Disability allowence.

[Palmolive]

My sister is starting to get disability allowence due to her being anorexic.
Shes currently in a unit for it but is pretty much and her target weight and if all goes well, will be home in a few weeks time.
The doctor at the unit had to write down all the stuff for her to get her aloowence, and he wrote things like 'Needs assitance when walking, especially when walking up/down steps or out of a door' and 'needs someone constantly up with her at night'.
Its all bull shit.
Shes not that ill anymore.
And now cause off all he said, shes getting like £97 a week.
How is this right?!

[lilangel!]

hey,
sorry to say it, but it doesnt seem right. unless she needs that help and they are trying to protect you by not telling you?? i get Disability allowence as do many of my friends, but a lot of them have to exagerate how much help they need in order to get the maximum amount. they all need it most of the time but they judge you on whether you can be left on your own or not which is total crap.
if your sister is younger than you then that might be why, if shes like under 12 i think you get more money for less of a disability depending on whereabouts you live and what your doctors like.
maybe you should talk to your parents and see how ill your sister really is, if she is in a unit then she is obviously not well and needs the money, but if shes much better and coming home soon, i dont think she needs that much unless its specific from an anorexia allowance. talking to your parents will probably be best to find out if shes okay. i hope she is and hope she gets better soon
hope ive helped, PM me if i can help anymore or if you ever want someone to listen to you
Hannah X

[losing touch.]

to be honest they shouldn't have lied on the form. i receive DLA of the higher rate with a few other benefits and it works out about £600 a month. although whenever they write to me it says on the letter at the bottom something like.. "if your circumstances change and you don't inform us or we find the information you have provided us to be incorrect you may face prosecution.."

so yeah.. its benefit fraud technically.

a lot of time you HAVE to exaggerate how bad the situation is or you won't get the money - but actually lying about it is probably a bit stupid tbh, because if they find out it won't be great.

[Palmolive]

I know its stupid, but it wasnt us who evem wrote it, it was the doctor at the unit. And shes sixteen.

[lilangel!]

if the doctor is blatently lying then i think you should express your concerns to your parents, because as Elle said, you can be prosecuted if you do not alert the correct people to your change of circumstances.
i know you didnt wright it, and there isnt really anything you can do apart from talk to your parents and sister and ask them whats going on. it does show how much of a good person you are by wondering if this is right though, well done for that, most people would just ignore it and keep things simple and easy
Hannah X

[losing touch.]

Originally Posted by Jezzka

I know its stupid, but it wasnt us who evem wrote it, it was the doctor at the unit. And shes sixteen.

yeah but if you know the information to be incorrect and don't declare you're just as liable as the doctor unfortunately..

[rhapsody]

When I first went on DLA, it was my psychiatric nurse who filled out the forms for me. She made me sound a million times worse than I actually was, but she told me that when you fill out those forms you're not supposed to tell them how you are at the time of writing but how you were at your very worst. The nurse told me at the time that this was because my mental health wasn't consistent some days I would need a lot more help than others. Basically, medical staff are trained to fill out the forms in a way that shows the full impact of the patient's disability, so that the patient receives the most amount of money. It's not really benefit fraud and certainly nothing your sister or her doctor could get in trouble for, more of a loophole in the system.

But honestly, £97 a week isn't that much. Considering the millions of pounds the government spends on useless crap, (not to mention the whole mp's expenses thing), its just the teensiest drop in the ocean. Your sister has been through a lot - let her have this as some kind of compensation.

[losing touch.]

Originally Posted by rhapsody

When I first went on DLA, it was my psychiatric nurse who filled out the forms for me. She made me sound a million times worse than I actually was, but she told me that when you fill out those forms you're not supposed to tell them how you are at the time of writing but how you were at your very worst. The nurse told me at the time that this was because my mental health wasn't consistent some days I would need a lot more help than others. Basically, medical staff are trained to fill out the forms in a way that shows the full impact of the patient's disability, so that the patient receives the most amount of money. It's not really benefit fraud and certainly nothing your sister or her doctor could get in trouble for, more of a loophole in the system.

But honestly, £97 a week isn't that much. Considering the millions of pounds the government spends on useless crap, (not to mention the whole mp's expenses thing), its just the teensiest drop in the ocean. Your sister has been through a lot - let her have this as some kind of compensation.

that's not true - if the information you've given them is proven to be incorrect they can take back all the money you've been given and fine you - it happened to someone at the hospital i'm in and out of.

but yeah i agree, they fill it out according to the info when you're at your very worst so it may well be that the information they provided for your sister is actually correct - according to how she is at her worst.