What A Lot Of Nonsense

[Sqad]

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/995674/disability-parking-blue-badges-issued-mental-health-dementia-autism-scheme

Physically disabled obtaining a "disabled sticker" is common sense, BUT mentally disabled being offered that privileged is nonsense.
So now we have the depressed, the anxious, the people with Autism and other doubtful medical diagnosis being offered parking spots.
Disabled parking slots are abused in any case and this new "rule " will make the situation worse for genuinely disable patients.
It's ill thought out and a nonsense.

[Sqad]

I think that was tongue in cheek from Asquith..LOL

There are now more mentally labelled patients in the community than there ever has been and certainly more mental cases in the continuity than in mental Hospitals.

The object of this thread is....should they be given disability badges?

[ummmm]

Sad really isn't it.

[ummmm]

Like all cases, Sqad, they have to assessed. They aren't dished out willy nilly.

[Mamyalynne]

Seems the mistake being made here is the assumption that a diagnosis may come with a free badge, it won't.

[anneasquith]

Not tongue in cheek at all .mental health has always been the poor relation of the nhs. The very fact that we are discussing this proves my point .

[Sqad]

ummmm...maybe.....but how does one assess a mental case for a disability badge?
On their physical disability!..........and that is how it is done at the moment whether you have a physical disability or a mental one.
Nothing should change.

[Prudie]

Surely the whole point of a blue badge is for drivers or their passengers who find it physically difficult to walk to their destination?

[woofgang]

Going to disagree. People with alzheimers or some other cognitive problems will certainly have an effect on how far they can walk and also how easy it will be for them to be helped into and out of a car. They will have no other physical diagnoses. I agree that not everyone who is disabled in this way will need a blue badge but some will and should be able to have one......maybe its time that the only criterion became need and not diagnosis?

[woofgang]

Sqad....”.should they be given blue parking badges?“ Yes if it will make life easier for them and their carers.

[Sqad]

woofy agree 100% and that is how it is done NOW...on disability and NOT diagnosis.
e.g someone with O.A of the hip does not necessarily get a badge, someone with COPD does not get a badge.
It is based on disability and i see no reason to change this.

[ummmm]

Thank you, Woof, totally agree, it's hard work walking an 80 year old when she thinks she's 40. She used to walk like a 40 year old, get out of breath and then get confused.

[Gromit]

Supermarket is private parking and they can apply any rules that they want. They do not have to have adhere to blue badge scheme. They just need to provide diabled parking. They could place that as far away from the doors as they like, but they are private businesses, and want to encourage people throgh their doors and spend money.
The chronically lazy who moan because they have to walk a few more metres because disabled people take priority placing in car parks are just a bunch of selfish gits.

[ummmm]

I agree with that, Gromit.

[woofgang]

Sqad, the current rules focus on physical issues though, not the issues around lack of concentration, cognition , inability to retain and follow instructions and so on. In Scotland, there is recognition of the issues around awareness of danger which I think is an important one.

[Sqad]

woofy....I understand that :

"not the issues around lack of concentration, cognition , inability to retain and follow instructions and so on."

If that is the case, then they should not have a driving license and I think that only disability badges are given to the driver and not the passenger (I think)

[Jackdaw33]

Wrong, Sqad. I had a disability badge for my mother.

[Sqad]

O.K Jack...fair do.

[woofgang]

In fact I think that more disability badges are issued for passengers/carers than they are for drivers.

[diddlydo]

Indeed - the badges are issued to a person, not to the driver of the car. I used to ferry my 90+ year old neighbour to hospital/shops etc and used her blue badge in order for her to access where she needed to go. She always displayed her badge with photo in my car.

[cassa333]

I tend to agree with you squad. Even though my daughter has Asperger Syndrome I wouldn’t dream of getting a disabled badge.

If you water down the badge system so much then you might as well do away with it.