Blue Badge Therapist Assessment help please

Docmartin

Hello everyone, I'm a 68 year old widower. My right arm was paralysed 40 years ago in an air crash and as a result have walked (crabbed) off balance ever since. I now suffer 'chronic degenerative osteo arthritis of the left hip and lower spine', revealed after an X ray. Following 7 months, on a sort of NHS 'merry go round' of specialists, physios etc I'm now going to have an MRI scan. So far I've had no medication or treatment, but in between I've qualified for Attendance Allowance. Four months ago my daughter applied for me to gain a Blue Badge, as the pain walking after parking, became really onerous. I now have to visit a 'Therapist', for an assessment in this procedure and I've been reading the reports of such experiences with real loathing. I'm an ex RAF Harrier pilot, complete with MBE, very independent, used to pain and caring for myself along the way. But for the intervention of my children I'd now sell the car and retreat to my 'dug-out'! However they insist I go through with this apparently wretched process. Can anyone advise what procedures now apply in this inspection. I'm told they only get paid for refusals these days anyway and may therefore from pride, ensure they hit their target?

dreamdaisy

Hello, I wish I could help with information but I'm afraid I cannot. I applied for a BB years ago and now it is routinely renewed without any form of assessment. BBs are awarded to people who do not have mobility issues (e.g. they have angina) and the fact that those with mobility troubles have to 'jump' through their stupid hoops (brought into play to weed out the fraudsters) is most irksome.

Stress the troubles that you have, base all your answers on a bad day and remain calm and polite; don't let them rile you. Hopefully you will meet an empathetic panel who will appreciate your need and graciously gift you a BB. Then be prepared to experience BB rage - this happens when those who don't have a badge cheerfully park in our designated spaces because 'I won't be long' - so NOT the point. :roll: Good luck and please let us know how you get on. DD

Docmartin

dreamdaisy wrote:

Hello, I wish I could help with information but I'm afraid I cannot. BBs are awarded to people who do not have mobility issues (e.g. they have angina) and the fact that those with mobility troubles have to 'jump' through their stupid hoops (brought into play to weed out the fraudsters) is most irksome... Good luck and please let us know how you get on. DD

Thank you most sincerely 'DD'. I was dreading this process but your explanation about 'mobility issues', angina, indigestion et al, makes the "what & why" a lot clearer. It also explains why I watch people parking with 'Blue Badges', skipping the light fantastic on their way to the bank, doctors etc etc. whilst I limp about like 'Long John Silver' with one leg 1.5cm shorter than the other. I'll approach the day in my best service order. Do you think it helps to take the diagnosis from the 'NHS Specialist', or will they interpret that as pulling rank?

dreamdaisy

Take any supporting evidence you have and make it clear that you will be happy for them to contact all the medicos that deal with you. I know what you mean - I am tired of being overtaken by apparently 'fit' people in their late 70s or 80s striding by as I totter along. I have acquired the soubriquet 'Lurch' amongst my friends - it hurts my feelings but I laugh along - anyway they'll probably find out what it's like sooner or later. 8)

Just be open, honest, polite but adamant that you struggle and that you would appreciate the benefit of a BB to lessen that struggle. DD

barbara12

Hello Docmartin
Yes you must go to see them,dont be put off with these assessments ...they have only just started doing this due to many badges being misused so it now means we have to be assessed.. :roll: you go along and tell it like it is..you need this badge it really will help you..good luck with it all and please let us know how you get on..

Docmartin

dreamdaisy wrote:

Take any supporting evidence you have and make it clear that you will be happy for them to contact all the medicos that deal with you. I know what you mean - I am tired of being overtaken by apparently 'fit' people in their late 70s or 80s striding by as I totter along. I have acquired the soubriquet 'Lurch' amongst my friends - it hurts my feelings but I laugh along - anyway they'll probably find out what it's like sooner or later. 8)

Just be open, honest, polite but adamant that you struggle and that you would appreciate the benefit of a BB to lessen that struggle. DD

Thank you again DD,

I suppose the 'acid test' is that I'm even dreading the painful hobble from the car to their offices. It's over a month since I last drove and upon trying to 'revolve engines' this morning found I had to order a new battery!

