SWA, Disability and JSA when not fit for work

Phil1969

Hi Guys.

My wife is currently getting SWA and has been for 3 months now due to a "mysterious illness" as her consultant puts it. I work part time self employed and do not earn much, I have had terrible sciatica for many years along with arthritis.

We were told my wife would only get SWA for a short period and that she would either need to apply for disability allowance or I apply for JSA. The SWA want to review our situation soon as 3 months have gone by with SWA.

So, my questions are:

1. Even though my wife has seen many doctors and her diagnosis has not been diagnosed yet after 8 months, should she apply for short term DA? My wife has had so many tests we have lost count, plus five hospital admissions in the last 8 months (around 3 months stay in hospitals). I read somewhere that it seems pointless applying for DA with no diagnosis? BTW, she is clearly not fit for any type of work and is still very sick so JSA is out of the question for her.

2. Can I apply for JSA even though I am likely to be unfit for most type of work? I struggle just to take a shower most days. When they say you need to be "fit for work", how fit do you need to be? I am hoping to get my GP to refer me to a physiotherapist soon but at the moment he is still just prescribing drugs which give me very little relief from the pain.

We were managing fine before my wife became sick, she was working full time and I was working part time. My wife hopefully has a job to go back too once she is fit for work, but we have no idea when she will be fit. Her boss also is asking when she is likely to return and we are worried my wife can not return any time soon. At the moment, we have no idea when my wife will get better when she has not been diagnosed yet. And, I am hoping to be fit enough for work soon if a physio can help me.

Thanks for any advice.

Squatter

I hate to answer a question with a question, but why didn't your wife claim illness benefit?

Phil1969

Squatter wrote: »

I hate to answer a question with a question, but why didn't your wife claim illness benefit?

Sorry, I should of mentioned that, she did apply for illness benefit and had not paid enough contributions so was refused and then told she could apply for the SWA. My wife was told she had to be working for 2 years for illness benefit, she has only been working for around 10 months in them 2 years.

Squatter

Thanks.

Your wife (and possibly you?) should definitely apply for DA which, if nothing else, will keep the SWA payment going while the application is under consideration - and don't let others tell you whether or not you're going to get it, leave that up to the Department! Be sure to make the application as strong as possible - the more info you provide the easier it is for the assessors to make an informed decision, so be sure to include letters from her Consultant and GP regarding her condition. [And if you're turned down, then be sure to appeal within the time limit and get Citizens Information to help you formulate the appeal. And ask for a personal hearing.]

The situation regarding you is less clear cut. For starters, have you asked your GP whether he considers you fit for work? Because if not, then you can't look for JA - but maybe you are a candidate for DA as well as your missus. Have a look at page 31 of the DA application form (LINK) and see how both of your respective conditions meet the various criteria.

splinter65

Backing up squatter here. Both of you need to fire off DA applications with as much evidence as you can including letters from both of you explaining in as much detail as you can why your bad health prevents you from going to work.
Disregard what any well meaning friends or family tell you.
Every application is treated on its own merits.

Phil1969

Squatter wrote: »

Thanks.

Your wife (and possibly you?) should definitely apply for DA which, if nothing else, will keep the SWA payment going while the application is under consideration - and don't let others tell you whether or not you're going to get it, leave that up to the Department! Be sure to make the application as strong as possible - the more info you provide the easier it is for the assessors to make an informed decision, so be sure to include letters from her Consultant and GP regarding her condition. [And if you're turned down, then be sure to appeal within the time limit and get Citizens Information to help you formulate the appeal. And ask for a personal hearing.]

The situation regarding you is less clear cut. For starters, have you asked your GP whether he considers you fit for work? Because if not, then you can't look for JA - but maybe you are a candidate for DA as well as your missus. Have a look at page 31 of the DA application form (LINK) and see how both of your respective conditions meet the various criteria.

Thanks Squatter for the information, we have been a bit lost on what to do and this really helps.

My wife's SWA officer has put off her review for 2 weeks until she next sees her main consultant at the Mater (we live in Wexford). I will tell the SWA officer she will be applying for DA unless of course my wife makes a miracle recovery during that time.

What concerns me is being able to put a strong case together for DA, her GP in Wexford is clearly not been kept up to date by her specialists in the Mater. And, the Mater team do not seem easy to fill out the long medical report required for a DA application. However, we will certainly give it a try.

As for myself, I have never really pushed my GP on my own health issues. I have a habit of just putting up with them which has been ok for a long time. And, this worked well as my wife wanted to work and I was working at home part time and taking care of our kids.

Again, thanks for the advice.

Phil1969

splinter65 wrote: »

Backing up squatter here. Both of you need to fire off DA applications with as much evidence as you can including letters from both of you explaining in as much detail as you can why your bad health prevents you from going to work.
Disregard what any well meaning friends or family tell you.
Every application is treated on its own merits.

Thanks splinter65, I will definitely tell my wife to send off a DA. I will be pushing my doctor for more tests and hopefully get a referral to a specialist/s.

Cushie Butterfield

Phil1969 wrote:

What concerns me is being able to put a strong case together for DA, her GP in Wexford is clearly not been kept up to date by her specialists in the Mater. And, the Mater team do not seem easy to fill out the long medical report required for a DA application. However, we will certainly give it a try.

Try contacting the social work dept in the hospital with the view to making an appointment to see a social worker on the day of your wife’s hospital appointment. They might be able to help with getting the medical team to fill out the medical report and/or getting an updated report sent to your GP.

Kristopherus

Op, you should also, if not already done, apply for a medical card for both of you.

Phil1969

Cushie Butterfield wrote: »

Try contacting the social work dept in the hospital with the view to making an appointment to see a social worker on the day of your wife’s hospital appointment. They might be able to help with getting the medical team to fill out the medical report and/or getting an updated report sent to your GP.

Thanks, we will give that a try.

Phil1969

Kristopherus wrote: »

Op, you should also, if not already done, apply for a medical card for both of you.

Thanks Kristopherus, we applied for a medical card and we were lucky to get the medical card for the whole family for 1 year while she is sick. So grateful for that, as the medication she is on was very expensive.

Phil1969

Cushie Butterfield wrote: »

Try contacting the social work dept in the hospital with the view to making an appointment to see a social worker on the day of your wife’s hospital appointment. They might be able to help with getting the medical team to fill out the medical report and/or getting an updated report sent to your GP.

Thanks again Cushie, I went into speak to the social worker dpt at the Mater and they were very helpful and altho they were too busy to see us there and then, the receptionist said someone will be in contact with us to see how we get on. So, that takes off a bit pressure.

Thanks to all you guys for replying with great info.