Occupational Therapy Services

Understanding your needs, now and in the future

An important part of our assessment is understanding what is important to you and how you support yourself in your day-to-day life. This is known as self-management and is one of the Scottish Government's Health and Wellbeing priorities.

In line with Scottish Government's recommendations we will look for the minimum intervention to help you achieve maximum independence.

This means that we will provide the minimal safe adaptations to support you to maintain an optimal degree of independence. 

We will look at ways to help you help yourself as much as you can, supporting you to maintain or improve your abilities. This means that sometimes we will recommend exercise as well as lifestyle changes or refer you on to other services who can support you.

We will aim to provide equipment that supports you to maintain the physical ability you have rather than equipment that might reduce your levels of physical activity.

How we decide who is eligible for home adaptations

This below eligibility guidance is based on Scottish Government guidance and aims to support people who need advice, equipment or changes to their home to live as independently as possible. 

We want to make the process of providing equipment and adaptations consistent and equitable, ensuring people, their families and carers are at the centre of provision and have choice and control in their support. 
 

Who we support

We provide equipment and adaptations if people meet the following criteria.

• They have a disability
  This is based on the definition in the Disability Discrimination Act. This means someone has a physical or mental health condition that has a substantial and long-term consequence on their ability to do carry out regular activities of daily living (also known as occupations).
   
• They live in East Lothian 
  People requesting support must live and pay their council tax in East Lothian. 
   
• They need support with everyday tasks
  Our staff have assessed that without an adaptation or equipment there is a critical or substantial risk to their safety, health and independence. This means there is a high risk they will come to harm and won't be able to do essential everyday tasks such as eating healthily, going to the toilet, washing, dressing or staying safe.  Please click this link to download definitions of risk and the eligibility we work to.  Please click this link to download definitions of risks and the eligibility criteria that we work to.

If people live in more than one home

• If someone is cared for permanently in two settings on a regular basis and is a resident in East Lothian for a substantial part of each year, we will consider adapting their property in East Lothian.
• If someone makes significant use of two properties in East Lothian we will consider adaptations for their own home. We will not recommend major adaptations for their second property.
• If the service user is a child who regularly resides equally between two family homes, adaptations may be considered in both properties.
• If someone moves to further or higher education, we can make recommendations to their new landlord, but we will not provide these.
   

Costs for equipment / adaptations 

We will always consider equipment before suggesting adaptations to your home.  We will always recommend the most cost effective solution.

We will carry out an assessment to determine if you are eligible for council funded services. You should be given as much choice as possible about your preferred solution as long as it is feasible, does not add to the cost and meets the outcomes identified by our assessment.
 

Funding for equipment

We do not provide equipment which is widely available to buy such as small aids for cooking, bathing, toileting, dressing.

Please note, we no longer provide 3 or 4 wheeled outdoor walkers.

Below is a list of locally based equipment suppliers, which you may wish to contact. We cannot recommend specific providers.

• Ableworld Mobility and Stairlifts, Broxburn
• Edinburgh Mobility Solutions
• Fast Aid, Loanhead
• Glenmore Mobility, Edinburgh and Broxburn
   

Funding for adaptions 

If it is determined that you can manage safely with equipment, funding will not be provided for adaptations.

The homeowner/landlord must give permission for any adaptation and if it is for a communal area we will need permission from the other homeowners/landlords. Some adaptations e.g. stairlifts are not permissible in communal stairwells.

Maintenance, removal and making good of adaptations are the responsibility of the homeowner/landlord.

Minor adaptations

• Internal Grabrails
  If you are assessed as needing internal grabrails by an Allied Health Professional, they will mark where these should go on your walls.
   
• External Grabrails
  We no longer provide external grab rails. Please click here to view a list of suppliers and contacts that can supply and install external grab rails. 

Major adaptations

• If you own your own home or rent a home privately
  We may be able to support, you to apply for a Home Improvement Grant. To apply an Occupational Therapist from our team must agree the work in writing. This can only be done after you have received your assessment. Payments cannot be made in retrospect.
   
• If you rent your home from the council or Housing Association
  The landlord will normally fund the adaptation.