Equipment and Occupational Therapy services
Overview
Equipment and Adaptations
Equipment and adaptations can help people to live independently at home and prevent the need for care. We employ Occupational Therapists who provide advice and assessment to enable you to identify ways to manage activities of daily living.
A wide range of equipment and adaptations can help you use the bath and toilet, dress and get around your home can help you move around your home safely. When assessed as eligible, equipment may be provided on permanent loan directly from us at no charge to you.
What sort of equipment is there?
You may be eligible for equipment free of charge, following an occupational therapy assessment.
Personal care equipment examples:
- perching stool to avoid standing for long periods of time at the wash hand basin
- bath board and shower chair to enable you to wash yourself and use the bath or shower safely
- toilet equipment such as raised toilet seats, rails and frames may assist with getting on and off the toilet.
- bed lever to help you sit up in bed
- chair raisers to help you stand up from your chair or sofa independently.
- hoists and slings
- standing aids
- slide sheets
- bed management systems
What our teams will do
Our Reablement and Promoting Independence Team provides support packages which is time limited (up to six weeks or less when you have reached your goals) to increase your independence and to help identify the right level of support for you. The team maximises a person’s ability to remain in their own homes and works with the person to set goals around day-to-day activity, such as becoming independent with dressing, washing and making a meal. The Reablement team is therapy led and the Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy assessors in the team will work with you to ensure you have the right equipment and adaptations you need, to help reach your goals. Our skilled Reablement workforce works with the Therapists and partners in Health in a multidisciplinary way, to help you achieve your goals.
For people who require ongoing care and support, the team helps identify what the right level of care is that will support you to maximise your independence when the time limited-service ends.
This team consists of a combination of registered Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assessors. They can offer support and advice around day-to-day tasks by assessing your needs and provide specialist advice, equipment and adaptations to support people with long term, complex moving and handling and housing needs. This team also supports disabled children and work closely with our partners in Education and Health.
Following assessment, an Occupational Therapist may:
- provide advice and signposting to services in the community and NHS services
- advice about suitable equipment or techniques that enable you and your carer to meet your needs for care and support in a dignified way
- refer to the reablement team
- find solutions to enable you to access essential facilities in your home
- provide equipment and/or minor adaptations to increase independence and safety around the home
- a moving and handling assessment and care plan to consider how a person can be moved safely by using hoists, slings and a personalised moving and handling care plan
- provide support and advice to unpaid and paid carers who provide care to people with disabilities and require equipment and advice on how to do so safely
- housing assessments to provide recommendations for suitable housing, based on your disability needs
- assessment for major adaptations to meet assessed needs such as a stair lifts, ramps, or a level access shower
To find out more about what equipment might be available to you and where you may want to buy your own equipment see AskSara.
AskSara is a newly funded website in Cheshire West. The site will guide you through settings in your home e.g. the bathroom, the kitchen, and it will give you a great insight into some of the amazing equipment, which is available to buy, it is likely that there will be solutions which you never thought possible.
At the end of the guided assessment the site will make recommendations as to what equipment can help you and give you a list which you can save on your computer or print off. All equipment will be available to buy in shops or online, some of it such as those above might be provided free of charge by us.
Occupational Therapists can be found in both the NHS and Social Care. It is important to know that Occupational Therapists could have a different role depending on the organisation they work for e.g. assessments and provision of wheelchairs and walking aids would be completed by NHS Occupational Therapist Services.
If you require rehabilitation or a mobility assessment for a walking aid, are experiencing falls at home or require assessment for a wheelchair you should speak with your GP for a referral to the Community Therapy Team in the Integrated Care Board (ICB), Falls team or NHS Wheelchair services, or other.
Adaptations
We can also provide support with housing adaptations, including:
Minor adaptations
which are structural or non-structural works costing £1,000 or less. These are provided free of charge if eligible and could include
- grab rails
- mop stick rails (stair rails)
- ½ steps
- handrails
- Lever taps
- other adaptations not requiring building work
Minor adaptations in Cheshire West are completed by HomeKey+. Find out more on our housing pages.
Major adaptations
These are more substantial works costing £1,000 or more, for example, level access showers, lifts, wheelchair access in and around the home. These are sometimes provided through a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG).
DFGs are mandatory grants to provide housing adaptations to enable disabled people to live independently at home.
The DFG is statutory provision meaning that the rules and regulations are set out in law rather than Council policy. They are available for works costing over £1,000 and up to the statutory maximum, which is currently £30,000. Eligibility is subject to an assessment of need and a means test (financial assessment).
More information about DFGs is available on Disabled Facilities Grants: Gov.UK.
The processes relating to adaptations can vary depending on whether you own your home or you rent privately or from a registered social landlord. We work in partnership with many of the local housing associations for decisions about the right funding stream dependent on tenancy. Landlord consent to adapt a property will always be required.
Support is provided to those with an eligible need, following assessment by our Occupational Therapy teams (in line with the relevant legislation and guidance). If you think that you require support to enable you to live independently at home, you should contact the Community Access Team in Adult Social Care.
Please also see our Housing Assistance Policy which describes how we will use powers under the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order (RRO) 2002 to provide housing adaptations for disabled people.
Major adaptations in Cheshire West are completed by HomeKey+. Find out more on our housing pages.
