain.

The most famous disabled person in the world is probably Stephen Hawking; a man who is severely disabled but has travelled the world and even gone on a sub-orbital space flight, floating around in zero gravity. He can only do these things with a lot of help, but he does do them. Good job he doesn't post on here. :rotfl:

Hope you had a good time Polo.

Or Frank Williams, a severely disabled man who has to travel all over the world, during the F1 season he's in a different country every week! But I guess it helps if you've got the money to pay for your own private jet and a team of nurses and personal assistants.

krisskross

sunnyone wrote: »

Ive been in and out of the spinal unit and Ive had some monster infections in my stoma KK, I cant seem to fight anything off at the minute so I might have to come off my RA drugs, thanks for noticing I havnt been around and for the welcome back.

My husband was dreadfully ill with pneumonia. He originally had flu but of course when you are immuno suppressed (RA drugs) the risk is always there.

He is OK now, well as OK as he ever is but it is frightening how quickly he deteriorates with infection....often just a few hours.

Dunroamin

anguk wrote: »

Or Frank Williams, a severely disabled man who has to travel all over the world, during the F1 season he's in a different country every week! But I guess it helps if you've got the money to pay for your own private jet and a team of nurses and personal assistants.

Perhaps a better comparison might be Douglas Bader, who had no legs but flew Spitfires during the war without a team of PAs or even a claim for benefits.

(And yes, before you all shout, I know he was exceptional, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a valid comparison.)

clemmatis

Dunroamin wrote: »

Perhaps a better comparison might be Douglas Bader, who had no legs but flew Spitfires during the war without a team of PAs or even a claim for benefits.

(And yes, before you all shout, I know he was exceptional, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a valid comparison.)

Most such examples -- and ones like the people with MS I've known work on through -- show

that some people can do it

and

that most of those can do it with help.

"No claim for benefit" is a cheap shot, The MS people I'm thinking of don't I believe claim benefits, but they are well paid and are given help and support including the equivalent of PAs.

I add that you don't need a team of PAs to fly a Spitfire (indeed, they'd get in the way) or even travel the world. A man without legs, though, could not have done the job my father did in WW2, or the job Denis Healey did.