Refused a Blue Badge for Disabled Mum

[Bambooshoot]

My 88 year old mother has just been refused a blue badge (In case anyone is concerned, she has been to the doctor for other matters but got a full check up and is 100% cleared for driving in terms of eyesight and mental ability)

She is very much in need, as standing/walking for any length of time is extremely painful for her hips, and she is not able to shop online (we’ve tried, it is just too alien for her, she’s too scared of being scammed). She does her supermarket shop at 4am so can get a parking space close to the shop, and the effort knocks her out for a couple of days. She can’t shop for things like shoes or a winter coat in the town centre though, since the parking is so far away. She is missing the library, if she can’t park outside there is nowhere nearby so she can’t park and walk back - we gave her a kindle but she doesn’t really trust it, and just wants to see her friends in the library!

I don’t want to be grabby, but I would have thought the blue badge system was intended for people like this, as her quality of life is severely affected by not being able to access the town centre and the facilities she needs? Or am I missing something and blue badges are only given to people on death’s door? Basically, should we appeal the rejection and does anyone have any experience of doing this if so??

If she's shopping at 4am and finds walking painful, I would do her internet shopping for her if she can't navigate the website.

GPs letters are ignored. They aren’t supposed to write them any longer and, if you don’t get the relevant disability benefits, you will be assessed by an OT. Having said that, they did my father’s assessment over the phone with me and him and he did get it. I would ring them up and talk to them.

@CatamaranViper You may have already asked but some areas do have temporary blue badges that you can apply for, they only last for a few months but are for people who are struggling while waiting for an operation.

As you said yourself, not all assessments are done by an OT.
Ive never seen one in my life. I still got a BB (and PIP, high mobility AFTER the BB).

as standing/walking for any length of time is extremely painful for her hips, the effort knocks her out for a couple of days.

This makes it seem like she needs a wheelchair or a carer, so it was a bit odd that you wrote later that she needs a blue badge to get out more and go to the library and see her friends. Just seems like conflicting priorities.

Completely agree.
Appeal. Use as a yardstick how she is at her worst to fill in the info and see if a doctors note is possible.

I sent the report on my stage 4 osteoarthritis - bleak but effective.

My Mum is 79 and not very stable on her feet. She has a blue badge! I'd appeal this for sure as your Mum sounds way worse than mine so it doesn't seem fair.

Mine too, parent in 70s, living with incurable cancer and severe difficulties with walking due to various side effects of chemo and other ongoing cancer treatments and it's worsening, needs space to exit the car to get stable on feet with a stick but refused.

Sorry to go off at a tangent but a BB is not just for drivers so eyesight and mental agility are not actually relevant. My mother and sister both had BBs but neither ever learned to drive. No BB means no access to BB spaces and further to walk whether driving or being driven.

The only two options on the application form were:
Visually impaired
Severely visually impaired.
The consultant had written on the supporting letter "Blind".
So I ticked the box for "severely visually impaired" and attached the consultant's letter.
The lady I spoke to on the phone said "not blind enough".
This is the calibre of the assessors.
FIL has long since passed away, but a blue badge can make such a difference to somebody's quality of life, it shouldn't be made so difficult and humiliating for people who are sick and in pain.
Once we got the badge, the next obstacle was all the selfish idiots who park in the bays and don't need them.

I assume thar it's like with PIP that you have to understand the process to answer correctly.

If you are asked - can you walk 80m?
And the answer is that yes you can and you do but you are in pain while doing so and the effort knocks you down for a few hours
Then you answer "no"

You only answer "yes" if you can do it safely, repeatedly, without significant pain and without any serious consequences.

Many people overestimate what they can do
tick no to the walking questions
all of them, they give the BB out purely on ability not to walk

but it’s a bit difficult now if you ✅ yes to them…

We have a library delivery service in our county - it might be worth giving your library service a ring

If it's anything like my council area, I needed to meet certain criteria but couldn't find those criteria anywhere to be able to complete the form with the relevant information. Once I got refused, I was given the reasons for refusal and was able to provide evidence and easily meet the criteria. So if they haven't provided a detailed explanation of refusal, request it and then appeal.

So just realised this may be an old thread.

That's a shame, how do you feel about contacting your local councillor for your local area, who can intervene and hopefully get a blue badge for your mother.

Their name and contact details will be on your councils' website.

Hope this helps.

These were helpful with my Dad

With respect to your brother, while he is a doctor, as an anaesthetist he probably doesn't spend a lot of time filling out referral forms for elderly disabled people.

I'm a different specialty doctor and this is a big part of my life and sadly you have to know the game and key trigger words to get what you want.

That’s ridiculous. Did you submit evidence? Does she use a stick/walking frame/wheelchair?

The BB thing is so variable from area to area- which LA are you?

I dread to think how slow her reaction times must be. Frightening to think of someone like that driving.

Why would hip pain affect her reaction times? You do know that thousands of disabled people drive?

Our council says it will only issue if you are on DLA/Attendance Allowance etc and will only issue for the period it's granted, last year DH only had a year left for his PIP so the BB was only renewed for a year. Apply for Attendance Allowance then reapply for the blue badge.

Yes, definitely appeal this decision. Sounds totally bizarre in my opinion. I've known people get a blue badge who don't have as many health issues as your mum.

I do loads of BB applications for my job. The key is medical evidence.