22/03/13……..My Blue Badge Plea Got A Fair Hearing

Dear Editor, Having become increasingly lame in recent years I eventually began to wonder whether to apply for a ?Blue Badge?. This was because, for example, I began to need to make two separate trips by car into town if I wanted to go to Waitrose and also, say, to the post office. The short distance on foot between the two had begun to be daunting and very painful.

My doctor advised me to enquire at the Town Hall and from there I received a lengthy form to complete. It seems that the rules for issue of the badges are very strict and detailed. Readers might be interested to know how things went for me.

I posted my application to Oxfordshire County Council and not too long afterwards I received a reply refusing my request. They were not satisfied that I met the eligibility criteria. If anyone is interested to know more about these there is a good deal of information on this site LINK HERE

I fully appreciate that Blue Badges can?t be handed out like confetti but I am waiting to have a partial knee replacement and maybe another, on the other knee, later on. So I decided it was worth appealing against the decision, an option offered in the letter of refusal.

In due course I was invited to see a County Council Occupational Therapist in Oxford for an assessment. This was a friendly but very thorough meeting which lasted an hour. I thought I was lost, though. For some reason my walking was easier than it had been for long before, or since that meeting. It was like one?s toothache vanishing when one walks into the dentist.

My impression at the time, though sympathetically conveyed to me, was that there was little likelihood that I would be awarded the badge. If there was a prospect of improvement, it seemed the guidelines would go against me. Well, that?s what operations are for, I thought: to get better. The trouble is that the Badges are issued for three years. I asked if it was possible to have one for six months, but there is no provision for shorter periods.

I provided copies of letters from my surgeon and of the X Ray, and very full details of my medical condition and general health were noted. The therapist walked with me back to my car (this was part of the assessment). We shook hands amiably ? I actually rather enjoyed the interview ? and I drove home, resigned to failing in my appeal for a Blue Badge. Well I tried anyway?

Perhaps it was the surgeon?s letters. Perhaps it was the X Ray. Perhaps it was the possibility of a further operation, but I received a letter this week telling me that I am to receive a Blue Badge.

During the appeal process I learned that there are 29,000 Blue Badge holders in Oxfordshire – if my memory serves me right. I can?t confirm that figure here but if that is the case I can see the Council has a problem. However, perhaps my experience indicates that it?s worth persisting if one thinks one has a reasonable case.

I think if my appeal had gone the other way I would still feel I had been given a thorough and fair hearing.

Norman Brand