My case is 'bona fide' and if successful it will get me out again, so my children are right there! I understand they've just changed the rules over something from 20 yards to 50 yards, but didn't catch on the news what it was all about?

My application was prepared for me by 'Age Concern' and the lady who registered it (because my daughter knew I'd never do it myself) was most insistent yesterday for me to attend. I suppose she sees a real cross section of applicants and has faith in my claim too. So once again my sincere thanks for your help. I will advise post the 15th on what happened.

Docmartin

barbara12 wrote:

Hello Docmartin
Yes you must go to see them,dont be put off with these assessments ...they have only just started doing this due to many badges being misused so it now means we have to be assessed.. :roll: you go along and tell it like it is..you need this badge it really will help you..good luck with it all and please let us know how you get on..

Thank you Barbara,

I've not been up before the beak since one of 'Her Majesty's' planes went missing and the only part they recovered was me! My thanks for your help, I will post the progress...

dreamdaisy

I like your sense of humour, Docmartin, you put a good spin on things. Don't take any pain relief before you go - they need to see it etched on your face. I don't take any before my rheumatology appointments so my consultant or the nurse can gauge more accurately how things are with me.

I think your daughter is on the right track - it is very easy for us to become isolated from the world and it is important that on our better days (whatever they might be) we can get out and about and take part in the world. Independence is all well and good until it becomes stupid pig-headedness. The change to the 20 yard rule applies to those applying for PIP (the new Personal Independence Payment which is replacing DLA, Disabled Living Allowance). I currently receive higher-rate mobility under DLA but when it comes to my assessment I will be reduced to low-rate because I will need to use walking aids to cover the required distance. Go figure. DD

hileena111

Hi
I cant really help you because I got my badge about 5 years ago with little trouble. OA, Scoliosis, need a 4 wheel rollator and also the space to haul it in and out of the car. The next one came almost automatically.
Its true ...don't take any painkillers, I know you are genuine but it doesn't do any harm to "lay it on thick"
I don't get any benefit but got the badge....Did you say someone else {Age Concern??} had filled it in....it helsp to have someone fill it in. We never do things like that as our worse day {or I don't!!!}
Good Luck
Love
Hileena

barbara12

Docmartin wrote:

barbara12 wrote:

Hello Docmartin
Yes you must go to see them,dont be put off with these assessments ...they have only just started doing this due to many badges being misused so it now means we have to be assessed.. :roll: you go along and tell it like it is..you need this badge it really will help you..good luck with it all and please let us know how you get on..

Thank you Barbara,

I've not been up before the beak since one of 'Her Majesty's' planes went missing and the only part they recovered was me! My thanks for your help, I will post the progress...

Now I would like to know more...

Docmartin

barbara12 wrote:

Docmartin wrote:

barbara12 wrote:

Thank you Barbara,

I've not been up before the beak since one of 'Her Majesty's' planes went missing and the only part they recovered was me! My thanks for your help, I will post the progress...

Now I would like to know more...

Once upon a time many years ago I suffered a hit from small arms fire resulting eventually in total engine loss. I attempted a base return, but with decaying altitude was forced to crash land following failure of the ejector mechanism. I was left paralysed down my right hand side for nearly a year. Thanks to some great people at Stoke Mandeville, I recovered use of all equipment - but my right arm, which had suffered a total avulsion of the ulna and radial nerves.

