A new petition is calling for an end to a cruel DWP rule stopping carers getting paid if the person they care for is in hospital long-term.
Thanks to rules designed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), disability benefits are stopped if you spend over 28 days in hospital. This also applies to unpaid carers when the person they care for goes into hospital. This is despite the fact that many carers are still providing care, because the NHS often doesn’t have the staff to meet the patient’s needs.
Due to NHS understaffing, hospitals can be unsafe for those requiring constant care. They may require help with communicating, personal care, overnight medication, and equipment. As well as someone to ensure they’re safe at all times — something nurses simply do not have enough time to do. This means unpaid carers have no choice but to provide round the clock care.
Carers don’t stop in hospital
The petition says:
The 28-day rule assumes that the hospital takes over all aspects of care. For many disabled or medically complex people, hospitals may be unable to safely meet their needs without the unpaid carer being present.
While its assumed that caring responsibilities stop when the disabled person is in hospital, it’s often the exact opposite. Parent-carer Rachel Adam-Smith started the petition after her carers allowance was stopped while her daughter was in hospital for 5 weeks last year.
Adam-Smith, who is petitioning against the rule, pointed out, carers survive on just £83.60 a week for providing over 90 hours of care. In hospital, this care can be delivered 24/7. That’s why the DWP rule is so cruel.
Mother’s carer’s allowance stopped despite providing 24/7 care
In February 2025, Adam-Smith told the Guardian that the DWP stopped her benefit without warning. This was after her daughter had been in hospital for 15 days, and despite the rule being 28 days. Adam-Smith had to get a nurse from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to write to the DWP. The nurse expressed just how much she was still doing for her daughter.
In the letter, the nurse said:
I feel that it is wrong to stop the payments from the DWP for Rachel and [her daughter] as this is adding to further stress for Rachel at a really difficult time. The impact of caring for a young person with [her daughter’s] complex needs and disabilities is even more demanding when in hospital.
Adam-Smith shared on Twitter, almost a year later, that the DWP are now claiming she owes them £245 back. On top of this stress, Adam-Smith is also facing her own health problems which are taking a toll financially. She’s fundraising to be able to afford to focus on her own health now. You can support her here.
Enough is enough
The petition aims to make the government reconsider this harsh rule and allow carers to still receive benefits when the person they care for is hospitalised. On top of this, it also wants the NHS to confirm in writing when a carer must stay with the patient and provide care because the hospital can’t meet their needs.
The DWP has wronged carers enough. It’s time they also stopped punishing them at already stressful times. Sign the petition to tell the government how unacceptable this is.
Featured image via Unsplash/the Canary
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