"Upgrade" DLA to include care component help pleas

Hi all,

I hope someone could give me some advice

My mum (79 years old) was awarded the Higher Rate Mobility component of DLA for life back in the 1990's due to her Arthiritis and COPD.

Obviously, since then things have become much worse and the family (myself included) now spend a LOT of time looking after her.

She now has very bad COPD (two week long hospital stays in the last 4 months due to flare ups) and Asthma. She also has Type 2 Diabetes, Very very painful arthiritis in her neck, hips, hands and neck. She has diverticulitis (sp) and Hypertension.

She is on a whole raft of medications and is under several different consultants (although they can't really do anything for her).

She is at the stage where we have to do most things for her - She can't manage to cook anymore as she gets out of breath and is in agony just walking to the kitchen. We have to help her shower and dress due to the COPD and Arthiritis. We have to help her in and out of bed and in and out of her chair.

We take in in turns to sleep at her house (on the sofa) every night so we can help her go to the toilet in the night and there is someone with her pretty much all day (on and off).

She CAN go out if we put her in her wheelchair and get her in and out of the car (although it takes a while as she gets breathless just getting in the car).

Social services have been very good and have installed a "wet room" for her as she couldn't step over the bath anymore.

I have just asked for (and received) a form DLA434 to ask them to re-assess her claim to include the care component.

I have a couple of questions :

1. Does anyone think (based on the above) that she would be entitled to the care component in the first place?

2. Is there any risk that this could affect (IE: She could lose) the mobility component if I put this form in?

Many many thanks in advance!

Si.

s2010uk wrote:

Hi all,

I hope someone could give me some advice

My mum (79 years old) was awarded the Higher Rate Mobility component of DLA for life back in the 1990's due to her Arthiritis and COPD.

Obviously, since then things have become much worse and the family (myself included) now spend a LOT of time looking after her.

She now has very bad COPD (two week long hospital stays in the last 4 months due to flare ups) and Asthma. She also has Type 2 Diabetes, Very very painful arthiritis in her neck, hips, hands and neck. She has diverticulitis (sp) and Hypertension.

She is on a whole raft of medications and is under several different consultants (although they can't really do anything for her).

She is at the stage where we have to do most things for her - She can't manage to cook anymore as she gets out of breath and is in agony just walking to the kitchen. We have to help her shower and dress due to the COPD and Arthiritis. We have to help her in and out of bed and in and out of her chair.

We take in in turns to sleep at her house (on the sofa) every night so we can help her go to the toilet in the night and there is someone with her pretty much all day (on and off).

She CAN go out if we put her in her wheelchair and get her in and out of the car (although it takes a while as she gets breathless just getting in the car).

Social services have been very good and have installed a "wet room" for her as she couldn't step over the bath anymore.

I have just asked for (and received) a form DLA434 to ask them to re-assess her claim to include the care component.

I have a couple of questions :

1. Does anyone think (based on the above) that she would be entitled to the care component in the first place?

2. Is there any risk that this could affect (IE: She could lose) the mobility component if I put this form in?

Many many thanks in advance!

Si.

We cannot offer advice to individuals about a specific benefits question under any circumstances. To give accurate and reliable advice about a specific benefits problem, we'd need to know a great deal about such things as income, savings, health, household arrangements and more. To give advice without all this information would amount to misinformation.

If you need specific benefits advice, you can download our FREE, 12 page guide to getting help with your benefits

As your mother actually receives an award of DLA there is always a risk that her award could be reduced or stopped altogether, rather than increased.

It is rare for people's awards to be reduced or lost in this way, but it does happen. So, as your mother has an existing award of DLA, it is always very valuable to get an opinion from a welfare rights worker if you possibly can before going ahead with a claim to increase her award of DLA.