Medication

Hi Gettingonwithlife

In the DWP guidance - the word 'home' refers to the domestic setting which could be your home or the home of a friend or a relative. It doesn't include going to the gym.

BIS

Hi Ferret Whisperer,
I have actually successfully argued that this is therapy, by keeping airways supported, unlike a nebuliser that delivers medicine.
Descriptor 3b refers to using an aid to manage medication. This could be eg a dosette box, alarm reminder or pill crusher. The Descriptor then has a section about monitoring health, which could comprise checking blood pressure or blood sugar levels.
The remaining points are achieved by needing help etc to manage therapy. Clearly this must relate to some form of treatment which is more than the simple use of a gadget of some sort. In any event the cpap machine might be both aid and therapy. Under Regulation 7, you should be awarded the highest points value where 2 or more descriptor activities in one set apply, so argue it is therapy. Per the regulations in relation to Descriotor 3, Therapy is specifically a treatment confirmed by a health professional but DOES NOT include applying or administering medicine or to do with monitoring health.
'Therapy' per online dictionaries suggest treatment designed to cure or relieve a disorder. There is no doubt cpap helps relieve sleep apnoea which is clearly a recognised health condition. The cpap machine does not administer medicine so is not excluded.
My client needed help to assemble the cpap machine and to place it on correctly. Often the mask would fall off during the night, and my client explained that he would thrash out and sometimes pull off the mask causing night terrors all due to confusion caused by oxygen deprivation. Supervision was required to ensure the mask remained fitted and any of the 'night terrors' were managed and the client's oxygen supply/ability to breathe wasn't compromised.
There is a clear safety issue if you can't breathe! Hence the need for the supervision to manage therapy.
You need to work out what the time of supervision is per week to work out the score. If you need this every night then you may well score maximum. Remember supervision doesn't require constantly being inspected, it can just be having someone on hand in case intervention is required.
I hope this clarifies.
LL26