dla to pip

[malc]

i emailed my mp last night to see if he would be raising the issue of dla to pip assessments in the house of commons and explained my wife's poor mental state and that she had alzheimers and it would be cruel to subject her to such an assessment,i've not had a reply yet but fingers crossed.i also emailed the lady that runs our memory cafe to find out if the alzheimers society will be campaigning for special rules for sufferers who are younger and are on dla and incapacity,she said that there was an article internally and she would find it out for friday for me,stage 1 complete,looking forward to stage 2.

[Scally]

An assessment is no more cruel than life itself. I didnt like taking the 11 plus much either, but I wasnt given any alternative. Similarly, most footballers don't like the referee, and neither do the losing fans. And we all hate job interviews. But sadly this is the world we have: its adversarial and fundamentally unfair: which is why we have enough to eat tonight whilst millions around the world go hungry.

[malc]

scally,with all due respect i'm sure when you took your 11 plus,and job interviews you were aware what day it was and what you did an hour a go,also i'm sure you weren't suffering from a disease that will eventually kill you,that makes you scared to live and generally makes your life more of an existence than fulfilling.whats the point of an assessment for work when you won't remember you've got a job and how can she be responsible for answering questions when she won't remember answering them or the person that asked them or even going to the venue.

[charles47]

Let's face it, the odds against are bad enough without the system stacking the deck.

Malc's right in this case: when a situation has reached the stage he's talking about, it's just cruelty to make someone jump through the government's hoops.

[daylily]

well said malc!!!!!!!

I've been onto my MP dozens of times about clarification of the assessments for people with alz/dementia, no reply beyond the 'the genuinely disabled have nothing to fear' party line.

Told him we do not 'fear' the assessment it's just so very very cruel to put these people through it.

I'm ready to take on any jobsworth at the assessment!!!!!!!!!

[malc]

daylily,i'm thinking of turning up for the assessment myself on the grounds that as her appointee they talk to me,i could do with an argument to vent my frustration.charles thankyou for your positive response,i can only conclude scally was having a bad day which came through by the response i'd of expected from someone who hadn't got a clue about caring and all its pros and cons,never mind!!!

[rosemary]

When it comes to re assessment and filling in forms again, make sure you send copies of all medical information. If you have an Occupational Therapist or support worker from Alz society, get their input on the forms too. If necessary ask them to do an up to date cognitive tests so you have that ready for when assessment is due.

Some decisions are being made re Alzheimers and no face to face assessments being made.

If unsure you could ring Carersline, plus visit welfare rights officer.

x x

[malc]

rosemary,i've just spoke to dla and they confirmed that some people won't be assessed and there is a year before the assessments start so hopefully common sense will kick in by then,but saying that the way my wife is declining,in a years time the assessment will be pointless anyway.

[Sianie87]

although my mum has not got Alz i think its curel to ask my mum to jump through hoops. she has mobility problems which will not get better and heart failure the list goes on and to make her prove in this way that she will need pip is a disgrace. i say they didnt give mum dla for an indefinate period for nothing. mum doesnt use a wheelchair for nothing, she has too, she needs care because she needs it. the system is so unfair and i dread to think what this will do to my mum with her heart conditions etc.

[Scally]

This is all totally ridiculous. Why should anyone get money from the state unless they are willing to undergo an objective assessment of need?
I pay quite a lot of income tax, I also have an aged mother and father who need help, as well as a disabled son, and I am damned if my own tax goes to support someone elses mum and dad and son unless they can prove that they are more in need than my own family.
Surely the best system is to ensure everyone has anough to live on, regardless of disability?

[malc]

ok then scally answer this for me,why should somebody in a poor mental state who has no idea what day it is have to prove what has already been proven by qualified consultants who have trained for years in their specialist fields,do you also think atos know better than 3 consultants,or do you think i've bribed the nhs just to get benefit so i can sit on my backside and scrounge,i'd love to be claiming the benefit as a scrounger then my life wouldn't be as c**p as it is,i'd be working fulltime and not waiting for stage 3 alzheimers to raise it's ugly head,my wife was awarded high rate care on the back of what doctors think so why should things change because the conservatives want to save money,i know loads of scroungers and from where i'm sitting i'd love to be one.

[charles47]

The theory is fine, Scally, but it's been proven that the tests are not objective. Take someone I know whose ATOS report said they had no mobility problems because they could walk for 10 minutes. What the report didn't say was that it took the 10 minutes for her to get from the chair in reception to the chair at the medical - 30 yards away.

If someone lacks mental capacity, and their specialist has determined that, what will the assessor do with that?

I'm with Malc on this one. Some people should be able to submit a report from their consultant regarding their condition and be done with it.

[Eun]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy has no treatment and no cure - what part of that do the government not understand? Incurable, progressive and fatal - hello?

Eun

[malc]

eun,exactly my point,alzheimers is hardly a case of mild amnesia is it,it's all down to saving money with no regard for people,we don't ask to be in this situation and would love to live a normal life.

[Scally]

The eleven+ test was flawed, all tests are flawed, but what is the alternative? If there isnt an objective test of disability of some kind, then we might as well claim that we are dying too: well it worked as a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

There is nothing new about testing and assessment, and all of the tests have a sophisticated and objective appeal process, so I can only conclude that this anti-testing campaign is the usual scaremongering and rhetoric.