What happens after 28 days of being in hospital?

If you are in receipt of certain benefits, your situation may change after a period of time in a hospital.

If you normally get Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Attendance Allowance (AA), these benefits stop once you have been in hospital for 4 weeks (28 days). After you are discharged, you can contact Disability and Carers services and they will reinstate your DLA for you. If you have several hospital stays close to each other, the number of hospital stay days may have to be added. So, for example, if you were in hospital 14 days and then discharged, but had to come back to the hospital within 10 days, your first day after repeated admission will count as day number 15.

If these benefits stop, your Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Pension Credit may also be reduced. This is because some premiums depend on your entitlement to disability benefits. 

If your carer gets Carer’s Allowance, their entitlement to this will stop when your DLA, PIP or AA stops.