Helping people stay independent at home

The Occupational Therapy (OT) Service enables people with disabilities to carry out essential activities, with the aim of maintaining or improving independence.

How does the Occupational Therapist help?

Occupational Therapists assess how people are managing everyday activities such as washing, dressing and climbing the stairs.

Ways of overcoming problems may include teaching you new ways of doing things, recommending special equipment, or alterations to your home; sometimes simply advice is enough.

Equipment and adaptations can make things easier when carrying out every day tasks. Before beginning to look for equipment, it is important to be clear about exactly which tasks are becoming difficult. For each task pinpoint exactly why things are difficult.

This may seem obvious, however, not all difficulties are best helped by equipment. An item of equipment may be helpful in one situation and dangerous in another. With the right information and advice you can find out what is the best solution for your needs. AskSARA is a self assessment tool which is simple to use. There is no cost for this service and no personal identification details are required.

Just choose the topic you wish to complete, respond to the questions and then go to your report. The report contains useful advice written by the Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) team of occupational therapists as well as details of products that might help you. This information is drawn from the DLF's impartial database of equipment that aims to include details of every product on the market. To use this facility simply click on the AskSARA logo below.

After viewing your report, you can go back to answer more topics, print the report out or email the report to yourself or a friend. The report at the end of the self assessment may indicate that you need to refer to the Occupational Therapy Service. To do this print out a self referral form and send it to the address on the last page Click here to open a self referral form alternatively ring 01983 534520 to request that a form is sent out to you. What happens once we receive your referral is explained in the section below.

SmartAssist is a free comprehensive self assessment which has been provided to assist you. It uses knowledge gathered from professional Occupational Therapists. It will help you find products that will assist you to undertake daily tasks. It will tell you whether something will work for you or not.

You can use the site by yourself or with the help from a friend or relative. You can look at areas of your life where you think that a little help might be good – such as getting in and out of the bath or opening jars. All you have to do is answer a few question; it only takes 5 to 15 minutes depending on the problem area that you pick. You can save it and come back at any point if you do not have the information to hand.

The products can be ordered privately through the Red Cross, local dealers or by Mail Order.

The council currently provide services to people with needs that are assessed as critical or substantial, using national guidance called Fair Access to Care. If you wish to find out if you would be eligible before you decide to self purchase at your request a member of our team will contact you following your use of the site.

This System finds specific products/services that are matched to you based on things like:

Your height and sight
Your specific home environment e.g. bath width
Some Personal capabilities e.g. your balance

You will be asked only questions that will enable us to provide specific solutions. With users aged from 18 - 99 and including those with minimal IT skills, most people can find something to help them. We securely manage your data and personal information and you can be 100% sure we do not sell your personal identifiable information to third parties

Please save your assessment should you need more information, assistance or time to complete it.

To start your assessments please click on the logo link above.

If you are a professional who would like to try out this self assessment tool before using it with a client please contact the Occupational Therapy Team on 534520 and ask for Julie Morris. Your details will be forwarded onto ADL Smart Assist so that you can try out the system without your assessment being counted and equipment actioned.

OT Assessment of your Needs

On receipt of your referral form a trained member of the Occupational Therapy Team will telephone you to discuss your needs. We are used to talking about daily activities and the difficulties you may be experiencing. In some cases we will offer advice, inform you how to obtain simple pieces of equipment or who to go to for minor adaptations that meet your needs. You may be directed to other appropriate professionals and agencies. We work closely with many local businesses, voluntary groups and organisations – such as these: -

Click here to find Others who can help?

If your needs are more complex and we are not able to resolve them over the telephone, your case will be allocated to an Occupational Therapist (OT) or Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA), who will arrange to visit you at home.

There may be a delay before your case is allocated. You will be given general guidelines of the waiting time to expect. If your situation significantly worsens whilst you are on the waiting list, do please let us know.

We see people with a permanent and substantial disability, which means you might have significant difficulties with tasks such as: -

● Accessing and using essential facilities within your home (toilet, bedroom, bathroom)

● Getting in and out of your home

We will talk to you about the activities you are finding difficult. We will analyse the activity to find out the specific movement that is required. Following this we will advise on techniques, changes to daily routines and equipment as appropriate. We will also arrange to review our recommendations to make sure that we have met all your Occupational Therapy needs. There will be times when different equipment will need to be trailed in order to see what provides you with the best outcome. We will work with you and where appropriate (at your request) with your carer to find out your priorities and what solution works for you.

