Long Term Illness/Disability

kaz_959

Good afternoon all,

I’m new to Scope and any forums actually and I’m in need of a little guidance!
I will try to keep this short but happy to answer any questions if needed.

In May 2023, I was sent for a lot of urgent tests including biopsies of lumps found. I had seen my new consultant twice and he informed me I would be having urgent surgery in 3 months.
I didn’t hear a thing until December 2023 (despite chasing) stating I was scheduled for surgery on January 25th 2024. Between these dates I had received a letter stating what the consultant still “believed the lumps were”, I never got a letter stating what the biopsy results were.

Anyway, I had the surgery, 4 out of 24 lumps were removed, I was sent home with nothing, just the standard piece of paper stating to visit my GP surgery if needed.

Before my surgery I went into my local job centre and they put me on an LCWRA account and submitted a request for New Style ESA as I wasn’t able to get Universal Credit due to my partners earnings.

I’m still signed off (I’m a Security Officer by trade but can no longer chase people!) My bosses said they’d keep my position open but have since said they couldn’t due to the length of time I’ve been off - I’ve had numerous issues since surgery including sepsis and a couple of overnight hospital stays too.

My results came back as stage one cancer. I’ve since found more lumps in a similar area and been tested for those, on my 7th week of waiting for the results. My anxiety is through the roof I can assure you!!

I never thought any of this would last the length of time it has especially after expecting surgery in 3 months not 7 so I never applied for PIP. I also have no idea how long any of this is going to last for, so I’m not sure whether to apply for PIP or DLA?
Just to mention, I’ve just had my WCA assessment, this morning.

I know this next bit isn’t benefit related but I’ve experienced some shocking treatment from the NHS through all of this, from being left alone to check I wasn’t faking having sepsis (not sure how one does that?!) to being what looked like; hacked to pieces during surgery. Is there anything I can do about this?

I’m sorry it’s not as short as I said it would be but appreciate you reading and assisting if you can.

Karen ☺️

Albus_Scope

Hey there @kaz959 and welcome to the community.

I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and struggles with work, that cant be helping things at all! It might be worth speaking to the lovely people over at ACAS as they're work law specialists and very good.

As for the NHS issues, I'd suggest speaking to someone at PALS and putting in a formal complaint. But I'm really hoping they can help you asap.

kaz_959

Hi Albus,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I’ve recently spoken to ACAS, although I was in my position long enough, there isn’t much point going through anything with them as they weren’t paying me whilst I was off so I’m not sure if pursuing something would just add to the stress! And since I’ve not been there they’ve had 13 officers to replace me and lost the contract on the site due to failures on their part. (Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not going back!)

PALS, not heard of them, I’ll look into them. Thank you again.

poppy123456

DLA no longer exists for those aged 16 and over so unless you live in Scotland it would be PIP you'll need to claim. As it's not awarded based on any diagnosis, whether there's any entitlement will depend on how your health conditions affect you. There's some information in the links that may help. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

The best one to read is this one and I'd advise you to have a good read before applying.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#daily-living-activities

kaz_959

Thank you Poppy, I’ll have a look.
I was advised PIP through my consultants but because I didn’t know it was going to take this long. I never applied. Maybe I’ll try again after seeing my consultant again depending on what he says.
Thanks again