DLA and carers allowance

tomtontom

I'm bipolar and I agree with you, there's no way I could care for another person when I'm having an episode. I have to have someone get me out of bed and so on, my cooking ability is reduced to zero and I have no safety awareness. If I saw someone else collapse or have a heart attack, I'd need someone to calm me down - I certainly couldn't deal with the emergency services and follow their instructions.

Equally there's no way someone with physical disability could care for me, practically or keeping me safe. When I decide I'm off for a walk in the early hours I need someone to physically intervene, not make soothing sounds from their bed.

I am genuinely interested from those that claim this is possible how they fulfil the 35 hour caring requirement, and on what basis they are entitled to DLA/ PIP.

Mrs_Ryan

OH and I care for each other- he has severe and enduring mental health problems for which he recieves DLA but physically he is very fit- I have a lot of physical problems and I recieve PIP- and he can help me with the stuff that I can't do but he can and likewise I help him with the stuff he can't do. Works well together- we don't however claim Carer's as OH is able to work full time.
My sister is in exactly the same position- she has a rare and very disabling autoimmune disorder and her husband is severely bipolar. Physically my BIL is very fit and mentally my sister is fine- BIL works full time and my sister works part time (she has two teenage sons as well) and so they don't claim Carers but BIL helps my sister physically and sister helps BIL with things he can't do for example with the bills and finances and things. It definitely does happen and works well for both of us.

tomtontom

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

OH and I care for each other- he has severe and enduring mental health problems for which he recieves DLA but physically he is very fit- I have a lot of physical problems and I recieve PIP- and he can help me with the stuff that I can't do but he can and likewise I help him with the stuff he can't do. Works well together- we don't however claim Carer's as OH is able to work full time.
My sister is in exactly the same position- she has a rare and very disabling autoimmune disorder and her husband is severely bipolar. Physically my BIL is very fit and mentally my sister is fine- BIL works full time and my sister works part time (she has two teenage sons as well) and so they don't claim Carers but BIL helps my sister physically and sister helps BIL with things he can't do for example with the bills and finances and things. It definitely does happen and works well for both of us.

Thanks for replying, but I was asking about specifics - bills and finances isn't going to take anywhere near 35 hours a week.

A big part of mental illness is motivation - when low it can be impossible to do anything, when high concentration is impaired - and being able to physically assist another person with dressing, cooking etc completely goes against this.

xylophone

But if the PIP/DLA is to enable the recipient to cover the cost of care (including paying for whatever assistance is needed?), why should the recipients not pay each other from the PIP/DLA rather than expecting another payment to cover care?

tomtontom

xylophone wrote: »

But if the PIP/DLA is to enable the recipient to cover the cost of care (including paying for whatever assistance is needed?), why should the recipients not pay each other from the PIP/DLA rather than expecting another payment to cover care?

The concern is not around those who legitimately claim CA, but those whose claims contradict their own apparent care needs.

FBaby

The issue is this 35 hours requirement. Most claim CA for their OH and children, so how much of the care they provide for them care beyond what every parent/partner provides? I fail to believe that most people provide 35 hours care that they wouldn't otherwise partly do if that person didn't have additional needs. I do believe there are some, and it is obvious with some posters, but my belief is that the vast majority don't even question how many hours of care they provide because they consider entitled to CA just because they have a close family member who has just been awarded DLA/PIP.

GwylimT

McKneff wrote: »

Wow, to be so ill that you can claim PIP but not too ill to claim for caring for your mother and she in turn is ill enough to claim PIP but not so ill that she can claim for money to be looking after you for 35 hours a week

Words fail me......

PIP isn't about illness, its about symptoms.

My wife is paralysed from the waist down and has severe muscle weakness in her arms, she receives the enhanced living and mobility rates. She also receives carers allowance for our severely disabled son as she is able to meet his medical care needs (she was also a nurse, so handles his peg etc well) which are beyond the normal needs of the average child of his age.

My uncle is blind, he claims carers allowance for his wife who has parkinsons and cannot complete daily care etc on her own, she claims carers for him as he cannot carry out basic tasks without her 'eyes' such as cooking, toileting himself etc.

nannytone_2

GwylimT wrote: »

PIP isn't about illness, its about symptoms.

My wife is paralysed from the waist down and has severe muscle weakness in her arms, she receives the enhanced living and mobility rates. She also receives carers allowance for our severely disabled son as she is able to meet his medical care needs (she was also a nurse, so handles his peg etc well) which are beyond the normal needs of the average child of his age.

My uncle is blind, he claims carers allowance for his wife who has parkinsons and cannot complete daily care etc on her own, she claims carers for him as he cannot carry out basic tasks without her 'eyes' such as cooking, toileting himself etc.

i am blind, so understand the need for help with cooking.
don't get the toietting issue though.

the toilet is always in the same place and lack of sight doesn't stop anyone using it.

GwylimT

nannytone wrote: »

i am blind, so understand the need for help with cooking.
don't get the toietting issue though.

the toilet is always in the same place and lack of sight doesn't stop anyone using it.

Just because you can manage it doesn't mean everyone can. It does make personal care harder as he doesn't know when he is clean, as a male he is also at high risk of UTI if he toilets sitting down, so he needs to stand to urinate. As he is 87 bending over to feel for the toilet bowl to empty a jug is quite difficult for him, so it isn't worth the risk of falling over.

The oven is always in the same place and chicken always takes twenty five minutes, so really the same could be said for any simple task. He can however dice anything vegetable perfectly.

tomtontom

GwylimT wrote: »

Just because you can manage it doesn't mean everyone can. It does make personal care harder as he doesn't know when he is clean, as a male he is also at high risk of UTI if he toilets sitting down, so he needs to stand to urinate. As he is 87 bending over to feel for the toilet bowl to empty a jug is quite difficult for him, so it isn't worth the risk of falling over.

The oven is always in the same place and chicken always takes twenty five minutes, so really the same could be said for any simple task. He can however dice anything vegetable perfectly.

How is an 87 year old claiming CA?

I find the notion of someone with Parkinsons caring for someone else for 35 hours a week very difficult to comprehend. It's a horribly debilitating condition.