Information about equipment, home adaptations and support.
Equipment can protect people from accidents, assist them with the everyday tasks of life and/or make it easier to provide care for them. It can also help people to move back home from hospital.
The range of equipment available to make life easier for people who have difficulty with daily tasks is increasing all the time. A growing range of items are available from high street shops; others can be found in specialist shops, catalogues, or on the internet.
Health and care professionals can give you advice about equipment, which might help you.
You can also get impartial advice about what equipment you might find useful from: Disability North East,
The Dene Centre, Castle Farm Road, Gosforth, Newcastle NE3 1PH
Phone (0191) 284 0480 for an appointment Text Direct 18001 0191 284 0480
Email reception@disabilitynorth.org.uk Web address www.disabilitynorth.com
Listings of private companies offering equipment and advice can also be found in telephone directories, such as Thompson’s or the Yellow Pages, and through using internet search engines.
Some examples are:
Argos – Mobility aids, bathing equipment, toileting equipment, tables and trolleys Boots – Mobility and daily living aids Lloyds Pharmacy – Mobility and daily living aids Amazon can deliver a wide range of equipment – try the search term "disability aids" on their website OT stores – 0845 260 7061 or info@otstores.co.uk Essential Aids - 01273 719889 or contact@essentialaids.com Healthcare Pro – 0345 121 8111 Ability Superstore - 0800 2550498 or 0161 8500884
The list of suppliers above is an example of where equipment can be purchased and does not mean that we recommend or have approved their products or services.
If you have social care or health needs you can borrow, free of charge, equipment through the Joint Equipment Loans Service (JELS). The types of equipment JELS provide includes:
The service provides equipment for anyone that needs it, but this decision is made by health or social care professionals including care managers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, district nurses and health visitors.
JELS are open Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4pm, JELS aim to deliver standard stock items of equipment within ten working days on receipt of a routine request; five working days for urgent requests and 48 hours for emergency requests. However, if your assessed need is for an item of equipment that is not held as standard stock and must be ordered in it may take considerably longer than equipment delivery timeframes.
The delivery vans regularly go to all areas in Northumberland and will deliver your equipment at the first suitable opportunity. When JELS are delivering the equipment requested for you, you will be phoned the day before the planned delivery day to make sure that you will be in.
In most case the person who requested the equipment for you will need to visit you after it has been delivered, to set it up and show you, or your carers, how to use it safely.
If the equipment you have loaned through JELS is no longer needed, you can arrange for it to be collected by calling 01670 730595 or you can return it direct to JELS between 8am and 3.30pm Monday to Thursday and between 8am and 3pm on Fridays, at: Joint Equipment Loans Service Northumberland County Council 43 Colbourne Crescent Nelson Park Industrial Estate Cramlington Northumberland NE23 1WB
If your assessed need is a wheelchair JELS can provide basic models of wheelchairs for short term needs. However, if your need is a wheelchair for long term use, more specialist wheelchair specification, postural support to the wheelchair or powered wheelchair these are all provided by through Northumbria Healthcare Trust's wheelchair service who can be contacted on 0191 282 8958. Wheelchair services accept referrals from healthcare professionals only, you can ask your GP or consultant to refer you to them.
Our telecare service can provide you with some additional security for your wellbeing at home. The service is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year. You can find out more in the Telecare section below.
This includes people who have physical disability, mental health difficulties, learning disability and/or social and emotional difficulties, either from birth or because of accident, illness or ageing.
The aim of the occupational therapy service is to assess each person referred to identify their individual needs and to then provide intervention to meet those identified needs.
The range of interventions is as diverse as the people who are referred to the service, some of the most common areas of intervention are –
The occupational therapy service is available from 8:30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, and from 8:30 to 4:30 on Fridays. If you have an occupational therapist involved with you and need to contact them, please call them via Onecall on 01670 536400. The adult social care occupational therapy service accepts referrals from anyone, including individuals themselves, or with their consent, their family members, GPs, district nurses, or any other professional involved with them. A referral can be made to the occupational therapy service by contacting Onecall on 01670 536400. The range of equipment available to make life easier for people who have difficulty with daily tasks is increasing all the time.
A growing range of items are available from high street shops; others can be found in specialist shops or catalogues, or on the internet.
Health and care professionals can give you advice about equipment which might help you. They can also arrange the loan of any equipment which is necessary for your care and support plan, or which will reduce the need for you to rely on support from other people.
For larger and more expensive equipment, it is usually best to ask for advice from an occupational therapist (OT), who will know all the problems that can arise, and understand how your health condition may develop.
If you think you need more help, you can request an assessment of your needs. You can find out more about what an assessment will involve here:
Advice and needs assessment
What we ask about in a needs assessment
Or you can call Onecall on 01670 536400.
If you need help with things like shopping and getting out and about, there are several options to choose from.
There might be a community or voluntary group in your area who could help you with shopping. You can find out more about groups and services in your area here.
If you do not have a suitable group in your area, you may want to employ a personal assistant.
Personal assistants can provide a range of support including help:
You can find out more about hiring a personal assistant, and the support we offer you to do so in our information sheets about Direct Payments. Click here to go to our information sheet page which includes two sheets about Direct Payments.
Examples of adaptations include:
Many different health and social care professionals can arrange small adaptations such as fixing a grab rail or adapting steps at your property. There is no charge for this service, but we will fund small adaptations only when a professional recommends them to promote independence and avoid, reduce or delay a need for care and support, and we normally apply a cost limit of £1,000. We aim to complete work within three weeks of a professional recommendation. Small adaptations are usually completed by our Home Improvement Service Adaptation and Repair Technicians.
If you are a tenant your landlord may arrange for adaptations to be carried out on the recommendation of an OT. You will not have to pay for work that they do as a landlord however some larger adaptations may have to be funded via a Disabled Facilities Grant.
You can read or download a copy of our Information sheet C32 - adaptations to your home:
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