Hundreds of people suffering from mental health problems in Oldham have had their disability benefits paused while they have been in hospital under a rule that charities claim is penalising the vulnerable.

Under the so-called 'hospitalisation rule', which suspends a person's entitlement to the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if they have received care in a hospital or similar setting for 28 days or more, hundreds of disabled people in Oldham have been left without financial support.

The Department for Work and Pensions said it does this to spare the taxpayer from paying double, yet disability and mental health charities claim the rule is affecting family members, carers and the patients themselves as bills, debts and rent and mortgage payments don't stop when someone is hospitalised.

The data, analysed by the BBC Shared Data Unit, further shows PIP suspensions have increased every year for the past three years nationwide, with people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities disproportionately impacted.

In Oldham, the figures show schizophrenia has been the primary disabling condition for PIP suspensions in the last three years.

For the 12 months to the end of April 2020, 140 suspensions were issued which then rose to 160 the following year and 180 in the year ending April 2022.

Rheian Davies, head of the legal unit at the mental health charity Mind, argued people with mental health problems tend to be hospitalised for far longer than those with physical health problems.

She said: “However, just because someone is hospitalised does not mean their additional financial needs are eliminated, nor that they will spend all of their day-to-day life in the hospital."

Ms Davies added patients can often leave hospitals to go out into the community, yet the suspension of PIP means it is "incredibly difficult" for them to do so and afford things such as transport.

Alex Kennedy, head of campaigns from the charity Rethink Mental Illness, also said it was "troubling" to see so many people with mental illness impacted by the rule and pointed out that financial changes can "trigger significant stress and worry at a time when people should be supported".

He added: "This policy risks exacerbating the pressures people are under during this cost of living crisis."

Nationwide, the total number of PIP suspensions under the hospitalisation rule has increased from 30,860 at the end of April 2020 to 45,850 at the end of April 2022.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring that disabled people get all the support to which they are entitled.

"It is a long-standing rule that payment of extra costs benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment, is suspended after the first 28 days in a hospital or similar institution, to avoid double provision from public funds.

“While the number of hospitalisation suspensions has gone up so has the number of PIP awards; suspensions still form a very small proportion of the overall PIP caseload.”