Docmartin

hileena111 wrote:

Hi
I cant really help you because I got my badge about 5 years ago with little trouble. OA, Scoliosis, need a 4 wheel rollator and also the space to haul it in and out of the car. The next one came almost automatically.
Its true ...don't take any painkillers, I know you are genuine but it doesn't do any harm to "lay it on thick"
I don't get any benefit but got the badge....Did you say someone else {Age Concern??} had filled it in....it helsp to have someone fill it in. We never do things like that as our worse day {or I don't!!!}
Good Luck
Love
Hileena

Thank you,
I suppose because of pride and a misplaced sense of social obligation, I haven't claimed for anything until I'm actually nearer the exit than when I came in - so as to speak! The chap from the DWP who sorted out the Attendance Allowance eventually scolded me for sitting in the wardrobe for so long. In quite 'hurt tones' he advised I should have claimed 'years ago'. This after inspecting my 'home-spun' aids etc. At one stage I thought the dear chap was going to burst into tears. I've had the availability of 'heavyweight' pain killers for years; but have avoided them except when at the limit. I've experienced their effects on others following prolonged consumption -brrrrr. I'll enter the dundeon de tortionnaires 'cold turkey', without warm up and clutching my trusty trident. They'll get bored waiting for me to creep along their obstacle course long before I will...

Tally ho!

barbara12

:shock: :shock: I can't imagine how scary that must have been..especially the ejector seat failing ..it doesn't bare thinking about...but good on Stoke Mandivile..they certainly are amazing people but in the end it was down to you..obviously a fighter...so I am sure that the blue badge assessment will be a doddle,,,then again :roll: ...but you go for it.
We have Mellman that is in the same position..if you want to read his story..not far down the forum..they refused him and said he could appeal but he has found out they were telling fibs...good luck

dreamdaisy

My late mother refused to claim any benefits (even though she was entitled) - I think you and she come from an age where paying your own way was a matter of pride - attitudes have changed greatly since the inception of benefits and not necessarily for the better. They should be a safety net but no longer . . . .

I am entitled to claim more but won't. I am now in a fortunate financial position but, to be honest, I cannot be bothered with the pointless bureaucracy and trying to reason with the small-minded but healthy twerps who administer the 'system'. DD

Docmartin

dreamdaisy wrote:

My late mother refused to claim any benefits (even though she was entitled) - I think you and she come from an age where paying your own way was a matter of pride - attitudes have changed greatly since the inception of benefits and not necessarily for the better. They should be a safety net but no longer . . . .

I am entitled to claim more but won't. I am now in a fortunate financial position but, to be honest, I cannot be bothered with the pointless bureaucracy and trying to reason with the small-minded but healthy twerps who administer the 'system'. DD

Very much my pitch too Daisy. I'm going to the 'Inspektorat' with real ambivalence, half hoping they'll assign me to the privacy of my four walls ever more! The way most people these days endeavor to all look and sound the same, a sort of amorphous mass, I find very depressing. I was fortuitous by inheritance and as an Economist provided well for retirement anyway. Now I watch the savings I made rendered needles by the provision of state subsidised tax credits! A friend of mine now lives in Michigan and sometimes see's no-one but his dog and other 'critters' for months on end - I begin to envy him!

sailrib

Good Luck!

My mum went through this a few weeks ago, she had to full out more forms and then walk down the drive way and that's it.

She got issued it and the badge came about 5 days ago.

(My mum has a joint problem in her back but it's not arthritis, begins with S)

Docmartin

sailrib wrote:

Good Luck!

My mum went through this a few weeks ago, she had to full out more forms and then walk down the drive way and that's it.

She got issued it and the badge came about 5 days ago.

(My mum has a joint problem in her back but it's not arthritis, begins with S)

Thank you, I'm off today for the obstacle race, I'll post later on running and general course conditions.

I think your mum may have 'spondylitis'?

Typical symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) include:

lower back or neck pain and stiffness
pain in your sacroiliac joints (the joints where the base of your spine meets your pelvis, buttocks or the back of your thighs
tiredness (fatigue).

Other possible symptoms include:

pain and swelling in other joints
tenderness or discomfort around your heels
swollen fingers or toes
pain or tightness in your chest
eye inflammation (painful, bloodshot eyes).