Click here to open a self referral form (you will need to print and complete the form and return it to the address on the last page).

We use Fair Access to Care guidance from the Department of Health to prioritise referrals and determine whether people qualify for our full service. You may wish to obtain advice or an assessment privately

For private OTs please click this link to the British Association of Occupational Therapists

Do I have to Pay?

You do not pay for our help and advice.

Most simple pieces of equipment can be purchased from local or national retailers.
See – Others who can help?

The majority of equipment recommended by an Occupational Therapist following an assessment is loaned, free of charge from our Integrated Equipment Service (ICES).

This might include stair-rails, grab handles and small steps. Smaller items can be loaned from Red Cross for six months after which they will ask you to purchase the items or make a donation.

How long do I wait for Equipment?

Following the assessment, any recommended equipment which is held in stock by our Stores should be delivered within seven working days (we do recycle equipment in order to make best use of resources, so some items you receive may not be brand new, however they will have been thoroughly checked and cleaned to ensure they are suitable for re-issue).

Specialist equipment which needs to be ordered, and which may need to be manufactured specially, may take longer to supply, depending on the manufacturer and also subject to the release of funds.

Most minor adaptations such as the fitting of rails should be carried out within seven working days, depending on the type of work.

Major Adaptations

If the problems you are experiencing cannot be resolved by the provision of equipment or minor adaptations, we may need to look at undertaking major adaptations to access essential facilities in the property. Essential Facilities are bathrooms, toilets, sleeping facilities, a living room, kitchen facilities and /or internal and external access. Recommendations can include the following:-

● Changing the layout of rooms

● Changing the use of rooms

● Use of a lift

This type of work is not funded by the Occupational Therapy Department. To help with the cost there are currently grants available called Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG). These grants are means tested so, dependent upon your individual financial circumstances, you may either be awarded a full grant, be asked to contribute something towards the cost of the works, or you may not be eligible for any grant help. A panel reviews the information provided by your Occupational Therapist, GP, Housing Officer and others involved in your case to make sure the works are necessary, appropriate, reasonable and practical.

It is the Isle of Wight Housing renewal section of the council that administers this grant and an appointed Housing Officer will make a list of works that need to be done.

If you feel that you are unable to pay your assessed contribution then you will need to find an alternative source of funding, for example a commercial loan from a bank or building society. If you are genuinely unable to meet the cost or have any concerns about this then discuss the problem with your Occupational Therapist.

Applications for these grants require the support of an Occupational Therapist. It must be approved by the Disabled Facilities Grant Panel before the work is undertaken, and the grant cannot be paid after the work has been carried out

Applications made in respect of a child are not means tested.

You might wish to pursue the installation of major adaptations privately below is a link to the builders that are on the Housing Services list.

Please note that inclusion on this list should not be regarded as a recommendation and omission from the list should not be taken to imply that a builder is unsuitable.
All the builders listed have given information which has been requested by the Housing Renewal Section to allow them to become ‘accredited’. This should give you the assurance that the service provided will be of an acceptable standard. Their inclusion on the accredited list will be continuously monitored, and we welcome feedback on their service.

The accreditation requires them to adhere to the Housing Services Code of Conduct. For further information please see overleaf for a summary of the Code, or for a copy of the full list of requirements, please contact Housing Services.

http://www.iwight.com/council/departments/housing/Housing_Renewal_Assistance/islandbu.asp

How long will it take to get equipment or adaptations through the DFG process?

The length of time that it will take to provide equipment or carry out any adaptations depends on many factors. This can include the availability of disabled facilities grants funding. It can also depend on the lead times of manufacturers, suppliers and builders and the complexity of what is being proposed as well as the workloads of the different teams involved. This makes it extremely difficult to accurately advise on how long any particular work may take to complete.

A major adaptation of a person’s home which involves an application for a Disabled Facilities Grant can be a long process, often taking twelve months from assessment to completion. Where there is a critical need under Fair Access to Care guidance we will endeavour to speed this process.

Page last updated on: 23/03/2011