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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU? GP refusing my mum a blue badge

231 replies

JollyJunee · 30/04/2022 06:02

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?

OP posts:
ChiselandBits · 30/04/2022 06:55

Isn't it a bit ridiculous that it doesn't take slopes / steps into account? Surely the point of disabled parking is to get you closer to the place you're going, especially if that is up steps etc. My dad has really reduced his activity due to a combination of issues and won't come out for a meal even unless he knows he can park v close, but hasn't yet agreed to try for a BB. I didn't know you could go direct though, that's interesting.

passport123 · 30/04/2022 06:56

I'm a GP and we don't do blue badge for a anymore the council do it all. Are you sure it wasn't a misunderstanding like that?

Hobbitfeet32 · 30/04/2022 06:57

If the cardiologist was that surprised I’m sure they will have written to the blue badge people already to say she needs one and that the system should allow both gps and hospital consultants to provide the information required.

Unicornspirit · 30/04/2022 06:58

Sorry, just noticed you are in ROI. I see the rules are different there.

turkeyboots · 30/04/2022 06:58

In Ireland it requires a GP. The IWA does the issuing and has a guide on use of aids and how far you can walk. No aids and being able to walk over 400m in one stretch means you are unlikely to qualify.

Although my mother has one and can walks miles everyday...

WilmaFlintstone1 · 30/04/2022 06:58

I will add that in the surgeries I work for (I am not a GP) I know the GPs don’t do them. It has to come from the specialist team working with the applicant or the applicant has to write a letter explaining the circumstances if they don’t have a specialist team.

The Blue Badge people can do their own assessments as well.

gamerchick · 30/04/2022 07:04

The OP has said twice she's not in the UK.

Cervinia · 30/04/2022 07:05

Here in the UK, it Took mum months to get one and she applied through our council on line.
she has:
angina
a TAVI
macular degeneration
hearing aids
walks with a stick, definitely could not manage a dog and stick and walk.

She had to provide proof of her conditions and the names of the consultants she is under for her heart and eyes and the audiologist.

girlmom21 · 30/04/2022 07:07

I agree with the others about the dog walking

LookItsMeAgain · 30/04/2022 07:19

marriedthegambler · 30/04/2022 06:30

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.

In Ireland, you do need to be certified by your GP as requiring one.

Parking Permit

@JollyJunee - does your mum have a Primary Medical Certificate (not a medical card)? If she does, then you can apply online on her behalf.
Apply Online

Once you get a Blue Badge, you can renew online when it expires.

LookItsMeAgain · 30/04/2022 07:24

Just to add, there is a quick check on this website that will help you work out if your mum is eligible or not for the blue badge:
Eligibility Wizard

ChampagneJustBecause · 30/04/2022 07:28

I applied for a blue badge for my DD online. Supplied evidence from consultants, nothing from her GP.
I don’t even know who her GP is, we’ve never been to see them !
Just bypass GP x

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 30/04/2022 07:35

I've just applied for my dad's and I sent all his cardiologist paperwork and hospital paperwork. Applied Tuesday and he had an email Friday night to say they would send him one. GPs don't have anything to do with BBs these days in the UK and haven't done for years.

Also not true to say you have to be in reciept of benefits to qualify for one, dad isn't and I'm not either and I have one.

i5itcake · 30/04/2022 07:35

Sounds rough. Does she still drive at that age and with her conditions?

Morph22010 · 30/04/2022 07:37

Op is in roi rules so rules are different but for those in uk I applied last week for my son, I just filled in an online form on the council website and uploaded my evidence, I didn’t think we’d get but just tried and it was approved the next working day now just waiting for the actual badge to come through. We didn’t have go to for an interview or them contact the Gp or anything. I did have supporting evidence though mainly from la and school

BakeOffRewatch · 30/04/2022 07:37

He told her if she walks and doesn’t get her heart rate up it’s not worth walking at all.

I can’t believe your GP said this - it’s so important for elderly people to keep moving, even a little, for bone density, mobility, flexibility, drainage.

Can you get a different GP? Refusing the blue badge may be one oversight of many.

LookItsMeAgain · 30/04/2022 07:38

i5itcake · 30/04/2022 07:35

Sounds rough. Does she still drive at that age and with her conditions?

Are you fully awake yet??

You are aware that the blue badge can be displayed by someone else who happens to drive the OP's mum around from point A to point B, right? It's not just for the named individual themselves to be able to drive themselves around.
If the named individual on the blue badge never learned how to drive, they would still be eligible once they meet the criteria. I mean how else would the parents of children who have blue badges have those blue badges?

Libertybear80 · 30/04/2022 07:40

My daughter qualifies because she is on PIP at the full points for mobility. I didn't go anywhere near the gp!

backinthebox · 30/04/2022 07:42

People claiming if you can walk a dog you shouldn’t qualify for a blue badge, is that a specific criteria? I’ve got 2 friends with blue badges who walk their dogs every day (one of them goes for miles!) Should they not have blue badges?

Mrsjayy · 30/04/2022 07:46

You would need to check the Irish government scheme wouldn't you ? People are allowed to walk there dogs but have a disabled badge for parking close to buildings, apply again maybe get her cardiologist to do sign the form

DangerouslyBored · 30/04/2022 07:47

Make an appointment to see another GP. Like all humans, some are much nicer than others.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 30/04/2022 07:47

I get why you want a badge for your mum, but there are limited disabled parking spaces. Some people cannot walk at all. If your DM is parked in a space, this may mean that someone more disabled is completely unable to use shops or facilities.

Sally872 · 30/04/2022 07:48

DifficultBloodyWoman · 30/04/2022 06:26

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.

If no longer needed chaperone due to blue badge then surely she does need it? Being able to go out alone is a huge difference to someone's life.

Mrsjayy · 30/04/2022 07:48

Sometimes a Gp can sign the form if someone doesn't get the relative benefit to qualify on their own. I've no idea about Ireland though.

UnicornPooPoo · 30/04/2022 07:49

I get one because I have epilepsy. I can walk fine most of the time but when I have a seizure I can't walk at all (obviously). We need to be close to the entrance in case I have a seizure in a shop and either DH has to help me to walk out or he has to find a wheelchair and push me out. The spaces are closer so it's a lot easier that way. The fact your mum has difficulties everyday should help, surely. Does she get Attendance Allowance? That would help her case.