Occupational therapy

The occupational therapy service assesses the needs of people with disabilities and provides services to promote their independence, and enable them (and their carer) to improve their ability to manage their daily lives.

Services provided
Our occupational therapists assess the need for special equipment and adaptations to people's homes.

They also give advice and guidance to enable the person to gain the ability to carry out tasks involved in daily living.

Some occupational therapy equipment may be available to service users. This equipment is specifically to meet a need arising from a disability, and is not for someone without a disability.

An occupational therapist will be able to advise about adaptations that would make your home more suitable.

An application can only be approved where the works are considered reasonable and practicable, having regard to the age and condition of the dwelling.

The applicant must be either an owner or a tenant (council or private). All applications are subject to a means test to determine the amount to be contributed by the applicant towards the costs of the works. Generally the means test focuses on the disabled person and his or her spouse, but where the disabled person is a child, the parent(s)/guardian(s) are means tested.

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Do I qualify for help from an occupational therapist?
Generally, people will qualify if they:

live in the borough
have a permanent disability that causes substantial functional problems
need help to maximise their independence
have a carer who would benefit from them receiving a service
are in the final stages of an illness causing a progressive and deteriorating change in their condition where occupational therapy would minimise the effects of their disability or assist their carer.

Most people who are in contact with social services have a care manager to identify their needs; the care manager will automatically refer people to occupational therapy if needed.

Cost

The following services are provided free of charge:

assessments
equipment
adaptations under £1,000

Adaptations in private properties and council properties costing over £1,000 must be processed by means of a disabled facilities grant. Adaptions costing over £1,000 are known as major adaptations. A major adaptation is any permanent work to your home and includes ramps, stairlifts and ground floor facilities.

The person with a disability and their partner are financially assessed, and may be asked to contribute to the cost of the adaptation. If the service user is a child, their parents will be assessed.

For applicants living in a housing association property, the occupational therapist will send the recommendation to the housing association, who will try to secure funding. If funding is not available, the occupational therapist will recommend a disabled facilities grant (once agreed by the housing association).

How to apply
If you already receive a service from social services, contact your care manager. If not you should telephone the customer contact centre on (020) 8825 8000; or visit one of the social services reception points.

You will be asked for more information about yourself, and the difficulties you are having. This information is then referred to a specialist team. The referral is prioritised so that those most vulnerable and in need are seen first. A member of staff will then visit you at home to see what your needs are. They will also take into account the needs of your carer, if you have one. After the assessment, they will decide with you the services that best meet your needs, in line with the current criteria. After this, a care plan will be sent to you detailing the recommendations.