Equipment & home adaptations

Paying for equipment & home adaptations

Equipment and home adaptations can make life a lot easier for you and the person you care for.

The difficulties you may have could include:

• Not knowing what is available or where from
• Not knowing how to pay for suitable equipment
• Not knowing how this might help with your daily routines

Some of the things that equipment can help with include:

• Carrying out household activities like cooking and cleaning
• Getting around outside the home
• Helping the person you care for to carry out their work and hobbies.
• Improving access to the TV, radio, computers, telephone and other equipment
• Making aspects of your home safer for the person you care for
• Making it easier for you to help with bathing or even allowing the person you care for to bath him or her self
• Moving about inside the home

Equipment to Help You Stay Safe and Independent at Home - Free 6 month trial (added 15.10.12)
Telecare equipment can provide home safety, and reassurance to help you or the person you care for live independently The Carers Support Service, North and Mid Sussex can offer a six-month free trial of equipment for carers of people living with dementia, parent carers, carers of people with a learning difficulty, carers in co-caring situations, and carers of people with long-term conditions which limit mobility. For more information contact Stephanie McKoy, Carers Support Worker on 01293 657040



Occupational Therapists (OT's) can give professional advice about the most appropriate adaptations or equipment that might help you and the person you care for. For adults, you can contact OT Connect to find out about getting an assessment. For children, OT's can be contacted through the two Child Disability Teams: www.westsussex.gov.uk

Once you know what equipment or adaptations you need, you need to know where to get them. There are a number of organisations and services in West Sussex which supply equipment, from local pharmacies to larger specialist equipment store. ICIS is a good place to start a search as they can tell you where, locally, you can obtain equipment. The Disabled Living Foundation maintains a national database of equipment suppliers www.dlf.org.uk and their website also contains a great deal of useful information and factsheets about choosing products.



Take care when buying mobility aids (added 15.10.12)
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has secured court orders against Optimum Care Mobility Ltd, a business that sold mobility aids such as stairlifts, scooters and specialist chairs. The orders prevent the company and its former directors from using unfair and misleading sales practices again. More details available at www.oft.gov.uk, but it is worth noting that the OFT is encouraging people to shop around and understand their rights when buying mobility aids from doorstep traders, and to consider the following advice when buying items in their homes: Think twice before you buy and if you are made to feel under pressure to make a purchase, have the confidence to say no; Be wary of time-limited or exclusive offers that need to be signed on the spot; If you feel you have entered into something you wish you hadn’t, you usually have seven days to cancel, so talk to someone you trust as soon as possible for a second opinion; Double-check the facts - check that full costs been explained clearly to your satisfaction so you understand all the hidden extras like installation, on-going service charges or warranties.

You can get more information from:

AskDES is a disability equipment service which enables people to sell or give away disability equipment that is no longer needed and to buy second-hand equipment such as a walker, mobility scooter and many aids for daily living. The cost of advertising equipment is free for anything under £100 and only £10 for items that cost more. The advertisements are published on the AskDES website for up to a year. To advertise your item go to www.icis-info4life.org.uk and click on the AskDES button. For help with buying or selling and for more information about AskDES phone ICIS on 01903 859929. Lists for other areas can be found at www.askdes.org.uk

www.cafamily.org.uk - Contact A Family

www.independentliving.co.uk - news, views and product information to assist with living independently

www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk - impartial advice and information website about daily living equipment and other aspects of independent living. Includes comments from users about equipment they have bought.

www.ricability.org.uk which undertakes research and testing of products and produce consumer reports providing practical information for older and/or disabled people

www.carers.org/articles/aids-and-equipment - Aids and Equipment information from The Princess Royal Trust for Carers

National information about adapting your home from Carers UK

There are people who can help:

West Sussex Carers Support Services

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