The number of people in Lichfield seeing disability benefit payments suspended due to extended hospital stays has increased, new data has revealed.
Under the so-called “hospitalisation rule”, entitlement to the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is suspended if an individual has received care in a hospital or a similar institution for 28 days or more.
But affected families say the payments are needed to help care for their disabled relatives in hospital which can lead to extra expenses during this time.
Data analysed by the BBC’s Shared Data Unit and released as part of the Local News Partnerships scheme showed that the number of PIP payments suspended in the quarter to the end of April in 2020 and 2021 was 40.
But the same period this year saw 70 suspensions – an increase of 75%.
The data also showed the number of people claiming PIP was also on the rise in Lichfield district:
| PIP cases financial year ending 2020 | PIP cases financial year ending 2021 | PIP cases financial year ending 2022 |
| 3,316 | 3,540 | 3,929 |
Critics say the hospitalisation rule particularly affects people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) who are more likely to have lengthy hospital stays.
They say that a disability does not stop when a person enters hospital, and the costs incurred by family members – often the known carers for the person claiming benefits – can be higher during this time.
Charities said the way the rule was applied to people detained under the Mental Health Act meant they could not benefit from the independence to aid their treatment, to which they were entitled.
Learning disability charity Mencap’s head of policy, Dan Scorer, said people with PMLD were more susceptible to falling foul of the 28-day rule.
“This group of people are more likely to need lengthy hospital admissions due to their often-complex health needs and due to the complexity of the barriers they face in communicating their needs, and rely heavily on family members and carers who know them well to advocate for them and support them in the hospital environment and to tolerate medical interventions.
“This group are therefore more likely to fall foul of the 28-day rule, yet the loss of financial support can have a detrimental impact on the ability of family members and carers to support the person at a key time, throughout a lengthy hospital admission.”
Dan Scorer, Menace
The figures analysed by the BBC’s Shared Data Unit showed that the total number of people across the country who had PIP disability benefit paused while in hospital had increased from from 30,860 as at the end of April 2020, to 45,850 as at the end of April 2022.
The highest numbers of suspensions were for people with mental health conditions.
Alex Kennedy, from the charity Rethink Mental Illness, said
“It’s troubling that a significant proportion of people impacted by the hospitalisation rule are severely affected by mental illness.
“Changes in benefit arrangements can trigger significant stress and worry at a time when people should be supported to focus on improving their health, and this policy risks exacerbating the pressures people are under during this cost of living crisis.
“It’s vital that the Department for Work and Pensions communicates clearly to anyone impacted by this rule. This includes carers, who may still need their allowance while their loved one is in hospital.
“The sudden rise in people affected by the hospitalisation rule is a cause for a concern.”
Alex Kennedy, Rethink Mental Illness
“Double provision from public funds”
The Government says that while somebody is receiving long-term NHS care, it does not pay benefits in order to stop the taxpayer from paying double.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said:
“We are committed to ensuring that disabled people get all the support to which they are entitled.
“It is a long-standing rule that payment of extra costs benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment, is suspended after the first 28 days in a hospital or similar institution, to avoid double provision from public funds.
“While the number of hospitalisation suspensions has gone up so has the number of PIP awards – suspensions still form a very small proportion of the overall PIP caseload.”
Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson