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?

And surely not being able to walk should be pretty high in that hierarchy. Does anyone disagree with that?

People who automatically get a Blue Badge

You automatically qualify for a Blue Badge if you are aged 3 or over and at least one of the following applies:

you receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

you receive a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) because you can’t walk more than 50 metres (a score of 8 points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component)

you are registered blind (severely sight impaired)

you receive a War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
you have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking

you receive the mobility component of PIP and have obtained 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause you overwhelming psychological distress

If you have any score other than 10 points under descriptor E, in the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity of PIP you may still be eligible for a Blue Badge, but you do not automatically qualify. This includes if you have a higher score of 12. You will have to provide evidence to demonstrate your eligibility which will be assessed as part of your application.

People who may get a Blue Badge

You may be eligible for a badge if one or more of the following applies:

you cannot walk at all

you cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids

you find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes

walking is dangerous to your health and safety
you have a terminal illness, which means you cannot walk or find walking very difficult and have a DS1500 form

you have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines

you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child always needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment

you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child must always be kept near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment

you are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks

you struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
you find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others

you regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control

you frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces

Your local council will decide if you are eligible for a badge. They cannot start the assessment process until they have all the necessary evidence. It may take 12 weeks or longer to assess your application. If they decide that you are not eligible and you think that they did not take account of all the facts, you can ask them to consider your application again.

So sorry, OP, for derailing your thread as I’m aware that you’re in the ROI and the information posted above is for the UK and from the Gov.UK website to explain the ‘hierarchy’ of who automatically qualifies for a Blue Badge versus those who may get a Blue Badge.

As she is blind, my teen automatically qualifies for a Blue Badge, but we have occasionally been challenged by other Blue Badge holders about our right to park in access spaces and often run the gauntlet of those who ostentatiously check my windscreen for a valid Badge in car parks.

Blue badges aren't rationed. They are available to anybody who needs one, there is no issue of 'priority'. not my experience at all. (And to be very clear NOBODY would think my child doesn’t need one).

"The thing that boiled my piss was the number of people I saw with blue badges who could walk far better than she could."

Blue badges are awarded for restricted mobility which is not the same thing as ( although can include) physical inability to walk. My son can walk. He also, due to his disabilities behaves in extremely unsafe ways and puts himself and others at severe risk of harm.

Why do you need to go through a doctor

Dd has ADHD and is going through Pip

I think she got hers through our local council
Or the .gov website
I don’t think it says anything about a GP filling out a form.
it says you have to have something where it shows your diagnosis

Does your mum have access to her medical notes where it shows she has a medical diagnosis.
Or any letters that say she has a certain diagnosis. Or could she get copies from the hospital if she has lost them.

i would agree some people are more disabled than others and this can also vary from day to day as people can have good days and bad days. However a system that recognised this for parking would be impossible to implement, therefore we can’t judge by looking at people and deciding who is above who in the hierarchy. My child is autistic and we’ve just been awarded a blue badge and some days we won’t need so if that’s the case I won’t use a disabled space but on other ocassions it will be a godsend. Not related to parking but I remember at one point in the past I was on my own really struggling with him having a meltdown and trying to run off and a lady in a wheelchair let me go ahead of her and said “your need is greater than mine” which really stuck with me. Ultimately it just comes down to being considerate for others and not judging

In the UK. When I applied a GP diagnosis wasn’t acceptable as evidence. Had to be from consultant.

@Morph22010
Fully agree with you.

i would agree some people are more disabled than others and this can also vary from day to day as people can have good days and bad days. However a system that recognised this for parking would be impossible to implement, therefore we can’t judge by looking at people and deciding who is above who in the hierarchy

But that's the whole point of having a fairly high threshold for having a blue badge in the first place. You can't judge, day to day, which blue badge holders need disabled spaces the most. But you can try to ensure that only people who really need them have them in the first place.

Wow! I had no idea this was such an emotive subject. Thank you all for replying.
My mum is 82, weighs 7st 5lbs, you could put her in your pocket. I think she is fit. I think she is bloody brilliant for her age!! She is completely independent. But any exertion leaves her feeling light headed, unwell, short of breath. So, she could do a washing load, but would have to take it out in bits. She can’t bend over, feels faint. She would have to sit down if she went upstairs. The diverticular disease is severe. She has had 3 episodes of bleeding that were so severe she had to be hospitalised for 1-2 weeks, and they set off her defib. She can only walk the dog late morning, once her tummy has settled. She isn’t able to do anything after that. So her wee bits of shopping would have to be done in am, as she would say she is fit for nothing after walking the dog. She makes herself do that to keep fit.
She said every one of her friends has a blue badge, and they can’t understand how her GP refuses.
reading the replies here I see it may be a case of the form says can they walk x amount and she technically can-therefore he can’t sign it. It has to be the GP. The consultant was surprised and said it was crazy, she would definitely benefit from one, and that they would put it in the letter that her condition had worsened and they felt a badge would be appropriate.
The GP is the type that doesn’t look at the person in front of them, just at what the book says.
I’ll have a look at this properly tomorrow, I’m working again all day. Appreciate the input.

