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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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A delay they can ill afford
— delays in obtaining Attendance Allowance for older, terminally ill cancer patients, and the role of health and social care professionals in reducing them | | Author(s) | Geraldine Nosowska |
| Journal title | Health & Social Care in the Community, vol 12, no 4, July 2004 |
| Pages | pp 283-287 |
| Source | www.blackwellpublishing.com/hsc |
| Keywords | Cancer ; Terminal care ; Attendance allowance ; Claims [services] ; Social workers ; Medical workers ; Social surveys. |
| Annotation | Despite being eligible, some people with a terminal illness are not accessing disability benefits. This paper is based on a study investigating delays experienced by cancer patients in obtaining Attendance Allowance (AA) by special rules and missed opportunities for professionals to assist with claims. The study took place in a hospice where patients were referred to social work professionals for assistance in claiming AA. In each case, the patient had been eligible for some time before the referral. Over a 5-month period, all 22 patients who were referred completed a questionnaire, findings from which indicated total lost income ranged from £110.60 to £1106. The median was £387.10; four people died before being awarded AA. Only four patients were fully aware of their eligibility. Each person had seen between one and four professionals since becoming eligible for the benefit, without the meeting resulting in a claim. Increased income aids the management of illness, and information and assistance to claim disability benefits need to be made available in a consistent manner at the earliest opportunity, and health and social care professionals are in a position to provide this. The author proposes changes to the claims process, which could ensure that AA is received automatically without delay and without extensive paperwork. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040816213 A |
| Classmark | CK: LV: JHP: QLT: QR: QT: 3F |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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