From stomas to IBS and hernias, these are the most common gastrointestinal conditions people are claiming PIP for
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) offers up to £749.80 per month – or £9,747.40 annually – to help cover the cost of being disabled. While no specific diagnoses is guaranteed to make a claim successful, DWP data has revealed the top gastrointestinal conditions being reported on successful applications.
Around 3.7 million people are currently claiming PIP, with 33,740 of these being for gastrointestinal conditions according to the Taxpayers’ Alliance. This includes conditions that may not originate in the gut but do affect the gastrointestinal tract, also known as the GI tract, such as cleft lip.
Gastrointestinal diseases reported on PIP claims:
- Abdominal hernias
- Benign tumours of the gastrointestinal tract
- Congenital disorders of the GI tract
- Diseases of the colon
- Diseases of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum
- Diseases of the rectum and anues
- Diseases of the small bowel
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
The most common gastrointestinal condition reported on claims is inflammatory bowel diseases with around 15,000 claimants. This category includes conditions like Crohns disease, a chronic lifelong condition that inflames the digestive tract, and ulcerative colitis which causes inflammation and sores in the lining of the large intestine and rectum.
According to the UK Crohn’s & Colitis UK charity, in 2022 there were over half a million people in the UK living with these conditions. These figures makes UK second in the world in terms of population percentage living with the condition, second only to the US.
The second most common gastrointestinal condition being reported on PIP claims is diseases of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum with just under 4,000 claimants.
This category includes hiatus hernia and some reflux conditions, peptic ulcers and oesophageal varices which occurs when blood flow to the liver becomes impaired, forcing blood from the intestines to be re-routed elsewhere and causes blood vessels to become large and swollen which can rupture.
One of the least reported gastrointestinal conditions on PIP claims is congenital disorders of the GI tract with just 289 claimants. This category includes cleft lip, cleft lip with cleft palate, Hirschprung Disease and tracheo-oesophageal fistula.
A cleft lip or cleft palate aren’t technically gastrointestinal conditions as its main characteristic is a facial deformity. It happens when the structure that forms the upper lip or palate fails to connect together when a baby is developing in the womb.
However, due to the difficulties this condition causes around feeding, it can cause GI issues and in some cases where the cleft lip or palate is due to a genetic syndrome it is usually associated with other GI anomalies.
Qualifying for PIP isn’t based on what condition you have but rather how much it affects your day-to-day life and mobility. The severity of this impact also dictates exactly how much you’ll get from the disability benefit.
The benefit is split into two parts: the daily living aspect and the mobility aspect. Payments in the first element range from £73.90 to £110.40 per week while mobility can provide between £29.20 or £77.05 per week. More information about PIP can be found on the Gov.uk website.