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Hello! In this month's PIP/Disability News newsletter, we discuss the repercussions of the long ambulance wait, the 2023 PIP rate changes you need to know about and answer your question on what evidence to include in your PIP application.
Ian Taylor
THIS MONTH'S UPDATES
On UK Disability News
Wheelchair racer Abby Cook to join Blue Peter
In early March, it was revealed that wheelchair racer Abby Cook would be joining the long-running children’s TV show Blue Peter as the 42nd presenter. The Scottish racer will join Mwaka Mudenda, Joel Mawhinney and Henry the dog as a host.
Cook previously studied applied biological science at Forth Valley College and has been working with Forth Valley Disability Sport, supporting both disabled and non-disabled young people in becoming more active.
“When Abby came to the studio, we knew she would be great for the show because she has an unstoppable ‘can do’ attitude. ‘She’s up for any challenge and we know she’ll connect beautifully with our audience because she has a real affinity for working with young people, but she also has the biggest of hearts.’” - Blue Peter editor Ellen Evans commented to the Mirror.
Long ambulance wait has caused more than 500 patients’ death
The BBC has reported that compared to 2021 the number of fatalities due to long ambulance waits has more than doubled in the last year, resulting in the death of more than 500 seriously ill patients, that died before they could get treatment in a hospital. At times the wait had been up to 15 hours.
“The fatalities included people who had had a stroke or heart attack or whose breathing had suddenly collapsed, or who had been involved in a road traffic collision. In every case, an ambulance crew took much longer to arrive than the NHS target times for responding to an emergency,” the BBC writes.
According to the report, coroners, senior doctors and ambulance staff have all stated that the scale of the loss of life is highlighting the growing dangers to patients due to the underfunding and cutbacks of NHS urgent and emergency care services. Leaving staff overworked and ambulances overloaded, having patients waiting outside hospitals and paramedics unable to respond to further calls.
“These 500-plus deaths a year when an ambulance hasn’t got there in time are tragic and avoidable,” [….] “These numbers are deeply concerning. This is the equivalent of multiple airliners crashing.” - Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
In response to the reporting, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have both shared plans outlining plans for improvement and additional funding, aimed to reduce waiting times.
Important Read:
PIP & Disability News and Updates
The PIP rate changes in 2023 you need to know
British recipients of PIP (Personal Independence Payments) will receive more money from April 2023. The PIP rates for 23/24 will be as follows:
Daily living:
The lower weekly rate will rise to £68.10
The higher weekly rate will rise to £101.75
Mobility:
The lower weekly rate will rise to £26.90
The higher weekly rate will rise to £71
Universal Credit
A recent court ruling has stated that tens of thousands of disabled people in the UK have been wrongly deprived of benefits by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) in the move to universal credit.
The case was first brought forward by two claimants stating that the new regulations were discriminatory and causing significant monthly benefit losses, leaving them with hundreds of pounds less a year after being moved into universal credit.
The court’s decision ends a five-year-long legal battle against the DWP, which has been heavily criticised through the proceedings for wasting public funds for the purpose of “defending policies that unlawfully impoverish[…] thousands of vulnerable people”.
Upcoming Events/Workshops
Events
April 11th
Access: [email protected]
April 21st
BSL Tour of Sonia Boyce: Feeling Her Way
Access: [email protected]
Workshops
April 26th
Writing Dis'stories: Creative Writing @ BU (Day 1, On Site)
Access: [email protected]
Transport for All and Inclusion London is conducting research into the experiences of disabled people using the Taxicard service.
If you want to take part, you can find more information through the link below.
Ask Jasper
I don’t have a formal diagnosis so don’t have any evidence I can include. What can I do?
Evidence does not need to be medical, so it could be non-medical things.
Such as: a receipt from online food shopping; keeping a symptom diary; supporting letters from support workers, friends, family, and partners; and education or work adjustment reports (e.g. DSA, occupational health, or Access to Work).
But there are also other ways to get medical evidence other than a diagnosis report, such as: repeat prescription, any current or previous consultant reports that are relevant such as a physio, care plans, as well as asking for your medical information.
This is called a Subject Access Request, which means you can access your medical records free of charge under UK GDPR legislation.
PIP Hint of the Month
Answer your PIP application on a Word Document. This means you can include as much information as possible and are not limited.
On each page (i.e. in the header) include National Insurance number, page number and your name to connect it to the form. On the actual PIP application form, you can simply write, “see attached document, page X” so they know where to go for the answer to each question.
Go into as much detail as possible as the only information the DWP have is what you write, so include as much as you can.
What’s Next
We hope you enjoyed this month's PIP/Disability News Newsletter!
We’ll be back in two weeks with our monthly WheelieQueer Newsletter.
So if you have any questions or suggestions for any of our upcoming newsletters or the work we do, you can find our socials and how to get in contact with us in the details below.
Best,
The WheelieQueer Team
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