AIBU? GP refusing my mum a blue badge

[JollyJunee]

I’m so cross with my mum’s GP! Maybe we are in the wrong.
Mum is in her 80s. She has a pacemaker and defib due to a genetic heart condition. She can walk upstairs but slowly and would sometimes need to stop half way up. If we were walking and there was an incline/steep bit, she would have to rest. If it was more than a domestic flight of stairs she wouldn’t even try it.
she walks the dog every day. Slowly, on a totally flat route. She has told me that on the ‘bad’ days she knows the spots where there is a bench/low wall and she can rest.
She also has severe diverticular disease and would occasionally have pretty big bleeds from that which leaves her totally wiped out for a few days. She asked about blue badge last year, and GP refused to fill in the form. Told my mum he wasn’t allowed to lie and she can walk perfectly well. But she struggles a lot at times. He told her if she walks and doesn’t get her heart rate up it’s not worth walking at all.
she saw new cardiologist recently with me. We asked him about it and he was amazed GP refused. Said he would write on the letter to GP about mums issues again. He is arranging a procedure for my mum and it will definitely set her back for a while. She saw GP again today and really fought her case, but GP adamant, my mum can walk and so doesn’t need a blue badge.
Are we being lazy so and so? I would have thought my mum was an ideal person for a blue badge? It’s really knocking her. AIBU?

Maybe it's a case of priority. There are lots of people in wheel chairs or using frames etc who need more help with access than your mum. She can walk the dog so as long as she takes it slowly, she manages ok.

Or perhaps the gp wants to encourage your mum to walk because it will help with her health.

Have you checked the Blue Badge form on Gov.Uk? The guidance is pretty clear on there. You usually need to qualify for PIP to get one.

If she can walk the dog, even if she needs to take rests, it sounds as though she may not meet the criteria. I understand that the requirements are pretty stiff. She evidently does have limiting health issues but possibly not sufficiently severe to qualify for a badge.

Hmm my Dad has one for post polio syndrome. Yes some days he can walk the dogs and he climbs the stairs at home. It was the GP who insisted he meet the criteria for it.

Go to a private doctor

I applied for my father in laws one online, I don’t know even if they even checked with his GP as it came really quick about 2 weeks after applying. He was 85 and could walk short distances, but had a heart condition, diabetes and had had bowel cancer.

We have an acquaintance in his early 70s who was diagnosed with prostate cancer 5 years ago. His GP gave him a blue badge. He had treatment for 9 months and has been clear since. He still has his blue badge.
My mum needed a new hip at 80 and could only shuffle slowly for months before the op - her GP refused her one on the grounds it was a temporary condition. Different areas of the country, different guidelines? Who knows.

We are in RoI, not UK. I’ll have a look at the guidelines.
May dad had surgery for cancer, he bounced back up, needed no treatment, and was fit as a flea and the GO insisted he had a blue badge and renewed it regularly until he died. And my dad could walk for miles and was never ill. It’s the week after the bleeds that she is so weak, she would struggle with shopping etc. Thanks for replies.

I don’t think that she meet the criteria, based on what you have said.

That said, my mother got a blue badge and I didn’t think she met the criteria either. She could walk, just not very far or fast. During the interview/demonstration, she had an asthma attack and ‘the lovely lady’ sat with her while she recovered and then signed off on the forms.

Having a blue badge gave her much more independence because she didn’t need me or a friend to chaperone her.

In my area you're not allowed to ask your GP for a letter to support your application anyway. It may be different in your area though, check at www.gov.uk/blue-badge-scheme-information-council

You do need supporting evidence but they tell you the different things you can use as evidence. They may also do an assessment on your mum.

She sounds exactly like my Mum and she has had a badge for three years. She is in South of England.

She can write her circumstances down and send letters from her cardiologist. The Blue Badge people can do their own assessments face to face.

Blue badge has nothing to do with gp

you get the form and fill it in yourself and put how far you can’t walk etc what drugs your on and what surgery you’ve had

gp is not required for application

pacemaker and not being able to walk more than 20 foot should get you a blue badge

Why can’t the cardiologist do it? Surely if it’s due to her heart problems then they would be best placed to complete the form?

You can apply online. You don't need the GPS approval. As a hcp from what you have described I would say she meets the criteria.

Not sure about ROI but in the UK they don't speak to your GP, you apply direct. I would check to see whether your GP even needs to be involved in the process as if it's like the UK they have their own assessors and GP isn't involved.

Obviously if you can walk a dog everyday, you can walk more than 20ft etc

you will need to fill out the form truthfully

sometimes they have you in to access you

Just try a different G.P.

Unless she takes her dog on very short walks, she doesnt qualify

Think one of the basic criteria is walking the length of two buses

From a quick read of the rules in ROI, it just says a medical practitioner, so that means her cardiologist can do it.
Posters saying it’s about priority that’s not how it works.

With walking it is about how far you can walk ( or walk without risk) on the flat. Steps, slopes etc are not considered. Someone who is able to walk a dog will struggle to qualify.

www.iwa.ie/services/motoring/guide-to-the-disabled-persons-parking-permit/

If your GPs rejects the application you can appeal for an independent review. But I'd look for a new GP anyway.

Only people of working age can get PIP. The equivalent benefit for older people is attendance allowance, and that doesn't include a mobility element, so doesn't give entitlement to a blue badge.

So many replies! I’m literally scooting out the door to work, so will have a look this evening.
We are RoI, I thought it had to be a GP? Her cardiologist was very surprised GP was refusing, but see the dog walking may be the issue. She always says she makes herself do it no matter how hard, as she adores the wee doggie. Thanks for input.

You don't need a GP say so to get a blue badge. Just go on gov UK and apply yourself. You also don't need to qualify for PIP to get one.
The application will be screened by the staff and decided from there. If it is then refused you could appeal, send in further evidence or the cardiologist letter but if you don't have that at the time of the application don't let it stop you applying for it.