Information about equipment, adaptations, service and support to help you continue living independently at home.
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, personal aids, tables and trolleys
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:
A variety of health and social care professionals, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, care managers, district nurses and health visitors, can assess your needs and if equipment will improve your situation or that of someone you care for, they can arrange equipment from JELS.
If you are not already in contact with a professional who can advise you, please contact Onecall to request an assessment. If you already have equipment loaned through JELS and need to contact them directly, you can do this by ringing 01670 730595, or you can use one of the alternative contact methods listed on the page for Onecall our single point of access for all adult social care services.
Click here to go to our information sheet page which includes a sheet about equipment.
Who is eligible to borrow equipment? 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.
How long does it take to get equipment? 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. How is equipment delivered? 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. Using the equipment 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. Returning the equipment 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
Wheelchairs 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.
Telecare community alarms service and equipment 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.
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 be provided with telecare equipment which can detect specific events such as if you have a fall, or the presence of smoke in your home, and it will automatically raise the alarm, so appropriate assistance can be provided. This is in addition to the community alarm service provided for older and vulnerable people in Northumberland. How does it work? ‘Intelligent’ sensors can be installed in your home which can indicate if you are in danger. You don’t need to take any action yourself for the telecare sensors to send the signal. The signals go to the community alarm ‘lifeline unit’ which is connected by a conventional phone socket to a call centre where a trained operator receives the signal. The operator knows whose home the signal is from and can speak to you. They will also know the telephone numbers of your carers, relatives, GP and of the emergency services. They will take appropriate action and will stay on the line to offer reassuring advice until help arrives. The team is made up trained call handlers and mobile wardens based in Northumberland. Telecare wardens, health and social care professionals can make referrals for telecare equipment. This includes care managers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, keyworkers, specialist social workers, and district nurses. You can also self-refer for the service or refer family & friends. Contacts If you think you would benefit from a telecare service, you can contact Telecare on 01670 827 100 or email the team via onecall@northumberland.gov.uk You can also speak to your care manager or any of the other health and social care professionals who are involved in your care.
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.
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 here.
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:
You should get advice about major adaptations from an occupational therapist (OT), who will know all the problems that can arise, and understand how your health condition may develop. You must do this if you want help with the costs but an OT can offer advice even if you will be paying yourself. An OT will visit you within a week of a request if you need adaptations urgently to meet critical needs, and within two months otherwise. If you need help while you wait for an adaptation, your OT will discuss this with you – for instance you might need support from a home care agency until work has been carried out on your home. When the OT visits, they will discuss with you all the possible solutions to your problems. For instance there may be equipment that would solve your problems better than adaptations to your home see Information Sheet C16. If your home is very ill-suited to your needs, the OT may suggest that the best solution is to move, and can offer advice about housing options. If adaptations are the best solution, the OT will discuss with you in detail how these can be arranged. Information sheet C32 - Adaptations to your home - provides a summary of the ways you may be able to get financial help. If you decide to pay for adaptations yourself, you may still be able to get VAT relief. VAT Notice 701/7 gives details – you can find this by searching on the web, or you can ask your OT to get you a copy.
DFG is means-tested. Whether you are eligible for it depends on the income and savings of both yourself and your partner, if you have one. The outcome of the means testing could be a contribution towards the anticipated cost of the necessary adaptation, unless you are less than 19 years of age and getting child benefit, or if you are getting one of the national means tested social security benefits.
When your eligibility to funding is confirmed your OT or a housing adaptations surveyor from HIS will source quotes for the necessary adaptation. The quoted for solution must be the most reasonable and practicable solution to meet your assessed need.
If you are not eligible to DFG funding or feel you cannot afford the assessed contribution the HIS caseworker can discuss with you other sources of funding however usually people are expected to make their own arrangements, for instance through a second mortgage or a high street loan.
DFG is means-tested. Whether you are eligible for it depends on the income and savings of both yourself and your partner, if you have one. You may have to pay part of the cost yourself. However DFG will pay the maximum grant for necessary adaptations if you are less than 19 years old and getting child benefit, or if you are getting one of the national means-tested social security benefits. If someone other than you or your partner is the owner or tenant of the property, the application for DFG will have to come from them, but their finances will not be taken into account in the means test. The maximum grant that can usually be paid is £30,000.
Simply connect works with a wide range of organisations to help people find local support services and activities that can improve their health and wellbeing. Some of the services they work with include:
Find out more and find local groups and activities here. Search for support in your area here.
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