MSE News: Half a million could lose disability benefits

nannytone_2

mazza111 wrote: »

So how would people pay for their extra needs? Keeping in mind that some aren't able to work. Should we just leave them there to rot?

they wouldnt. theyd just sit in a corner and rock.

save loads of money though!

princessdon

dori2o wrote: »

In the majority of cases it is more expensive to live (not taking into account so called luxuries) as a disabled person compared to being able bodied.

That is why we have such things as DLA, it helps those who have these increased costs of basic living, through no fault of their own, live a somewhat normal life.

I cannot use public transport with my condition as a way of getting to and from work, partly due to the time it takes to travel to work and back, and partly because of the added pain involved in being cramped, being forced to stand, getting to and from bus/train/tram stations, and even just the waiting around.

Prior to my condition becoming so bad (2006) I travelled by public transport everyday, for commuting to and from work and for SDP purposes.

If I could use the bus/train/tram it would cost me somewhere in the region of £80 a month to get to and from work for a month at most. Cheapest it would be £50 a month.

It currently costs me in the region of £170 a month to travel to work by car. I don't have the choice to not travel by car. My employer has refused 5 requests for me to work from home.

I do, and have, tried almost everything there is available to help control my condition. The NHS in my area refuses to fund chinese acupuncture. A GP in our surgery offers it but even by his own admittance it is only a very basic understanding that he has. I therefore have to pay for this myself. I believe it has helped me to maintain a level of pain relief that allows me to function enough to be able to get to work. These sessions are £35 a session. I have 1 or 2 a month.

I also have reflexology sessions. Again the NHS refuses to pay for these, so I have to pay for them myself. These cost £25 a session and I have 1 a month.

Massages. I have a deep tissue massage on my legs and on my back. These cost £18 a session and I try and get one a month depending on finances.

None of the prescribed medications I have tried have offerred more than approx 5% pain relief. I therefore have to take matters into my own hands and purchase the one drug I know provides a substantial amount of relief, even if it is only for a short 3-4 hour period. This costs me approx £20 a month.

I spend approx £15/£20 a month on vtamins/suppliments/herbal medications, sports tape, tens machine pads.

My Dad can no longer tend to his garden, therefore in order to maintain it and keep it going (considering he has spent £thousands on it over the past 25 years whilst he was working) he has to get someone in to do it. That costs approx £60 a month.

My Dad worked in the building trade for 40 years until 4 years ago when the stresses and strains of 40 years of hard work, plus the effects of a hereditory and degenerative disease meant he had to stop working. He can no longer put right things that may go wrong with the house, therefore he has to pay someone else to do it.

Due to his condition and his IBS (which is caused as a consequence of his other conditions) he has a special diet which costs more than what is considered a normal one.

Those on DLA, despite your beliefs, are not sitting on mountains of money, they have real additional costs, and the DLA is calculated to take into account these additional costs. Some peoples will be more tha others, more than the DLA, some will be less.

To not provide these people with help would see them at a huge disadvantage, even if they can manage their conditions. Disadvantaged financially, physically, mentally, socially.

Once the disabled bashers have their wish and help/assistance for the disabled is abolished, no doubt their next step will be to abolish the adjsutments they are afforded in the workplace.

It's amazing that in this day there are still many people with the view the disabled should be left to rot. Why not go the whole hog and bring back asylums/institutes?

I actually think most if not all want support for work and better life, it's the lack of this and throwing money most don't agree with, far better subside employers and promote home/flexible working with a simplified benefit system when unable.

To respond to your above points re payments, that is your own personal situation.

Lets take my children. 1 should easily get DLA if I applied, yet no costs, only care which as a parent I give. One of my children needs physio (I now have to pay for privately as NHS can't provide in suitable hours for school and work), £31 a week, child also has severe nose bleeds, don't want to guess money on washing, clothing, bedding etc, yet no care needs.

The two do not for all equate - you can have minor conditions that are expensive financially and more complex without financial needs if manpower is present.

princessdon

nannytone wrote: »

its no use you getting them by e mail if they arent making their way onto the job centres books

They should have been, the website one was on futures talk (jcp maintained), all on google too.

I'd not rely on JC but use my own searches too if I was you.

mazza111

Pssst Why are we all continuing to answer Andy?

princessdon

mazza111 wrote: »

Dori do you have a local college? I have recently started getting deep tissue massages at the local college, it's trainees who do it, but only had one that was a bit soft. But my fav girl is back on Thursday so I expect to be in pain by Thursday evening and feeling relatively good by Friday And the best bit, it's only £6 a session. Maybe if ur local college does something like that you could have a couple a month?

Just a thought if it would suit u

They'd probably provide it free if you ask too

dori2o

princessdon wrote: »

Realism is only true when you try and fail, if you don't try it's defeatism.

it's not whether or not a person can apply for these jobs or even do these jobs.