Source http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/ankylosing-spondylitis.aspx?gclid=CJbL6Lai4r0CFe6WtAodOTEAZg

stickywicket

Good luck! I don't think we've 'met' as I've been away but I hope it goes well for you.

Docmartin

stickywicket wrote:

Good luck! I don't think we've 'met' as I've been away but I hope it goes well for you.

Thank you and hello, I'm expecting the normal 28+ year old white coated assertive young woman, with a clip board and vibrating mobile in her pocket and about as much empathy as a cement mixer. I sometimes wonder why I got so cynical - but not for long!

stickywicket

You know, I've always found the BB people kind and helpful. Mine's virtually automatic now as Ive been on higher rate mobility allowance for years (plus I'm old ) but they used to be really nice when it was a face to face thing.

As my whole life seems to consist of convincing myself I'm more mobile and less disabled than I really am, it can be quite tough doing an about turn and parading ones limitations. I find practical honesty is the best policy but I have the advantage of a body that looks utterly wrecked

Docmartin

stickywicket wrote:

You know, I've always found the BB people kind and helpful. Mine's virtually automatic now as Ive been on higher rate mobility allowance for years (plus I'm old ) but they used to be really nice when it was a face to face thing.

As my whole life seems to consist of convincing myself I'm more mobile and less disabled than I really am, it can be quite tough doing an about turn and parading ones limitations. I find practical honesty is the best policy but I have the advantage of a body that looks utterly wrecked

Yes I hate 'giving in' I suppose! We do suffer from very poor health care here, my GP practice was recently in the top 10 horrors for the UK with 2 GP's for 8,000 patients and no appts available for a month and then only by queuing outside. Colchester General, or 'Bates Motel' as it's now known lives up to it's name. It's the attitude of the female staff (administrative that I find so onerous). I'll be my usual happy self and will try to stand upright for 3 mins!

villier

Hi and welcome Doc. Sorry I must have missed this post. Good luck for later. As my 'grannie' used to say 'a clean shirt will do me' resulting in luckily never have had to have an assessment, please let us know how you get on...............Marie x

Docmartin

Well it all happened inside 25 minutes. Very nice chap (mid fifties) at the local community centre. I took all the specialists reports denoting chronic degenerative spinal condition along with the two painkillers and BP tablets etc etc. He asked if I got Attendance Allowance, but was actually more interested to hear about my service record, prang and 'triple A' experiences I felt? This gentleman was also very kind in packing my bag afterwards. There were lots of questions many similar to the Attendance Allowance application. One I hope I've answered right, was about a score value on pain out of ten and I selected an 8. I explained how I either get help to dress, or its a two hour job each morning etc.

Finally we came to the 'Green Mile' bit. It was 80 yards and I had to stop 3 times for a breather and to shift my weight, or rest up against the wall. Looking back should I have stopped more? Anyway what I did, was completed honestly. Apparently I'll get an answer in a couple of weeks time.

As I'd had to park 400 yards from this place I now honestly feel knackered and I'm going swallow a Naproxen with a cuppa in a minute. I couldn't help thinking how stupid it was to have a centre for disability tests with no dedicated parking? Bit like an F1 grid, with no fuel in the cars. However I did have to sign in and out, in case of fire - thank you the EU!

barbara12

Good luck with it..and please let us know how you get on...fingers crossed..

stickywicket

Aaaaand relax

dreamdaisy

It sounds as though you're not far from my neck of the woods, I live in Ipswich and have nothing but praise for my GPs' surgery and hospital. My local surgery now has around 20,000 patients (the majority not English),twelve doctors and six nurse practitioners, and you can usually get an appointment on the day (as long as it's not a Monday, that day is reserved for the worried well who have had to endure a whole weekend of not-much-wrong-but-they-think-they're-dying )

I am glad it went OK for you and here's to a positive outcome, please let us know the result; mine's a pint of Yo Boy DD