Hi all , my wife unfortunately currently suffers from mental health issues , paranoid schizophrenia , unstable personality disorders , Borderline interllectual functioning just to name a few , now issue im having is she was awarded full pip from the DLA she was on previously few years ago and she was given a Blue Badge for use for hospital appointments etc as she was and still is a danger to herself when out and about , she walks into oncoming traffic when unsupervised and issue also is when you let your guard down thinking shes been ok for a few days she alll of a sudden errupts into what can only be described as possesed , she runs off and it takes the police time to find her and bring her back or she ends up sectioned in a mental hospital for weeks at a time. These incidents are unfortunately getting normal for me and have been going on for past 20 years or so.
So back to topic , her blue badge came up for renewal last month and it has been declined , i dont know why as there was support letters from psychiatrists and GP notes stating her issues letter.
Report from council was "Your application for a Blue Badge does not meet the criteria for eligibility as defined by the DfT, therefore do not appear to qualify for a Blue Badge under the Hidden Disabilities category.
Whilst you do require constant monitoring due to displaying symptoms of high anxiety and fearful of public areasâ it appears the coping strategies currently adopted are effective and under the DfT criteria (mentioned below), you would not be eligible for a Blue Badge.
Local authorities will also need to be satisfied that such difficulties cannot otherwise be managed through reasonable coping strategies. For example, where an applicant would only ever be accompanied by another person and that negates âvery considerableâ difficulty, a badge would not help the applicant.
Your application has therefore been refused.
The badge has sort of been a lifeline for me to help the spouse in the sense of parking closer to destinations so she dont wander off or cause a scene in the middle of town centre , i only use the badge for her purposes mainly , any reason why you think it was declined ?
@ash1122, welcome to the fourm. It is hard to say as most of it done on line than at council office other than the badge is sent from there.
There is a few things to suggest : speak to her social worker or cnp who see her as they might be able to help you to retry.
Speak to your local councilor or MP as they might be able to help
Even try citizen advice.
The biggest problem is government people who write the rules for badges, sometimes change what should be correct to something wrong. In other words moved the goalposts. Do speak to someone and try again.
@ash1122 Welcome to the forum. Itâs amazing how they can refuse some applications which should be clear cut. I can only suggest appealing the decision:
A blue badge is a lifeline and having an application rejected is a terrible kick in the teeth as it robs you of independence. I can only hope you get somewhere with an appeal.
Let us know how you get on and if you need more support with this matter. Best wishes
what i dont understand is the bit âWhilst you do require constant monitoring due to displaying symptoms of high anxiety and fearful of public areasâ it appears the coping strategies currently adopted are effective and under the DfT criteria (mentioned below), you would not be eligible for a Blue Badgeâ ⌠what does it mean the coping strategies currently adopted are effective??? Unless it means im doing a good job looking after her and trying to keep her out of hospital admissions , then i dont know what it means ? Im not sure they realise my anxiety levels go through the roof when she starts playing up
This could be used as part of your appeal ⌠highlight the risk posed to her and others if she had a crisis whilst out. Detail worse case sceneries.
Also say the strategy that IS working is that the car is nearby in case/ for when she has a crisis. You can quickly get her into the car as a place of safety because WITH a blue badge you are able to park close by. Without one, they have removed the coping strategy âŚ.
Emphasise what could happen if you have to leave her to retrieve the car or canât get her to the car quickly and easily if she has a crisis.
When you appeal, inform them that the coping strategies include parking as close as possible to the destination, as your wifeâs condition is unpredictable, and the further she has to walk, the more agitated she becomes and the coping strategies are likely to fail. This can lead to situations that involve hospitalisation, which you are trying to avoid. Their decision affects her quality of life and puts her at risk of avoidable stress leading to otherwise unnecessary hospitalisations. It is difficult to see how removing part of an âeffective coping strategyâ will be either effective or reasonable.
Regrettably it shows the need to give âworst case scenariosâ when applying for things like blue Badge rather than how you âmanage to copeâ When applying for one for G he was slowly improving and could walk about 100 yards before having to stop - but that was on a good day!! Now I am lucky if he can make 40 yards and he often gets confused - such as the day he got cross when he stopped at a blue car thinking it was ours and said âI cant walk all the way down to that oneâ âŚtwo cars away! He had aimed for the car he thought was ours and used his reserves getting that far.
So often we put on a brave face and get âlulledâ into saying the maximum possible rather than the ânormâ It almost pushes us to become liars in order to get what is needed.
The thing is, we know what can go wrong and do all we can to avoid it. We donât have to talk about that with anyone, because it isnât their business. But when we fill out forms, etc., we have no choice but to do their thinking for them and tell them the worst of it. Because unless theyâve lived it, they canât possibly understand.
Itâs all about ticking the right boxes on their summary form. When I worked for police I applied for internal post - didnât get shortlisted because I did not state that I can use a computer⌠Therefore one box was not ticked. WhenI pointed out that in order to get my current post I had to have a typing speed of 20wpm at interview adn had to have 40wpm by the end of six weeks training (and at that time I could actually hit 120wpm when under pressure) I was told âwe cannot make assumptions, if you do not state it clearly we cannot tick the boxâ. EVERYONE in the force at that time HAD to be capable of using a computer (or they would not have got a job in the first place) so why did I have to state (to quote Basil Fawlty) âthe bleedin obviousâ⌠That is because THEY are not paid to think!
I would challenge this decision.
They imply in the rejection letter that her care is being well managed.
I would ask who made this decision?
Name and medical qualifications?
Higher than those of the consultants and GP?
What evidence do they have of sufficient weight to contradict the advice of consultants who have been involved with her care for an extended period?
Copies of the evidence on which their decision has been made?
Sometimes it not always a person reading the information, it can be computer programme or AI doing it. This just a cheap way to get people off having things that theyâre intitle too, to save money to be wasted. It all due to red tape
Hi all thanks for the replies - I have disputed there decisions but they are sticking to the fact that because the issues are being managed it would not qualify for a badge - I even pointed out that yes they are just about being managed with great difficulty but still same answer - I really dont understand have given them all the proofs , psychatrist reports along with GP notes , but still a big NO , now they want a further report from a professional - is it seriously that hard to get help ?
Hi @ash1122 Iâve done a few renewals and my 2-cents input -
to get the blue badge there needs to be a physical disability e.g. inability to walk long distance MORE than cognitive or mental disability or illness. Iâm NOT saying that that is justified or right, but in my experience, especially for renewals they get strict on physical disability
So being assessed under the âhidden disabilities categoryâ is making your renewal harder
SO my advice would be to say that in addition to all the information youâve provided that she has difficulties getting from the car into the store - physically, e.g. short of breath or dizzy so she canât walk far, this has come about because her high anxiety & fear escalates to physical symptoms
In my view this is not lying because given what youâve said her issues can lead to physical inabilities. So re-applying under the physical disabilities AND hidden disabilities could carry more weight