What people fail to realise is that there is so much more involved in maintaining a position of employment than merely applying for and getting the job.

An able bodied person, or someone with very little medical issues, takes for granted the daily actions of getting up, getting ready, travelling to/from, and actually working, without sufferring from debilitating problems.

Most people will in their working life have a day, or more, on the sick.

For the vast majority this isn't a problem, but for a disabled person it is much more likely to be more than the odd day in a year. (I average just over 3 months sick a year over the past 5 years) Some people, myself included, cannot even guarantee being OK from one day to the next, or even from one morning to the same afternoon.

Theres also the question of needing time off for medical appointments, which in cases of long term hospital care are not normaly available outside of normal office hours.

Depending on the disability then productivity ma be a problem.

You could get every working age non working disabled person in the country a job, but I can guarantee that within 6 months most will be out of work, not because they don't want to work, but because employers will not committ to an employee who needs significant amounts of time off, or needs various adjustments, or cannot work as fast as the next person.

Disabled people are far from lazy, in fact on most days, both those who do and don't work, make more of an effort during waking hours than most other able bodied people. Thats just the effort needed to get by day to day.

princessdon

dori2o wrote: »

it's not whether or not a person can apply for these jobs or even do these jobs.

What people fail to realise is that there is so much more involved in maintaining a position of employment than merely applying for and getting the job.

An able bodied person, or someone with very little medical issues, takes for granted the daily actions of getting up, getting ready, travelling to/from, and actually working, without sufferring from debilitating problems.

Most people will in their working life have a day, or more, on the sick.

For the vast majority this isn't a problem, but for a disabled person it is much more likely to be more than the odd day in a year. (I average just over 3 months sick a year over the past 5 years) Some people, myself included, cannot even guarantee being OK from one day to the next, or even from one morning to the same afternoon.

Theres also the question of needing time off for medical appointments, which in cases of long term hospital care are not normaly available outside of normal office hours.

Depending on the disability then productivity ma be a problem.

You could get every working age non working disabled person in the country a job, but I can guarantee that within 6 months most will be out of work, not because they don't want to work, but because employers will not committ to an employee who needs significant amounts of time off, or needs various adjustments, or cannot work as fast as the next person.

Disabled people are far from lazy, in fact on most days, both those who do and don't work, make more of an effort during waking hours than most other able bodied people. Thats just the effort needed to get by day to day.

You make it sound like I have no idea these exist? Why is that?

dori2o

mazza111 wrote: »

Dori do you have a local college? I have recently started getting deep tissue massages at the local college, it's trainees who do it, but only had one that was a bit soft. But my fav girl is back on Thursday so I expect to be in pain by Thursday evening and feeling relatively good by Friday And the best bit, it's only £6 a session. Maybe if ur local college does something like that you could have a couple a month?

Just a thought if it would suit u

I've looked into that.

Both colleges near us offer some form of beauty salon.1 doesn't currently offer any massages but does do reflexology, the other offers massage but not deep tissue.

The prices though are almost similar to what I pay anyway. Reflexology is done by a friend who runs his own practice and I get a discounted rate, and the massage I have is done by a family friend and again she charges less for me than her standard rate.

Mainly the therapies they offer are beauty therapies and hairdressing (£2 for a mans dry cut) plus the 'fasionable' therapies, i.e. indian head massage, hot stone, or the fish pedicure thing.

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

so what if someone needs another persons help?
if they need transport for instance. is the person providing the help also expected to meet the cost?
without DLA, I have £43 a week left for food and all other expenses after i have paid rent/council tax and utilities.
i cant afford to pay parking/fuel or bus fares for another person out of that amount.
so i should stay at home 24/7?

But you've said before that you're within walking distance of the gym and shops. (although how you manage to have a gym and shops in a very rural area beats me.

dori2o

princessdon wrote: »

You make it sound like I have no idea these exist? Why is that?

The way you write on the forum suggests that you believe disabled people don't try, when the fact is they do, but the obstacles in their way are often too large to navigate past.
I've stated I would much prefer for all the therapies, drugs, etc that I take to be available, within reasonable timescales, on the NHS and for my employer to have to offer more oportunities for me to work at home, and would gladly exchange my DLA for these changes.

However lets face it, employers are never going to allow such changes to happen that would give disabled people a real oportunity of keeping a job long-term without fear that time off to manage their disability is going to cost them their job.

They will never allow the government to implement changes to give employees with disabilities more rights to work at home.

Finally, the government will never allow such holistic/alternative therapies. or drugs such as cannabis to be available on the NHS. 1, it would cost far mor than is currently paid out in DLA to implement these changes and bribe employers in the form of incentives, and 2, they would have to admit that their stand against drugs which have confirmed medical benefits such as Cannabis is a sham.