Woman left disabled by rapist denied benefits TOEND PPI CLAIMS

NOT SURE IF YOU EVER HAD PPI, WE CAN FIND OUT FOR YOU!

A woman left doubly incontinent by the effects of a violent rape has spoken of the anguish of having her disability benefits removed.

The 53-year-old, who lives in Canterbury, has been left with little bladder or bowel control because of the lasting damage of the sex attack.

She was granted a lifetime award of Disability Living Allowance in 2010, but following a reassessment under controversial new criteria in 2016 her benefits were stopped.

She has since fought unsuccessfully to have them restored, with her plight brought to the attention of the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

But with the case yet to be resolved, the strain has impacted heavily on her physical and mental wellbeing.

“My condition has a major effect on my life on a daily basis,” she told the Gazette, choosing to speak under the name Susan to remain anonymous.

“I don’t have any warning before having an accident - it just happens. It can be incredibly embarrassing and stops me wanting to go out or socialise. I have to take a change of clothing with me and fresh pads, and put plastic bags on my car seats.

“Sometimes I’ve had to evacuate at the side of the road on the motorway. I just don’t understand how something so complex can be so overlooked.”

Susan received £250 a month in DLA until 2016, when she was invited for a reassessment under a new scheme called Personal Independence Payment (Pip).

She was ruled not to meet the new criteria and her payments - used largely to cover the costs of a car - were stopped, forcing her to apply for mandatory reconsideration.

This too was rejected, along with her bid to overturn the decision at a tribunal in the summer of 2017.

Assessors say that, while her bowel control is unmanageable, her bladder control is sufficient enough to not score the higher rating.

“When I was originally told I no longer qualified I couldn’t believe it - I thought it had to be a mistake,” she said.

“When you get to the tribunal and they say ‘I understand your situation but the Pip criteria won’t let me score you any higher’, then to me there’s something wrong with the scoring system.

“Why does incontinence count for less under Pip than it did under DLA?”

Pip uses a scoring system rating someone’s ability to per- form everyday tasks, including “planning a journey” and “managing toilet needs”.

But Susan - who still suffers night terrors because of the sexual assault - says it needs to be reviewed urgently.

“It only looks at whether you have the cognitive ability to plan a journey, and doesn’t address the fact I can’t follow a journey if there’s a chance I’ll have an accident, whether it be on the train, or if I use a bus, or if I go to the shops,” she said.

“They also consider your ability to get on and off a toilet, but not your ability to get to a toilet on time.”

Susan - who has been forced to leave jobs because she was embarrassed by the effects of her condition - feels let down by the government.

“Until things got really bad I’d worked all of my life and paid into the system, but now when I need the help and support it’s not there.”

Susan is hoping an intervention from Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield will bolster her case.

The Labour MP, who last year wrote a letter supporting Susan’s second failed bid for Pip, took the drastic step on Wednesday of highlighting her case during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Theresa May said she could not comment on individual applications, but told Ms Duffield: “I will ensure that the Department for Work and Pensions and the relevant minister looks at that case and responds to the Honorable Lady.”

Susan is waiting for a date for a second tribunal, but has been told it could take a year.

“I just want to know why something that so many people suffer from is not being treated as seriously as it was before,” she said.

“In many ways it’s a hidden disability, but it can have such a devastating effect on people’s lives.”

Since Pip was introduced in 2013 a total of 3.7 million decisions have been made and 10% appealed. Of those, half have been overturned.

The Department for Work and Pensions claims it is a “better” benefit which takes a “much wider look at the way a person’s health condition or disability impacts them on a daily basis”.

A DWP spokesman said: “We’re committed to ensuring disabled people get the full support that they need. Decisions are made following consideration of all the information provided by the claimant, including supporting evidence from their GP or medical specialist. People who are unhappy with the decision about their Pip claim can appeal to an independent tribunal.”

n What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup. co.uk

‘Until things got really bad I’d worked all my life and paid into the system, but now when I need the help and support it’s not there’