DLA & hospital?

Ettenna

My daughter was in a serious car accident in September and is still in a hospital high dependency unit. She has been awarded high rate care and mobility but of course it won't be paid while she is in hospital.

She is moving to a neuro rehab facility in January. It is a hospital owned by a charity. My question is - does she get DLA paid when she moves there? I will of course be phoning them when she moves.

paddedjohn

As far as i know as long as her care needs are being met by the hospital she wont get anything yet.

Parva

Sorry to hear of your daughters plight Ettenna, I've been on the receiving end of major surgery and hospitalisation and it's no fun. I'm no expert on this but it's my understanding that she won't receive DLA whilst she is in the rehab unit.

However, to get the award one has to have had the condition for 3 months and is expected to still have the condition for a further 6 months. You cannot claim DLA whilst hospitalised but you can backdate the 3 month qualification period during hospitalisation.

Now I know there will be people that know far more than I do here and I'm no expert but I do know that you will get nothing whilst she is in rehab. However, when she is released (or you have a date) from rehab you can apply and you can put down the date that she actually became disabled (which should eat up the 3 month rule) and hopefully have available medical evidence that she will have care or mobility needs for at least 6 months after leaving the hospital / hospice.

Apologies if I'm not 100% on this, I went through a similar situation 12 months ago but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can step in here, the above is my understanding of it all.

Hope she gets better soon too, I would hate to see my son / daughter like that. Best wishes.

Cpt.Scarlet

I'm not 100% certain, but I think payments are only stopped if you are in a hospital or care home funded by the public purse, so if it is private or a charity they should be re-started, give the DLA Unit a call on Monday to check. 08457 123 456

miduck

Cpt.Scarlet wrote: »

I'm not 100% certain, but I think payments are only stopped if you are in a hospital or care home funded by the public purse, so if it is private or a charity they should be re-started, give the DLA Unit a call on Monday to check. 08457 123 456

Half right - DLA is not payable so long as the claimant is in a hospital (or similar) and is being maintained free of charge, so unless they are paying for care they will not be eligible for DLA.

Cpt.Scarlet

miduck wrote: »

Half right - DLA is not payable so long as the claimant is in a hospital (or similar) and is being maintained free of charge, so unless they are paying for care they will not be eligible for DLA.

Thanks for clarifying

pmlindyloo

miduck wrote: »

Half right - DLA is not payable so long as the claimant is in a hospital (or similar) and is being maintained free of charge, so unless they are paying for care they will not be eligible for DLA.

I suspect that in this situation the NHS is funding the rehabilitation.

Although this may be a charity hospital that usually means that they would give financial help to people who could not afford the private fees.

If the OP's daughter needs continuing medical treatment in the form of rehabilitation then this would be funded by the NHS.

As such, DLA would not be paid.

Ettenna

miduck wrote: »

Half right - DLA is not payable so long as the claimant is in a hospital (or similar) and is being maintained free of charge, so unless they are paying for care they will not be eligible for DLA.

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I suspect that in this situation the NHS is funding the rehabilitation.

Although this may be a charity hospital that usually means that they would give financial help to people who could not afford the private fees.

If the OP's daughter needs continuing medical treatment in the form of rehabilitation then this would be funded by the NHS.

As such, DLA would not be paid.

That all makes sense. I know nothing about DLA. It is totally foreign territory to me and not something I ever though I would be dealing with. Her care is funded by the PCT so presumably then DLA is not payable.

sliverman wrote: »

It surprises me that the question was even asked.

If the care needs are met by the NHS, what other care needs could there be that would qualify for a further payment?

As regards mobility, obviously the situation answers for itself - there are no mobility issues.

Don't know why you think I shouldn't have asked the question. if a person isn't sure about an answer, surely the best thing to do is ask a question to clarify? And I'm not sure what you mean by "no mobility issues". My daughter cannot move at all.

Ettenna

Parva wrote: »

Sorry to hear of your daughters plight Ettenna, I've been on the receiving end of major surgery and hospitalisation and it's no fun. I'm no expert on this but it's my understanding that she won't receive DLA whilst she is in the rehab unit.

However, to get the award one has to have had the condition for 3 months and is expected to still have the condition for a further 6 months. You cannot claim DLA whilst hospitalised but you can backdate the 3 month qualification period during hospitalisation.

Now I know there will be people that know far more than I do here and I'm no expert but I do know that you will get nothing whilst she is in rehab. However, when she is released (or you have a date) from rehab you can apply and you can put down the date that she actually became disabled (which should eat up the 3 month rule) and hopefully have available medical evidence that she will have care or mobility needs for at least 6 months after leaving the hospital / hospice.

Apologies if I'm not 100% on this, I went through a similar situation 12 months ago but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can step in here, the above is my understanding of it all.

Hope she gets better soon too, I would hate to see my son / daughter like that. Best wishes.

Thank you. She has been in hospital for just over 3 months now and her award was backdated to the date of her accident. She has been given the award to run from 27/12/12 to 27/12/14 because they do not expect her condition to change even with rehab. The award will be reassessed in 2014.

She will always be severely disabled due to a traumatic brain injury but hopefully she will regain something with rehab.

princessdon

Ettenna wrote: »

Thank you. She has been in hospital for just over 3 months now and her award was backdated to the date of her accident. She has been given the award to run from 27/12/12 to 27/12/14 because they do not expect her condition to change even with rehab. The award will be reassessed in 2014.

She will always be severely disabled due to a traumatic brain injury but hopefully she will regain something with rehab.

I hope it works out well for her, my sister had a severe brain injury was in a coma for a long time, hospitalised for nearly 2 years. She is now all but recovered with some minor aspects like epilepsy and tiredness etc but is now a senior nurse. You take each day/week at a time in the early stages I know, so wishing her rehab goes well. It's emotionally and financially draining on the parents, parking and travel costs for visitation mounts up, plus eating in the cafeteria, getting hospital items so I hope you can get some help with this whilst waiting for the dla etc.

princessdon

sliverman wrote: »

It surprises me that the question was even asked.

If the care needs are met by the NHS, what other care needs could there be that would qualify for a further payment?

As regards mobility, obviously the situation answers for itself - there are no mobility issues.

Because dla leads to carers - many people still care far more than 35 hours in op's situation. They go everyday for hours, wiping brows, washing them, moisturising lips, putting cream on dry skin, talking to them in the hope they can hear them, keeping their house afloat, paying bills for them, washing clothing, buying shampoo and toiletries etc. phone calls, emails, letters - I could go on but sure you get the idea.

The OP will still be caring for her daughter (even if out of choice) but so do many carers care out of choice as outside help is there. Add to this the fact that OP has probably reduced or given up work, carers allowance for her and financial assistance at this time is a lifeline.