What is typical wait for Long term illness card

Donald Trump

Hi,

I hope this is a good place to ask for advice.

I have had a friend who has been ill for some time. Over a month ago they were finally diagnosed with a condition that is on the Long Term Illness list. They were immediately put on expensive medication and told to apply for LTI card, which they did.

Because my friend was literally not able to work, their only source of income is sickness/illness benefit. They still have their job but get no sick pay from the job (sick days ran out a long time ago). These medicines are running over 1000 a week. My friend also has to pay a doctor each week to get a sick cert to hand into the job. Every week. This is on top of normal doctor payments and visits; of which there are many.

It is getting close to Christmas and these people working in the Local Health Office will be off at their Christmas do's etc. I am really worried that this is going to run into Jan or even Feb.

I think it is completely ridiculous that it takes the LHO so long to process an application and issue a card. It is probably actually only 15-20 minutes actual work out of someone's day. Is there anyone that I can contact to kick this up the chain. My friend has been struggling financially for so long as a result of being on illness benefit and now needs to find an extra 1000 a week for the foreseeable future when there is at least nominally a scheme that should cover this. But due to bureaucracy, no assistance is forthcoming as of yet. They are also traveling for Christmas to a family event at the end of the week, so need to get a couple of weeks medicine to bring.

What is the typical wait for such a card? When my friend calls/visits the LHO, the staff just says that "there are people ahead of you in the queue". My friend is hyper stressed about it. If I ask, they just panic and break down crying saying they are trying their best and following up but the LHO can't/won't help them.

Can any of the money paid be claimed back? Is there a time limit where say after one month, if the card has not arrived, the bills can be covered retrospectively.

Any advice is appreciated

Ocean Blue

Donald Trump wrote: »

Hi,

I hope this is a good place to ask for advice.

I have had a friend who has been ill for some time. Over a month ago they were finally diagnosed with a condition that is on the Long Term Illness list. They were immediately put on expensive medication and told to apply for LTI card, which they did.

Because my friend was literally not able to work, their only source of income is sickness/illness benefit. They still have their job but get no sick pay from the job (sick days ran out a long time ago). These medicines are running over 1000 a week. My friend also has to pay a doctor each week to get a sick cert to hand into the job. Every week. This is on top of normal doctor payments and visits; of which there are many.

It is getting close to Christmas and these people working in the Local Health Office will be off at their Christmas do's etc. I am really worried that this is going to run into Jan or even Feb.

I think it is completely ridiculous that it takes the LHO so long to process an application and issue a card. It is probably actually only 15-20 minutes actual work out of someone's day. Is there anyone that I can contact to kick this up the chain. My friend has been struggling financially for so long as a result of being on illness benefit and now needs to find an extra 1000 a week for the foreseeable future when there is at least nominally a scheme that should cover this. But due to bureaucracy, no assistance is forthcoming as of yet. They are also traveling for Christmas to a family event at the end of the week, so need to get a couple of weeks medicine to bring.

What is the typical wait for such a card? When my friend calls/visits the LHO, the staff just says that "there are people ahead of you in the queue". My friend is hyper stressed about it. If I ask, they just panic and break down crying saying they are trying their best and following up but the LHO can't/won't help them.

Can any of the money paid be claimed back? Is there a time limit where say after one month, if the card has not arrived, the bills can be covered retrospectively.

Any advice is appreciated

Generally LTI approval is quick, a month seems quite slow. But if you have confirmed they definitely received the application form, then there isn't much to be done. They may just be understaffed or particularly busy.

I know several people who presented the form in person to the LHO and it was processed on the spot, but this was a few years ago before cutbacks etc.

In terms of cost of medication in the interim, I'm struggling to think of anything that would require 1000 euro a week to be paid. Even if LTI book is slow materialising, your friend can apply for an emergency DPS card which would limit cost to 144 per month - this covers most medications.

byhookorbycrook

Meds don't tend to be paid for retrospectively.Even though I have had an LTI card for years, one of my meds (Fampyra)wasn't on the approved list and I had to pay privately for a few years. Once it finally was approved , I couldn't claim for the payments I had made.

If the DPS isn't covering this med already for your friend, there's no guarantee it will be covered by the LTI scheme.

Donald Trump

Thank you for your responses. I do not know why my friend is having to pay for the medicines as I am sure they have a DPS . I presume that is the scheme where your prescription charges are capped.
My friend was diagnosed with MS. I don't know all the details of the treatments. I was only told that the medicines cost 1000 a week and are going on credit card until the LTI card arrives. I assume my friend has a DPS card and that they get the medicine at the same chemist as other prescriptions.

byhookorbycrook

I have a diagnosis of MS too, is your friend on one of the injections?
ETA PM me if you wish.