Will a relieving officer help me with a new bed?

helpwithcwo

Hi, I have been up and down to the doctor over the past 5 years with my back, she put it down to mechanical back the other day. I'm 6ft 2 and sleeping in a single bed with broken lats so it does nothing for my back. If I get a letter from my doctor can I take it to a relieving officer and see about getting help with a new bed or what's the story?

cerastes

Why don't you replace the lats? That would be very cheap to do

Cushie Butterfield

You could apply for an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) if you are in receipt of a social welfare payment e.g. disability allowance, jobseekers etc. but there's no guarantee that you'd get one & you certainly would need to furnish recent bank statements.

Usually someone wouldn't get an ENP if the item to be purchased is something that has been expected - in other words if you've known for the last five years that you need a new bed then you'd have had ample time to save a small amount each week during that time so as to be well able to afford a new bed, but if you feel that you can justify not having done so (by showing proof of other outgoings during this period) you may get something towards the cost of a new bed.

A letter from your doctor may prove that you need one, but it wouldn't prove that you can't afford to buy one or save for one yourself, so any payment you did receive would be at the discretion of the DSP Rep. You may find that they tell you to save €15 or €20 a week for say six weeks & come back to them with bank statements to prove you've done this, at which stage they might be prepared to help you with the balance.

http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Browse?pp=20&s=Price%3A+Low+-+High&storeId=10152&catalogId=14551&langId=111&c_1=1|category_root|Home%2Band%2Bfurniture|14417894&c_2=2|14417894|Beds|14418191&c_3=3|cat_14418191|Bed%2Bframes|15350032&authToken=

mp22

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/exceptional_needs_payments.html

MrWalsh

Check out the Free Trade website, they often have beds.

cerastes

free stuff on adverts too, or very cheap.