Going Into Hospital
You might find some useful information on the hospital websites:
- Poole Hospital
Longfleet Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 2JB
Tel: 01202 665511 - Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Castle Lane East, Bournemouth, Dorset BH7 7DW
Tel: 01202 303626
Social Security Benefits and Tax Credits
Most of these don't change if you are in hospital as an NHS patient (although if you are getting Jobseekers Allowance you would have to claim Incapacity Benefit and/or Income Support/Pension Credit instead for a stay of more than 2 weeks).
The exceptions are
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Attendance Allowance (AA)
- Carer's Allowance (CA)
For adults, DLA and AA stop after 4 weeks in hospital and for children DLA stops after 12 weeks. If you have a contract for a Motability Scheme vehicle this can continue to its termination date.
CA stops when the inpatient's DLA care component or AA stops; but where the carer is the inpatient, CA stops after 12 weeks.
This summary is not a complete and authoritative statement of the law. Always check the position with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Inland Revenue .
Who can look after your pets?
If you have pets at home and are worried about who will look after them during your stay in hospital you may be interested in contacting one of the organisations below:
Petpals - this organisation predominantly feed and walk dogs but can also visit cats.
Tel: 01202 523939
Cinnamon Trust - this trust is an animal sanctuary who help the elderly or terminally ill with short-term fostering of pets.
Tel: 01736 757900
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