Steroids and immobility made me gain weight. It’s bad enough being young, newly fat and disabled and accepting you need aids like a blue badge without being concerned we are being judged by people like you who don’t have a clue.

Good luck @JollyJunee your mum is lucky to have a supportive daughter fighting her corner. It sounds like she really struggles with her mobility, I hope she can be re-assessed by a different GP.

I agree. I think the threshold should be higher in general, actually (but in fact I do think OP's mum should get one!).

And surely not being able to walk should be pretty high in that hierarchy. Does anyone disagree with that?

@Blossomtoes

Yes, it should, but MN is obsessed with invisible disabilities and doesn't like to acknowledge that mobility impairments can often come alongside severe illness.

Some very judgemental comments about who should or shouldn't qualify for a blue badge.

You don't need to be in a wheelchair to qualify for one.
Many people who can walk some distance or even very far may be entitled to them for various reasons.

My son can run, jump, climb on to huts and roofs. He has one for being at risk in traffic. He needs someone holding him always in public and not to be close to other cars as he may kick out at them.

Should I cancel the cheque as well?😂

There is no hierarchy of disability.
@emuloc Don't be ridiculous. Of course there is in practice; everyone would pick a mild disability over a severe one if given the choice. I know that I would swap if I could. It's actually really trivialising to claim there is no hierarchy, because it conflates such wildly different experiences.

So sure there was just a post there that said you don’t need a GP to get a blue badge! Hence my reference to the cheque. It disappeared.

Yes it was ages ago but I'm pretty sure it was about the UK rules. I hope you can sort it out for your mum, @JollyJunee

I thnk @Blossomtoes mum should get one as well (assuming England?) because she's in a wheelchair.

@JollyJunee

I've read your posts but not all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating anything.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travelanddrecreation/trafficanddparking/disabledpersonssparkingcard.html#l25a44

We don't have a 'blue badge' as such in Ireland - it's called a disabled person's parking card, but does the same thing.

On the site above you can check with either DDAI or Irish Wheelchair Association for eligibility.

Unfortunately in strict terms your mum probably doesn't qualify - however, one would think a sympathetic GP would be generous re the walking unaided question.

Yes, thanks Earrings, that’s what I think. She may not 100% fit it, but she isn’t far off. As I said earlier, GP tends to be a bit ‘computer says no’ instead of just looking up and seeing the actual person?
When when my dad died recently enough, he saw my mum two weeks later. Midst of a pandemic, in total shock and grief, and she told him proudly she had made herself get out for a walk every day, even though she was just shuffling along…he said if she didn’t get her heart rate up it wasn’t worth doing.
I mean what?! What about mental health, processing grief, routine, fresh air, keeping moving in the elderly in a pandemic. He is an arse in my opinion. If my mum exerts herself she near collapses! But that’s beside the point. If she isn’t entitled she isn’t entitled.

Looking at that link briefly Earrings.-must get to sleep will be pooped at work otherwise, it does actually mention cardiac restrictions. My point was yes, she can walk unaided-but only on a flat surface. If it was how far on a hill or steps, the answer would be 2 metres!! I made this point to the GP, she can only walk on flat areas, not at all on incline or steps.

Although I have rheumatoid arthritis, which is no longer responding to prescribed medication, I am not applying for a blue badge as I have decided it is less trouble to use a taxi if I need to go somewhere with limited parking. However, I understand about ops mum walking her dog as long as she can sit down occasionally, as I have to do this, and can therefore only walk in areas where there are regular places to sit, as my dog walks are now bench to bench hobbles. This means I can no longer go shopping, as many shops have absolutely nowhere to sit. It doesn't really bother me, I just shop online and have groceries delivered, but if ops mum gets pleasure browsing around shops, but needs a sit down by the time she has walked from her car, at over 80 with heart problems, I think she should have a BB. Posters saying she should walk more and a bit faster to keep healthy, are in need of a compassion transplant!

queen as an example, the escalator in a local centre was broken one day a few years ago. It was one of those flat ones that takes you up one level, so an incline rather than steps. Mum said she would be fine to walk up it as it was broken. Got to the top and she said “Help me” to me. Security man heard, ran and got a chair and we sat her down, got her some water, she was ok and we just went home. She just can’t do any exertion. She isn’t able to hit town and shop all day, she doesn’t drink, eats very healthily, she never drives more than 1mile from our house, it’s to the local small supermarket for her few groceries, to mass, hairdresser once a week. She is hardly blocking all the spaces.
perfect example, the car park for the hospital. Badge spaces by door-of which there were loads. She has to park in multi storey across the road. If the lift is out she is buggered.
And why the heck did he give my dad one when he was always able to walk perfectly well??

Yes, I think you're right Jolly. The GP is being bureaucratic rather than seeing the patient before him.

Your mum sounds brilliant, in terms of getting out & yes, what hurtful nonsense from the GP to your poor mum.

Hopefully the cardiologist will have some influence.