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Will moving and travelling far to my hospital appointments affect my claim?

Haberdasher

I have Crohn's disease and I am at Exeter hospital which I don't want to move from as I am on a treatment plan.

My dad passed away and me and my 19 year old sister have to move out because the landlord wants the house back. But a family friend with a couple of houses to rent in Reading has a house free we can rent with no deposit and because my sister is my carer and we are in receipt of benefits they are even going to charge us less than the going rate for however long we want the house. It's a massive opportunity.

Right now I average one hospital visit a month so it's not that expensive to travel, but I want to keep my hospital because I love my doctor and I'm doing well.

I am worried this will affect my claim as I receive Enhanced mobility, mainly for the anxiety when travelling, but everything else will apply as I have my sister who drives me to and from appointments and looks after me if I have an accident. I just worry they will see travelling 140 miles as not anxious to travel. I am always anxious to travel but I am fine when I have my sister with me, which I still will.

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Comments

janer1967

Hi @Haberdasher Welcome to the community and I am sorry to hear of your loss, moving to a new area sounds like a very positive move for you

I am not 100% sure on your query so I hope others can give more advice

66Mustang

I don't think it would have any effect as long as the journey is done with support as per the PIP criteria.

Similarly to you I get enhanced mobility PIP because I cannot leave the house alone but I am able to with support. I travel to a hospital frequently which is a 100 mile round trip. This has no bearing on my PIP because my journey is done within the parameters of my PIP claim i.e. I always have someone accompany me when I travel there - I can't do it alone.

In addition did you know if you are also on income related benefits or on a low income you can sometimes (check with your surgery) claim for the fuel cost for travelling to medical appointments? It varies depending on fuel prices at the time, as well as your engine size/type, but for me I have had between 12-15p a mile the last couple of years which just about pays for the fuel - every little helps!

Haberdasher

janer1967 said:

Hi @Haberdasher Welcome to the community and I am sorry to hear of your loss, moving to a new area sounds like a very positive move for you

I am not 100% sure on your query so I hope others can give more advice

Thank you so much x

66Mustang said:

I don't think it would have any effect as long as the journey is done with support as per the PIP criteria.

Similarly to you I get enhanced mobility PIP because I cannot leave the house alone but I am able to with support. I travel to a hospital frequently which is a 100 mile round trip. This has no bearing on my PIP because my journey is done within the parameters of my PIP claim i.e. I always have someone accompany me when I travel there - I can't do it alone.

In addition did you know if you are also on income related benefits or on a low income you can sometimes (check with your surgery) claim for the fuel cost for travelling to medical appointments? It varies depending on fuel prices at the time, as well as your engine size/type, but for me I have had between 12-15p a mile the last couple of years which just about pays for the fuel - every little helps!

Oh that is wonderful thank you. Did you win your award while they were aware of your 100 mile round trip? x

66Mustang

Yes I had a PIP reassessment late last year and we made them aware of this journey - in fact it was used as an example of a regular journey to a familiar place. I did however get my award after requesting a mandatory reconsideration - I was initially awarded 0 points for mobility needs. However, I don't feel the long journey was the reason for being awarded 0 points - I think that was because I am able to drive short distances and the assessor ignored the fact that I have to have someone with me. Fortunately at the MR the decision maker understood this.

But yes, we used the journey as an example both in the initial PIP forms, during the face to face assessment, and referred to it again when requesting the MR.

My interpretation is that it is not the distance of a journey that matters, it is whether or not you need support for it.