Tuesday 1 May 2012

THE CURSE OF BEING ILL IN THE UK TODAY – APPLYING FOR DLA


I recently discovered after being treated for something for 12 years that the diagnosis was wrong. No wonder the medication made no difference, something that I had been telling my ex GP for years (he is no longer my GP!).

Disability Living Allowance or DLA

I was advised that I should make a claim for Disability Living Allowance as my condition is long term, because my expenses are higher because of my illness and I cannot work full time even if I could get a paid job.

I made my application for DLA in January and in March much to my surprise (not!) this was refused (as I am not clinically dead – you think I am joking!?). I returned in late March and placed an application for an appeal.

Waiting time for appeals 13 months

Imagine my surprise(!?) to discover that the waiting time for appeals is currently 13 months!

It is not possible to make a claim for DSA for the first 6 months of your disablement. Add this to the 2 months it took to process the application followed by 13 months to process the appeal one wonders what the purpose of DSA actually is.

The purpose of DSA certainly cannot be to provide the disabled with money if it is requirement to wait a minimum of 21 months before (provided your appeal is successful) the applicant actually receives any. If the disabled actually needed the money then they would have starved as I am yet to hear of anyone who can live 21 months without food or water.

That is ofcourse if they live that long...

It certainly cannot be there to help the disabled either. The fact that new applicants are being systematically refused benefit actually makes those applicants feel worse and also worthless.

And once the applicants get to the promised land of receiving DSA they may only receive £20.55 per week, up to a maximum of £131.50 per week. That is of course if they live that long….

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