Equipment

• Equipment - Getting the help you need
• Getting in touch (making a referral)
• Working out who needs help most urgently
• Service standards
• What is an assessment?
• Perparing for the assessment
• What happens next?

Equipment - Getting the help you need

If you have a disability or chronic medical condition, your quality of life can be greatly enhanced with the right equipment or expert advice from Occupational Therapists. The Occupational Therapy service is available to people of all ages, including children.

If we think you need help an Occupational Therapist will visit you in your home to carry out an assessment and advise you of practical solutions available to you to help you around your home. We will always try to meet your needs in the most reasonable and practical way.

Getting in touch (making a referral)

If you think you need help from us, you can phone or visit your local social work office, or your local Housing Landlord office, to make a referral. If you prefer, you can ask someone to contact us on your behalf.

It is important you tell us as much as you can at this point.  We will use this information to decide whether we can help you or whether we should refer you to other agencies to get the right support for you.

Working out who needs help most urgently

We use the information you give us to work out whether we can help you, and if so, how quickly we should see you. We write to you within five working days of your request for help and the letter explains whether we can see you right away or if you are on a waiting list.

If your circumstances change and you can not manage please let us know and we will look again at the help you need and how quickly we can help you.

We prioritise services for people who:

• face an immediate risk of injury
• are returning home from hospital
• are at risk of being admitted to care if service not provided
• are unable to carry out essential daily activities with or without a carer

What is an assessment?

One of our Occupational Therapists will talk to you about what you find difficult. You may be asked to demonstrate the nature of some of your problems so that we can fully appreciate them, like getting in and out of the bath or on and off the toilet.

Every assessment is individual but some of the things we will want to talk about are:

• How do you get about? Do you use a wheelchair, walking stick / frame or crutches?
• Does anyone help you with moving around?
• How much strength do you have and how firm is your grip?
• Can you use both sides of your body?
• Can you stand for long periods?
• Do you have problems seeing, hearing or talking to people?

The results of this assessment will help us identify your needs and take your medical condition into consideration. You will be involved as much as possible in this process, and will be advised in writing if there is likely to be any delay, or if your needs do not achieve the priority required for provision.

Preparing for the assessment

Think about all things you have problems with. You might want to write them down before we visit you. Sometimes people find things easier on some days than others. Maybe at a certain time of day, such as first thing in the morning, is particularly bad; make sure you tell us about this.

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