Hopefully someone here will have a similar experience because feeling like the only person is just adding even more stress.
Mum was giving LRC and HRM on DLA years ago for various ailments that made mobility an issue. Around 7 or 8 years ago she began showing signs something else was wrong and eventually was diagnosed with Alzheimers and Vascular Dementia.
She was very good at masking her symptoms and lying about her abilities etc so we didn't apply to up her DLA for a long while because we worried she could actually lose what she'd been already awarded plus we didn't want to cause her any extra upset.
Now it's gone beyond that and her dementia means she can't fend for herself at all, forgets to eat, can't take her medication (she's also insulin dependent) and needs constant home care. That's become my role as I was self employed and the only sibling who could be there all the time. So we finally applied to have a change of circumstance on DLA
The DLA received our application on the 15/3 and then last Wednesday we got a letter saying the DWP had more questions and had tried to contact us by phone. I rang the same day and the person on the phone said they thought my mum could benefit from an appointee so I agreed to this and was asked 4 or 5 questions on the phone about this and told all my answers were recorded and sent to the decision maker.
That was 8 days ago now and we've heard nothing since. I've read mixed messages about becoming an appointee, some people were interviewed, some just were awarded the position. As the appointeeship is based on the fact that my mum can't deal with her own benefits it's worried us that if they are going to interview us, they might pause her benefits until I'm accepted. Another worry is that it'll forever to be accepted and hold up her DLA claim which would cause me no end of even more stress.
Since I've given up my self employment to look after her full time any savings I had are depleted and I'm pretty sure I can't claim any kind of unemployment benefit because I'd be unable to work - and as I can't apply for CA I would be expected to look for employment to secure benefits.
I'm at the end of my tether thinking that it could take another month or so to be accepted as appointee and then another 3 weeks or month to get CA. And it's not like my siblings are able to help either. My sister has her own health issues and can't work, and though my brother is 9-5, the way the cost of living is at the minute there's not much lying spare.
What can I expect next? Will there be an appointee interview? Will they pause her benefits? Or will they just put anything she's awarded into the account she already gets her benefits? We were very good with all the evidence we sent, and our GP managed to collect every document she had on file for mum. GP, OT, neurology and the memory clinic all mention mum hasn't been able to look after her finances for a while now and it's been us, her children managing everything for her instead.