Call us or write to us or e-mail us.
After that we will either send our own occupational therapist to visit you or we will ask social services to do an assessment if your needs are more complex.
We will ask for information about your medical condition that is affecting the way you live. This information is very important as it helps us to prioritise applications and it helps us assess your needs. Any information you give us is treated in confidence.
We will acknowledge that we have your request within five working days and we will either give you an appointment for a visit by our occupational therapist or tell you that we have referred your case to social services for a full assessment.
In emergency cases we will try to visit within twenty four hours.
We may also ask if you would be willing to transfer to a property more suitable for your needs. In some cases it is not possible to adapt properties and if your property cannot be adapted you may be asked to consider this.
What happens next?
We will acknowledge receipt of your form in writing within 10 days. The letter will include contact numbers for the Council’s social services department who work in partnership with us. They will send professionally trained staff to assess your needs and they will report back to us. If a visit is not possible straight away they will contact you to explain the delay. Social Services must carry out an assessment and support your request before any major adaptation works are carried out.
Social Services will then write to us with their recommendations. You will receive a copy of this letter. In some cases they might provide equipment themselves, such as bath or shower seats.
Where substantial work is recommended it may be necessary for us to involve Planning or Building Consultants in the design and completion of the work. This can delay work considerably but we will keep you advised of progress.
What does it cost?
We will decide between ourselves and social services how the work is to be paid for but there is no charge to the person who applies, but will not usually include pay for re-decoration or alterations to carpets.
When are requests are refused?
Request may be refused on the following grounds:
- If Social Services do not support your request on medical or functional grounds, no work will be carried out.
- If the type of property you live in makes it impossible to adapt we may refuse your request. In some cases, we will talk to you about moving to a more suitable home. If you do have to move the occupational therapist will take you to see any other property you may be offered to see if it is suitable
- We will not pay for any adaptations to accommodate mobility scooters unless the have been assessed as essential by social services.
- We will not make alterations to accommodate privately purchased wheel chairs and mobility scooters
- Sometimes we may have to refuse on grounds of cost. We have a large budget for adaptations but some schemes are just so expensive that it is not fair to everyone if we spend large sums of money on one person and then there is not enough to do all the work that we need to do. We will always try to make sure that we prioritise the emergency work, such as when people cannot come home from hospital because their home is no longer suitable without adaptations.
- We will not carry out work if you have applied to buy your home
- We will not usually provide car-parking bays
