Dental & glasses & cost of living

DeeOxnard

I’m in the support group on ESA Contribution, I suffer from stroke , osteoarthritis, complex regional pain syndrome & FND, I thought my swallowing problems were down to stroke, my food really became liquid diet, but after dental pain I visited the dentist who told me my teeth were that bad they needed to be removed ASAP due to continuous infection and repeat high temperatures and antibiotics I needed them removed ASAP, And then low and behold I then started having really bad headaches and eye pain, after a trip to the optician that was ordered by my GP it was found I had really bad eye sight and urgently needed glasses. 

my husband is long term sick at the moment due to having treatment for cancer, he has lost a lot of weight and he too needed new dentures, my husbands income is about £1000 month, we get top up from UC & I get ESA Contribution based, so our income is about £1,650 month.
so my glasses were £185.00, £282.50 my dental & £282.50 my husbands dentures, costing £750.00 for all.
I applied for help but was told we had to have under £935.00 on our UC claim it says we earn 1010 between us after everything as been taken off & deducted.
wth the cost of living going up we pay £240.00 in energy bills & £160 in council tax monthly we’ve already cut back on so much and we had no choice but to use UC payments for August & September and credit card to pay for the dental and glasses, I’ve now been told my dentures are only temporary and will need to pay for permanent ones in November.
surly there must be more help out there for people struggling that need things like dental glasses etc

Dee

bg844

Unfortunately that is the rule for the UC earnings limit. You could try applying for a HC2 but unlikely you’d be accepted:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc2-certificates-full-help-health-costs

There’s also a HC3 too which you possibly might be entitled to:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc3-certificates-limited-help-health-costs

Other than that why don’t you try using a benefits calculator to see further entitlements: 
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=4e61acad-d315-427d-a45a-45f7b9f7ebe8

Just to check, do you receive PIP?

DeeOxnard

Yes I do but it pays for my carers, I’m 59 and wouldn’t want my husband helping me with my personal care needs, he also is returning back to work shortly after is treatment is completed and didn’t want to lose the carers I already have, unfortunately due to cost of living we have really struggled, I suppose everyone else does too 

bg844

Do they receive Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Element for looking after you or do you pay independently? You could look in to a needs assessment if you haven’t already had one which could potentially give you a budget to spend on carers:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/

DeeOxnard

I pay independently, as my husband gets the UC elements of care for me as he works normally 3 days a week he’s part time because of my care needs, we pay for the 3 days he works as I can’t cook and struggle with toilet needs due to my stroke 

bg844

That’s what I wanted to check to see if your husband could add CE to the UC so good news about that. Check the link above about the assessment and look in to the HC2 or HC3 health certificate. 

The second CoL payment is being paid in November too and you should of already received your £150 disability payment, every little helps.

DeeOxnard

Aww ty for the links I’ve found them really useful 
thank you so much 
kind regards Dee

Geoark

@Deeoxnard not much help with the current costs, but the most I pay for glasses is around £40, and that is for the glasses I use to work on computers. When you get your eyes tested they should give you a copy of the prescription. This will give you most of the information you need. The glasses you have should say how long the arms are, which is also needed. I order all my glasses online. For distance and reading I usually pay between £6 and £12 each. Admittedly for distance and computer work I prefer a lighter lens and with my preferred frame style this costs a little extra.

Some prescriptions do have additional costs to them, but worth checking online and will tell you the price before you buy.

If fashion is important to you they do designer frames usually cheaper than you would get from a high street optician. I have never had issues with the glasses I have bought online.