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Adapting Homes

Adapting Homes
Leicester City Council works with people of all ages, from children to older people.
 
If you are an adult or a person with a physical disability experiencing difficulties living safely at home, you can get in touch with us.
 
Falls remains the biggest cause of accidental death for older people. About one third of people aged over 65 years of age will fall each year. Information on the Falls Community Resource.
 
 
 
We work with people of all ages, from children to older people. If you are an adult or a person with a physical disability experiencing difficulties living safely at home, you can get in touch with us.
 
We give advice about better ways of doing things. We may be able, dependent on your assessed need, to give you equipment to make life easier, or simple adaptations like handrails.
 
Depending on the type of home you live in and how much money you have, we may be able to provide major adaptations such as stair-lifts.
 
If you rent your home from the City Council, all adaptations are free of charge.

Because the service only has a limited amount of money to spend, we have to make sure that help goes to the people who need it most. We do this by:
 
  • working out who needs help most urgently
  • having criteria which assists in deciding what help we can give
  • visiting you in your home (if we think you need help) to work out with you and your carer what is going to be the best way to help.  This is called a comprehensive needs assessment.
 
 
Deciding who needs the most urgent help
 
If we think that we might be able to help you, we will use the information you give us to determine how quickly we should come out and see you. 
 
Your details will be categorised as:
 
  • Priority One - where your needs are very urgent (e.g. you lose the help from your carer/family member or you have a rapidly deteriorating illness) then we aim to visit within 7 working days, or
 
  • Priority Two - where your needs are less urgent (e.g. your situation is stable but your carer/family member may have some difficulty in caring for you) then we aim to visit within 28 working days.
 
If you need an assessment within 7 working days, we will telephone you to arrange a convenient time. Otherwise, we will let you know in writing when we plan to visit you.

If we cannot visit you within the above timescales, we will let you know the reason why.

Should your circumstances change, either for the better or deteriorate, before we have visited you, please contact us.  This information is needed to help us decide when we should visit you.
 
 
 
This is the name for what happens when we come and visit you at home. One of our Occupational Therapists or Community Care Workers will talk to you about what you find difficult. All visits will be undertaken with an interpreter if required.

We will have a look at your home environment and see what can be done to help. We might ask you to show us how you go about doing things, e.g. getting up stairs. We may also need to gather information from other people (e.g. your doctor).

Every assessment is individual, but some of the things which we will want to talk about are:
 
  • How do you get about: do you use a wheelchair, walking stick/frame?
  • Does anyone help you with moving around?
  • How much can you move your arms, legs and head? How far can you bend?
  • How much strength do you have, and how firm is your grip?
  • Can you use both sides of your body?
  • Do you have any problems with breathing?
  • Can you stand for long periods?
  • Do you have problems, seeing, hearing or talking to people?
  • Does your memory sometimes let you down?
  • Can you maintain your own personal care e.g. can you wash, dress yourself, or do you need help?
  • Can you prepare your own meals?
  • Are you able to feed yourself or do you need help?
 
 
If you need equipment because you are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have a visual impairment, you will be referred to  Vista (services for visually impaired people). They will then carry out an assessment on our behalf.
 
 
After the assessment - finding an answer
 
Once we have assessed your needs, we will discuss with you how we might be able to help. We always look at things in three stages:
 
Stage 1 - Is there a different way of doing things?  For example:
 
  • we might show you a safer way for getting yourself in and out of bed
  • we might talk to you about whether there is anyone else who can give you help
  • we might give you advice about equipment which you could buy for yourself
 
Stage 2 - Equipment and small adaptations
 
  • are there any simple pieces of equipment or small adaptations which we can provide to help you?  If yes, we can provide a simple piece of equipment or minor adaptation on loan (we aim to provide it within three weeks)
 
Stage 3 - Major adaptations or moving house
 
  • If it is not possible to do things in a different way or meet your needs with equipment or minor adaptations, we will discuss with you whether it would be better for you to move house instead.  We call adaptations ‘major’ if they cost £200 or more.  If you rent your home from the City Council, we provide any major adaptations you need free
 
  • If you own your home or rent from a private landlord, you may be able to get a means tested Disabled Facilities Grant to cover all or part of the cost of the major adaptations
 
  • If you live in a Housing Association home you should ask your landlord for help

  • Find out more if you would like to consider moving home or if your house cannot be adapted

  • You can move to a Council or Housing Association home whether you rent or own your current home
 
 
 
After the assessment, the member of staff who came to see you will discuss the assessment with their manager. This makes sure that each person who applies for help is treated as equally and fairly as possible.

If you agree to major adaptations, a recommendation will be sent to the Housing Department. Your case will then go on the waiting list in what we call Priority Points Order (PPO).  The Adults and Housing Department will keep in touch with you regularly to let you know how the recommendation is progressing.

When the Adults and Housing Department’s member of staff visits you they will plan and manage the adaptations for you. They will discuss with you what you might have to pay, if anything, before you agree to go ahead. If you rent your home from the City Council, all adaptations are free of charge.
 
 
Choosing whether to adapt your home or move
 
You can usually put your name on our Housing Register and Adapted Housing Matching Service as well as going on the adaptation waiting list.
 
However, we will ask you to decide which option to stay with just before we start spending money drawing up plans.  Sometimes it will not be reasonable or practical to adapt your home and we will only offer you a move.
 
If we offer to specially adapt a house that is being built, we will ask for confirmation from you that you will move.
 
 
If you think that you need help from the Adults and Housing Department, please contact us:
 
How to contact us
 
If you think that you need help from the Adults and Housing Department, please contact us:
 
Name:Leicester City Adults and Housing Department
Address:1 Grey Friars, Leicester, LE1 5PH
Telephone:0116 253 1191
Minicom:0116 251 8040
Email:
 
Or you can contact the Housing Options Centre:
 
Name:Housing Options Centre                           
Address:
Phoenix House
1 King Street
Leicester LE1 6RN
(entrance via Welford Place)
Telephone:0116 252 8707
 
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