We are committed to making a lasting difference to the everyday lives of residents by providing support for you to live as independently as possible and make the best use of the facilities within your home.
Your home could be adapted or fitted with special aids to make it easier to live in, so that you can enjoy more independence and have peace of mind. This restores dignity, improves safety and makes life easier both for you and for your carers. It can be crucial in avoiding a move into care or in enabling someone to leave hospital.
Adaptations can be minor or major, and the type of adaptation you receive will depend on your individual needs. There are 3 categories of aids and adaptations that we can help you with:
Equipment and Aids
The Local Authority (the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead- Social Services) will provide a range of freestanding portable or medical aids including but not limited to:
- Portable hoists
- Hospital beds
- Toilet frames
- Shower chairs
- Bathing equipment
Please note that all requests for equipment and aids will be processed by the Local Authority and all correspondence should be between them and yourself.
Minor Adaptations
These works are normally recommended by an Occupational Therapist and funded by Housing Solutions up to a value of £1,500. They include but are not limited to:
- Grab rails
- Fitting extra handrails near steps or stairs
- Changing taps to lever taps
- Small or removable ramps
- Flashing or amplified doorbells
Major Adaptations
These are works that cost in excess of £1,500 and usually involve structural alterations, improvements or additions to the fabric of the building. These include but are not limited to:
- Level access showers
- Large permanent ramps
- Stair lifts
- Through floor lifts
- Tracked hoists
- Door Widening
First steps
The Local Authority is responsible for managing all requests, and will determine your eligibility.
All enquiries and/or applications for aids and adaptations should be referred to the Local Authority first, by calling 01628 683744 and clearly stating that you are a Housing Solutions tenant. They will arrange for an Occupational Therapist to visit your home and assess your current situation to make sure that any adaptations will meet your individual needs. If you aren’t sure who to contact, you can speak to us first on 01628 543101 or email Surveying.Team@housingsolutions.co.uk and we will confirm the details with you.
Once you’ve had your assessment, the Occupational Therapist will send us their recommendations for us to review and action.
What next?
Once we have received all the relevant paperwork we can begin planning the works that need to be carried out. If these works are minor, we will be able to carry them out as part of our normal repairs service within our normal repair response time.
Major adaptations are partially or wholly funded via a Local Authority means tested Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) up to a maximum value of £30,000. The means testing process will assess your financial situation and may conclude that a resident contribution is necessary. In these cases, we will contribute up to the first £1,000 towards the cost of this. If the adaptations are for a child you will not need to be assessed for financial contribution. A full explanation of how DFG’s work is available on the government website.
Once the details have been agreed, we will liaise with the Local Authority through the process until the work has been completed. We will provide regular updates as works progress, but if you have questions about the status of your case, please call 01628 543101 and we will give you the most recent details.
Once the works on your adaptation have been complete, we will arrange a date and time to inspect the work and make sure you are happy. This would be the best time for you to tell us about your experience of the process, so that we can improve our services in the future.
We keep a record of all properties in which adaptations are present, and we will make every effort to allocate vacant adapted properties to future residents who would most benefit from the provisions.
