Hi, my name is BerniC!

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BerniC
BerniC Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
edited December 2016 in Benefits and income
I have Obstructive Sleep Apeona and it can affect my everyday life as sometimes I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  I am unable to drive until my therapy if firmly in place so I feel abit out side of everything.  Can I apply for PIP, I don't understand any of it and I'm very confused at the moment.

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  • Sam_Alumni
    Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,602 Championing
    Hi @BerniC welcome to the community.  It can be very confusing, can't it? 
    There is a PIP self test you can do online to assess if you could qualify.

    Hope this helps 
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Online Community Member Posts: 2,621 Trailblazing
    Hello BernieC

    As Sam said the benefit system can be confusing.

    I hope you found the PIP self -assessment useful.  Please post again if you have any further queries.  If you do post again, I noticed that you can fall asleep at a drop of a hat.  is this when you are resting, or sat down? or can you feel yourself drop off when in a bath or even when stood cooking can you drift off?  

    In addition, you must feel extreme tired.  Does this impact on your concentration? for example do you find it difficult to read articles that would have previously been no problem, or find that you have lost the thread of  a conversation?

    Kind regards

    Maria

  • BerniC
    BerniC Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
    I can fall asleep when watching TV, reading and even in the bath.  My concentration can some times be terrible and I loose track of conversations too.  I have never claimed before and I don't know if I want to.
  • BerniC
    BerniC Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
    According to the assessment I don't qualify.  The thing is alot of the questions are not relevant to my condition.
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Online Community Member Posts: 2,621 Trailblazing
    Hi BerniC

    It's only if your condition affects your ability to complete daily activities and/or your ability to get out and about that you get PIP. As Maria suggests, if for example as a result of your condition you can't do things like cooking and bathing then you might qualify. Further, if you can't do things safely, to an acceptable standard, sufficiently repeatedly and quickly enough then it may be that it is deemed you can't do it reliably and that can lead to an award.

    David
  • Zec Richardson
    Zec Richardson Online Community Member Posts: 157 Empowering
    edited August 2017
    Hi @BerniC
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 728 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Online Community Member Posts: 2,621 Trailblazing
    Hi BerniC,

    As my colleagues have explained, if it's not safe to do something then you can potentially get points for it. PIP and ESA points systems are different, but PIP requires that you can do something safely and to an acceptable standard as David explains. If you can't do one of the PIP activities safely, you might get points. 

    For ESA, you can be 'treated' as having limited capability for work if working would be a risk to you (that could have applied to Danny for example - do post back Danny if you want more info about that). 

    So it might be worth applying for benefit Berni. Although PIP doesn't look at driving as an activity, as Maria suggests, safety is an issue when doing other things around the house as well (for PIP daily living component), and it can be relevant when following journeys or moving around (for PIP mobility component). That might be relevant to your claim Berni so it's worth thinking about when you could do with someone around to make sure you are safe (even if you don't have someone in practice).

    Safety can also be an issue at work (for example if a job involved operating machinery), which could be relevant to ESA for Danny, but it sounds more like there is a general risk from work arising from stress.

    Do post again Berni if you decide to make a claim and have specific questions. If you can get someone to help you fill in the form, that's always helpful, eg a CAB.

    Will

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