homeworks – Disabled adaptations for council tenants

The Council will always try to help tenants with disabilities or health issues that affect their ability to access or live in their own home.

The best option may be for the Council to fund adaptations to your existing home. However, when this isn’t possible, the Council may help by providing alternative accommodation.

The following steps clearly explain how the adaptation process works:

1. Do you think you need an adaptation?

If you feel you need an adaptation you need to call the Council’s Health and Social Care Service, Social Care Direct on 0131 200 2324. They will ask you about the difficulties you are experiencing and, if necessary, will arrange an Occupational Therapist to visit you.

2. Assessment visit by Occupational Therapist (OT)

During the visit, the OT will assess your capabilities and identify what is best to meet your particular needs.

You may be assessed as needing special equipment to use (i.e. grabrails, bath seats etc.).

You may be considered for a major adaptation – to help with bathing, getting into your home and/or moving around your home.

3. If you need an adaptation and:

a) your home is suitable

If your home is suitable, homeworks will arrange for the adaptation to be done. We will contact you to let you know:

• what is to be done;
• what planning permission and building warrant approval is needed and the impact this may have on starting the work;
• when we expect it to be finished.

Each stage of a bathroom adaptation is clearly explained by Edinburgh Building Services -the main contractor for Public adaptations.

b) your home is not suitable

If your home can’t be suitably adapted to meet your needs, a move to more suitable accommodation may have to be considered.

Assessment and Advice on 0131 529 7661,will help explain the process, possibly give you a higher priority rating and help you to identify a property to better suit your needs.

Find out more about how Assessment and Advice can help identify your needs and how they can help you on their homepage.