Blue Badge Application

[MissMarplesNiece]

DM recently filled in a Blue Badge application form. She's now received a request for more information - namely proof of her infirmities.

I'm not sure she has any correspondence relating to these. She was assessed by the Falls Team about 2 years ago but doubt she will find their report, and she has got considerably worse since then. Can she get a report/copies of correspondence from her GP? Will there be a charge for this?

Her GP surgery is quite useless. If she tells the Blue Badge people she has no proof what would be their next step? Would DM have an assessment from them?

Fil sent in extracts of his medical records. Any consultant letters ?

Blue badge people won't assess, they're admin box tickers, they'll just reject the application.

You need to approach the GP for evidence, sadly this is normally a paid for service but worth it to get the blue badge.

Does your mum get PIP? Send a copy of the letter

Does you mum take any medication? Listing those and a list of her diagnoses should help

Consultants letter or a GP opinion, all her letters will be in a file at the GPs so she could ask for copies.

You can ask the GP to provide her medical notes, where she was referred to the falls team. Think its called a Subject Access Request. This should be free of charge.
Can you provide a copy of her prescription list also?

This is not true. The council will arrange an IT assessment if they deem it necessary

OT

Yes, put in a Subject Access Request to her GP. This is what DM had to do and it was accepted for her Blue Badge. The GP can’t refuse this, it’s a legal right.

I found it helpful to email them directly

Not just for a blue badge. They will arrange for an OT assessment for other requirements like bath seats etc that could help with blue badge criteria though (unless your council is better than mine, my mother's, my friend's and my aunty's - all different councils).

Councils are vanishingly useless and will do as little as possible when it comes to supported living (however that looks).

Most GP surgeries with print off a subject access request form which usually details conditions, medications, GP visits etc.

IME they do back down when confronted with medical report.

Make a dsar and gp surgery or hospital will provide you with copies of your records. The form should be on the relevant website.

Just to add, you don't need a specific form to submit a SAR. If you visit the Information Commissioner's Office (data regulator) they have a template email you can use.

Care and Repair dept at local council will help you fill out the request. This is one dept that is very helpful.

I’ve had two assessments but my most recent application they asked for my medical records. An email to the GP was all that was needed for pages and pages of records that satisfied the requirements.

OP, ask for a summary of the GP record, they take seconds to print out. I get Blue Badge stuff shoved my way (I’m a social -described) and I usually print oUt the summary and any letters which will help with evidence.

You might be able to print this from the “My GP” app now but not certain. It should t need an SAR .

Blue Badges tend to be for people with an actual mecical condition that makes getting around difficult, not just because someone is elderly and has a fall, we couldnt get one for MIL who struggled to walk in her mid 80s. It helps 8f you wre on PIP

Whilst i agree with the main part, councils are not "useless". They are underfunded, forced to administer systems laid down by government that they have no capacity to manage, and (for many) close to the brink of insolvency trying to balance social care budgets.

I had to help my DM renew hers recently.
I listed all her daily medications, her two recent spells in hospital, the aids she has at home to help her move around safely and gave her GP’s surgery details. I also stressed the difficulty she would have in attending medical appointments because of her extreme frailty and inability to walk far .

Blue Badge forms are quite a challenge to fill in.

You have to list all the Drs / hospital departments you have seen, all your medications, describe all your conditions and explain how they restrict mobility.
You have to list all your prescriptions and medication.
And any mobility aids etc.

It is also important to complete it as if you are having your hardest day. Not tick off your abilities (are you able to do your household shopping? Tick YES with the silent disclaimer of 'when my daughter carries the bags, opens the car door, drives, manages my money, remembers why we have even come shopping and where we are, and lets me cling on to her arm'. Ask me how I know...)

Did your Mum manage to complete it all?

Thank you for your replies.

DM's consultations with GP have been for heart failure (pacemaker fitterd), Diabetes etc, not for her increasing immobility. She really is very immobile now & can only walk about 20 yards even with her mobility aids. She's almost blind with cataracts & is on waiting list for treatment, arranged via optician not GP. She's always taken her decreasing mobility as part of getting old & not consulted GP about it specifically. Unless GP has made note of her poor mobility during a consultation it's unlikely to be on her records. Is it worth asking GP for a letter - which I assume will mean an appointment to assess her.

There was a report from the Falls Team describing her poor mobility & the aids she needs but I'm not confident of finding it.

I asked her GP surgery a month or so ago if they could do home visits in future because its so difficult for her to get to surgery. Receptionist basically shrugged and said he didn't know how we'd arrange this. I don't really have confidence in the surgery.

@Gonegrey31 and @EggInANest I helped DM fill in form and did as you've suggested. It's got to the point where she can't even go outside into the garden on her own. She still wants to go out - we usually find a garden centre cafe or such where we can get a cuppa & piece of cake, and even that's a struggle. Last week it took two of us to get her into the car and then out again when we got home. She's fallen over at home again today - no broken bones, thank goodness.

I hope you get it approved quickly OP as your mother is clearly in need of this permit. My DM’s one was renewed without delay , i wrote a full and detailed account explaining her difficulties (heart failure here too with swollen legs). Severe frailty is the issue and frequent falls. I’m relieved todays fall was not too serious. Sending lots of good wishes to you , it’s hard as I well know .