Dudley Council scraps means tests for late stage MND patients

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 06:38 · Archive

Dudley Council has scrapped means testing for patients with late stage motor neurone disease after a woman died whilst waiting for home adaptations. Labour councillor Adeela Qayyum highlighted the case of her constituent whose family could not access support quickly enough. The changes were unanimously approved by the council's cabinet on 8 October and will apply to people with progressive and terminal conditions.

The average time from first contact with the council to the start of adaptation work is currently 353 days. Alongside removing means tests, the new measures include fast-tracking grant applications for Disabled Facilities Grants, prioritising occupational therapy assessments and improving engagement with planning and building control officers. Cllr Qayyum said the changes would 'help families get support sooner, with fewer barriers and clearer pathways'.

Cllr Qayyum credited the constituent who shared her story with driving the improvements. Conservative cabinet member Andrea Goddard thanked Cllr Qayyum for raising the issue at council.

How it is being reported

• Dudley Council scraps means test for group of patients after one died before getting helpStory of woman who died before home adaptions were complete inspires unanimous support for grant rule changesBirminghamLive · 13 Oct, 06:00
• Means tests scrapped for late stage MND patients by Dudley CouncilLabour’s Cllr Adeela Qayyum highlighted the case of one of her constituents who did not live long enough to benefit from adaptations to her home.Express & Star · 12 Oct, 15:06

In this story: Dudley Council · Adeela Qayyum · Andrea Goddard · Dudley

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem