Suffering with foot drop and stability issues for the past 5 months which has changed my gait and I’m using a cane to get about out of the house. Around the house various pieces of furniture or walls help me by. So to make going into town a little easier etc I decided to apply for a blue badge, wider parking bays and shorter walking distances being a main draw for doing so, but after six week wait they’ve refused my application without so much as a finger point towards the .gov website. No interview, no real reason given. Although their letter did highlight “must have a permanent and substantial disability” and there was me thinking and being told this ain’t going to go away. Can’t wait to see what rubbish the PIP people are going to come up with, are these decisions always left in the hands of a bunch of half wits. Rant over. Paul
I applied for my blue badge only when i got the PIP award i received only standard rate on the mobilty part but that is enough to apply for the badge and received it 2 weeks later no problem Hampshire council. Hopefully your PIP appeals are succesful so you can then apply again. Dont worry about appealing even if you have to go to a trbunal it was alot less stressful than i had built myself up for. Good luck and take care .katy
Hi Some of those half wits have MS to. Anon
Paul,
I dunno, but maybe the info their decision was based on didn’t make it clear that ‘substantial disability’ was the significant reason behind the claim, and perhaps they were thinking that mobility issues might be part of a relapse that would resolve itself almost entirely after a period of time ?
(…In the early stages of MS, there may be almost no physical impairment !! I myself had been diagnosed with MS for over two years before physical problems began to really show !!)
Just trying to work out how they reach their decisions !
I would hope that a letter from your neuro would clarify the situation?
Dom
Hi, did you just fill in a form or add a letter ? I ask because when my mother in law was turned down I had only used the form for her online, so I wrote a letter and she got her badge 2 days later.
Might be worth a try, explaining that this has gone on for more than 3 months should have flagged them to give you better consideration but as with all things authority wise they are cutting back and we have to beg now not just ask.
Good Luck,
Ell
Hi Ell Yes, just completed the form on line. I’ve asked my MS nurse for a supporting letter, but in the meantime I’ve sent back an email asking for them to reconsider, maybe I should scan in a letter from my neurologist as well. Still if they weren’t sure and were a little considerate they could have asked me for more detail. Thanks for everyone’s input.
I suppose it depends on the Authority administerring the blue badge scheme, when I put in my re application I had a phone call from a young chap obviously reading from a script asking questions about my walking ability. I gave him the answers and he said that was fine and the blue badge was maintained. What will be interesting is my DLA tribunal next week, I applied before PIP came in and my application and appeal were turned down, my MS nurse said this happened all the time and that they dont get MS at all, even when they refer to a “clinican/nurse” who clearly hasnt much by way of knowledge about MS. I have had some really helpful support from a welfare rights specialist and my case looks strong, the key point being to get them to undeerstand that R&R is in itself progressive over time and I have detailed what my actual daily condition is without any significant relapse. After 22 years of relapses the base line has gotten bad enough and to be honest I am not even sure if I would be able to discern another relapse, unless it was something really obvious like waking up with double vision. My MS nurse and my GP are very supportive and have explained to me that being able to diagnose a move to SPMS is not an exact art, which whilst i find that frustrating, I have come to the conclusion that at the end of the day the diagnosis are merely a set of words and that whether it is R&R or SPMS, the actual impact on me is the same, I have loads of ongoing symptoms, that arent going to get any better and these symptoms are clearly getting worse! Oh joy!!!
I had the same problem and my local authority refused to consider it even with supporting evidence from my gp. Apparently I had to be in receipt of the mobility component of DLA to get a blue badge, so I applied for that and was initially refused so I had to fight for that, only then did I get my blue badge. It took about six months from the first application. What amazes me is that my next door neighbours have one each, despite being able to wander round the shops and supermarket for hours at a time. Some of the men my husband plays golf with have them too, and they can play 18 holes of golf which takes about four hours to walk round the golf course! Grrr
My ever so helpful MS nurse has already replied to my email offering some help next week. Happy days (Not many of those lately)
So glad your MS nurse is supportive 
Yes scan in the Neuro letter if possible…it all helps.
If you still don,t get the blue badge try phoning your local authority who issue the badge and speak to a REAL person who might just “get it”
Fingers crossed for you hon.
Ell
ps fingers are often crossed because of spasms !
So glad your MS nurse is supportive
Yes scan in the Neuro letter if possible…it all helps.
If you still don,t get the blue badge try phoning your local authority who issue the badge and speak to a REAL person who might just “get it”
Fingers crossed for you hon.
Ell
ps fingers are often crossed because of spasms !
Well to be fair to my local council I’ve had an email from the Blue Badge crew just to say their OT would call me, which they did within the hour. A little conversation later and an appointment to see them has been arranged. I may have shot myself in the foot (thankfully not my good one) because for my online application I decided a good measure of how far I could walk would be to walk to the nearest bus stop 500 metres away, thinking that might indicate how difficult it is to cover in a reasonable time, turns about 2km per hour isn’t bad enough ;( although I wouldn’t have wanted to walk back if I’d missed the bus so soon afterwards. Still lesson learned, hoping a face to face meeting with the OT will be more favourable. Paul
Hi Paul
One of the trick questions in the BB form is the one about which local landmark you can walk to - and they compare this to how far you said you can walk. 20metres seems to be the yes/no distance. Does not worry me because I’m now down to single steps, but a previous answer was that I could manage up to 10 metres before stopping for a rest [hint].
You use a stick, so you can make the point that you need it for stability, and then as support while you rest [it need only be for about 20 seconds]. You have a dropped foot, so you can exaggerate the need to swing your foot sideways - makes your gait look really bad - and you can also make the point that you need to open the car door wide to get the dropped foot in/out.
Good luck
Geoff
Hi Paul,
Hope you get a BB. I’ve got drop foot in left foot. I filled in the form online with every single appointment, referral, physio appt etc.
At the end of the form was a bit for ‘Any other information’ I wrote loads. Said I live in a rural area, one bus a week from a village 2 miles away. Just changed to an automatic car and rely on being able to drive and get to the shops. etc etc. Expected a medical but they just sent me a badge. Think it depends on your local council too.
Went to town today, managed to get a space right outside my bank, in and out in 5 minutes. Did look longingly at Boots,Smiths and M & S but beyond my walking distance… another day…
Good luck Jen x
Thanks Geoff, Noted! Paul
Invited to see the OT at the end of May and the interview seemed to go well, although she did end by saying I was border line. So I got turned down again a few days later all because I could still walk the test distance, not happy. So I let myself calm down for a few days before sending emails to my MP and council leader (who I had just helped return to office in the elections) politely stating the DfT was failing to understand the needs of an MS sufferer. To my great surprise I’ve received a phone call today from my council offices saying the points I raised had caused them to reconsider, with a little ear bending from my MP, therefore, a blue badge will be issued to me in the next few days. Just goes to prove, what sometimes appears to be black & white hard line requirements can be overturned when a little compassion or empathy is allowed to influence a decision. Good luck folks and don’t let them hold you back. Paul
Hi Paul
Great news! Some sense from Wokingham council at last…
Hope to see you at another MSquared event soon
Take care
Hilary
Hi all
I have enhanced rate on pip have had to wait 3 months for my badge
Graham