Can you claim any benefits whilst in hospital?

ALIBOBSY

Basically relative not of pension age has suddenly become very ill and has been in hospital for several weeks. Now the specialist is saying he could be there upto 8 months before he can go home, and its unclear if he will ever be able to work again-he certainly will never be 100% again. He was working, but doesn't get sick pay and his partner expects they will finish him as soon as she lets them know the situation.
She works full time, they have a modest mortgage, but virtually no savings and its a stretch to cover the bills (no kids so no child ben or tax credits either).

Can he claim for anything whilst in hospital, he could not attend the DWP office and TBH given his condition we will need to do any applications for him. I have just never heard of someone in hospital applying for benefits.

Ali x

miduck

If he was earning more than £107 a week he should be receiving SSP from his employer.

How long has he been employed? If longer than two years (one in some circumstances) he cannot be dismissed without them following a (relatively) lengthy process.

Two4Tuesday

He can claim ESA (contribution based) whilst in hospital, assuming that he has the NI credits in the relevant tax years. The claim can be done over the phone, the hospital can be used as a care-of address, and the hospital can arrange the FIT notes.

I claimed ESA whilst in hospital and was able to back date it to my admission into hospital (about 6 weeks)

ALIBOBSY

TBH at the moment he can barely recognise his mother/wife and relatives and has serious mental issues as well as physical problems.

Work wise its not the sort of company who will bend over backwards for him so I assume they will want him gone as soon as they can, but yes he has worked for them for a number of years. I assume they are paying SSP but will check. Does that mean whilst they are paying SSP there is nothing he can qualify for?

We did wonder if wife could claim any kind of council tax discount?

Ali x

miduck

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

TBH at the moment he can barely recognise his mother/wife and relatives and has serious mental issues as well as physical problems.

Work wise its not the sort of company who will bend over backwards for him so I assume they will want him gone as soon as they can, but yes he has worked for them for a number of years. I assume they are paying SSP but will check. Does that mean whilst they are paying SSP there is nothing he can qualify for?

We did wonder if wife could claim any kind of council tax discount?

Ali x

Entitlement to means tested benefits will depend on the household income. You can get an estimate on one of the benefit checkers.

In the longer term, it sounds like he will be eligible for DLA. There is a qualifying period of three months for this (and the condition must last a further six months after this), although it is possible to apply earlier where there is strong evidence that the condition will be long term. Either way, payment will only begin from after the third months. Also, ESA can be claimed once SSP runs out.

If his wife needs to give up work to care for him, they may also qualify for Carers Allowance (depending on the DLA award), and also help with mortgage interest.

[Deleted User]

if he is a member of a union his wife should contact them for emplyment advice

wayne0

whilst he is in hospital i believe he is not classed as being a resident therefore the 25% single occupancy discount on council tax might apply (from date of notification - it cannot be backdated)
wife should call council and inform then of situation.

also his wife can put a claim on his behalf for the ESA if the dr states he isnt fit enough etc... cant she?

how many hours does wife work a week... she might qualify for working tax credits... single people , couples and couples with kids etc can all claim. its not only for people with kids.

RAS

Hi

He should be getting SSP from his employer as long as he has provided fit notes from the hospital.

His wife needs to check here https://www.turn2us.org.uk for other benefits.

There is a cut off point where he would no longer be considered resident at home but in hospital and now be considered resident in the hospital - for older people this used to be 6 weeks I think.

There should be a hospital based social worker who can help out with benefits.

satarical

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

I have just never heard of someone in hospital applying for benefits.

Neither have I. Maybe they now bring a trolley round the wards loaded with application forms. And just maybe, the NHS is funding a benefit advice service for the patients to use.

I was in hossie for 4 months and the last thing I wanted to do was fill out DWP benefit application forms!

But I may be wrong entirely and things have changed - will wait to see what the rest of the crew think.

Mojisola

satarical wrote: »

Neither have I. Maybe they now bring a trolley round the wards loaded with application forms. And just maybe, the NHS is funding a benefit advice service for the patients to use.

I was in hossie for 4 months and the last thing I wanted to do was fill out DWP benefit application forms!

But I may be wrong entirely and things have changed - will wait to see what the rest of the crew think.

Some ten or so years ago a hospital volunteer helped my Mum claim Attendance Allowance so I don't think it's that unusual.

Going back even further, the hospital almoner would give advice about what people could claim.

satarical

Mojisola wrote: »

Some ten or so years ago a hospital volunteer helped my Mum claim Attendance Allowance so I don't think it's that unusual.

Going back even further, the hospital almoner would give advice about what people could claim.

Well I do stand corrected then. Yes I remember the Almoner, but I thought they were only responsible if a patient had a complaint or were there as a link to Social Services on discharge.

As for 10 years ago you really do surprise me. I went in hossie at the start of Feb 04 and was discharged at the start of June 04. I lost 5st - 13 down to 8!! Never got out of bed and didn't eat anything. They had to feed me through tubes direct into my neck. Neither my wife or I were advised about Social Services or anything - we, I should say, she, just had to do the best she could. On discharge i couldn't walk, wash, or feed myself or do anything.
As for benefits, it was September 04 before I was able to put pen to paper and apply for IB and re-apply for DLA as the existing claim had stopped in the March as it was to be renewed (2 year time limited award). My wife hadn't the faintest what to do and didn't even open any of my post!

I'm glad that they have it sorted at last. Being in hospital is bad enough, trying to get to grips with the DWP as well is nigh on impossible.