Brits claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who are admitted to hospital for care should be aware of the rules that may impact their benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has now clarified exactly what happens to scheduled payments and entitlement following a hospital stay which lasts longer than 28 days.
PIP is a benefit that can be claimed whether or not you are working. It is designed to help with extra living costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability that means you have difficulty doing certain everyday task or getting around because of your condition.
For those claiming PIP and who need to go into hospital for more than 28 days, there is a question of what happens to that benefit. And if it stops would that deter a person seeking medical help. Nottinghamshire Live sister publication, Daily Record, reported that Labour MP Beth Winter had put the question to the DWP.
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In the written response to the question, Minister for Disabled People, Tom Pursglove, explained that when someone goes into hospital and is receiving daily care from the NHS it is only their payments which stop, not their entitlement to PIP. Once someone is discharged from hospital, payment of PIP restarts from the date of discharge.
Mr Pursglove said: "Where an adult aged 18 or over is maintained free of charge, while undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution funded by the NHS, payment of (but not entitlement to) PIP ceases after 28 days. This is on the basis that the NHS is responsible for not only the person's medical care, but also the entirety of their disability-related extra costs and, to pay PIP in addition, would be a duplication of public funds intended for the same purpose."
He added: "Once someone is discharged from hospital, payment of PIP recommences from the date of discharge." And directly addressing Ms Winter's query, he said: "We have no evidence that the policy may affect an individual’s decisions to seek medical care."
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