Equipment

• Disability Equipment and How to Get It
• Meeting the Costs
• A Guide for Grants for People in Need
• Getting Good Advice

Disability Equipment and How to Get It

Equipment can be an essential piece of help to a person with a dvisability. It can enable them to get around safely, be independent and feel confident about carrying out everyday tasks. But who is going to provide the equipment that the person you care for needs?

If the person is leaving hospital, the Physiotherapy department will usually provide equipment or let you know where to get it. For people at home, your local council's Occupational Therapy and Manual Handling Team may be able to supply resources and information to meet the person's needs.

If you need information about:

• Aids and Adaptations
• Alarm Systems
• Bathing
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
• Steps & Stairs
• Visual Impairment

Age Concern has produced a fact sheet  with information on how to get disability equipment to help with daily living and getting about.

• Daily living equipment
  - Aids for bathing, washing, using beds/chairs, preparing food, doing housework, leisure activities.
• Wheelchairs and walking aids
  - Wheelchair service
  - Other walking aids
• Community Alarms
  - Providers of alarm systems
• Other providers of equipment
  - Hospitals
  - GP's
  - Joint services
  - Community nurses
• Things to consider in choosing equipment
• Problems with equipment
  - Getting equipment
  - After you've purchased equipment
• Where to get information about products
  - Organisations and publications
• Buying equipment
  - Private companies and shops
  - Buying second-hand
  - Loans of equipment
  - VAT
• Sources of funding
  - Benefits
  - Social fund
  - Charities and other sources

Meeting the Costs

• Local Government Help
• Help from Providers of Disability Equipment
• A Guide to Grants for People in Need

Local Government Help

Standard equipment is provided free by your local Adult Services. Minor adaptations such as installing grab rails or hand rails that cost less than £1000 are also provided free of charge.

If you feel you might need a major adaptation such as a room extension, then you might be entitled to help with costs. This help with costs is called a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). You will need to contact the Occupational Therapy and Manual Handling Team in the first instance. A member of the team will arrange to visit your home and speak with you about the adaptation. They will also discuss your own money situation to see if you qualify for the grant.

Help from providers of Disability Equipment

Disability equipment suppliers may be able to help you with purchasing or hiring. You can check yellow pages for a full list of suppliers www.yell.com . Here are some local suppliers of disability equipment in the Tameside area:

Tameside Healthcare
Bentinck Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
Tameside
OL7 0PT
0161 330 1446 info@thc-tis.co.uk

The Wheelchair Centre
229 Droylsden Road
Audenshaw
Tameside
M34 5ZT
0161 370 2661 or 5949 info@thewheelchaircentre.co.uk

The Help Shop
71 Lees Road
Oldham
OL4 1JW
0161 652 2071

West Pennine Wheelchair Service
Tameside General Hospital
Fountain Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 9RW
0161 331 5381

A Guide to Grants for People in Need

There are charities and other organisations that might be able to help you in obtaining money to help purchase disability equipment. The 'Guide to Grants for People in Need' shows you how to identify sources of help.

For example you can search for charities by topic:

Occupation - has the person, their spouse or parent on whom they are dependent had a trade or longer-term occupation (or some past connection with a trade or occupation)? If so, the Occupational index of the guide will help.

Service and Ex-Service - have they at anytime been a serving member of the armed forces (including National Service)? If so, the Service and Ex-Service charities and regimental index might help you.

Sickness and Disability - has the person a specific illness or disability? There are many specialist charities that make grants available and can help in other ways by giving advice.

Geographical - search for charities in the area you live.

Other Sources - National charities. There are specialists for certain groups of people (e.g. older people,children).

The guide is available for reference purposes from the following organisations, locally:

Citizen's Advice Bureau
9 George Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 6AQ

0161 330 2156

Tameside Central Library
Old Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 7SG

0161 342 2029

Tameside Carers Centre
50 Warrington Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 7JX

 0161 342 3344 Send a Message to Tameside Carers Centre

Once you have selected a charity from the list shown in the guide, you will need to contact them for an application form. Applications for grants can be made by yourself. The charity will however, prefer you to have been referred by a professional body such as a Social Worker, your GP or a member of a welfare organisation. You may also need help in completing the application form. A member of the Carers Centre in Tameside may assist you with this. Also, the Carers Centre has a selection of grant-giving charities and their telephone numbers covering Sight, Elderly People, Children, Ex-Services, Women and General.

Tameside Carers Centre, 50 Warrington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7JX.
0161 342 3344  Send a Message to Tameside Carers Centre

Other sources of help with money may come from:

• Religious leaders - often trustees of local charities
• Hospitals - many hospital have patient welfare funds
• Past employers - many employers would be unhappy to see former members of staff or their dependents living in need or distress
• Local organisations - Rotary clubs, Lion clubs, Round tables are active in welfare promotion. Your local citizen's advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk will know which ones to contact.
• Orders - Masonic and buffalo lodges
• Charity shops - some shops will provide clothing if the applicant has a letter of referral from a welfare agency

For a list of charitable organisations in Tameside, visit Tameside Libraries community database .

Getting Good Advice

If you have mobility problems, first contact your local Adult Services for help. If you want to get advice elsewhere, there are several good sources you can go to.

• The Disabled Living Centres (DLC) throughout the UK, provide free and impartial advice on products for easier living. They can show and demonstrate a range of mobility products and offer. They can offer training on lifting and handling (chargeable). A limited amount of products are for sale. You can check these out on the website given below. Many centres also have occupational therapists to assess your needs and recommend the best product for you. Your local DLC's can be found at:

 Disabled Living , Redbank House, 4 St. Chad's Street, Manchester, M8 8QA 0161 214 5959
info@disabledliving.co.uk

Opening hours: Mon-Fri (only) = 9.00 -16.30 (appointment needed)

The Independent Living Centre (East Cheshire), The Redesmere Centre, Redesmere Road, Handforth, Cheshire, SK10 3BL  01625 374080

Opening hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10.00 - 15.00 (appointment needed)

Check for other services available. Some centres offer wheelchair hire, disability awareness training, clothing and image advisory services.

• If you can't get to a DLC, or need advice more quickly, the Disabled Living Foundation's national helpline may be able to help 0845 130 9177. The opening hours are Mon-Fri 10.00 - 16.00.
• If you are older or have a disability, it is often hard to find products that suit you. Ricability is the Consumer Association's sister organisation which tests mobility products and publishes impartial guides on them. These include price guides and are available for a small charge. For instance, you may need to know about:

Domestic appliances - vacuum cleaners,microwave ovens, washing machines and toasters.

Aids and equipment - choosing products for bladder and bowel control, people lifters, getting a wheelchair into a car.

Easier living - how to adapt your home to make it easier to live in, making your kitchen easier to use.

Children's continence products - a guide for parents and children, which gives detailed descriptions of widely available products and where to go for advice.

Mobility - the ins and outs of choosing a car, car controls, people lifters.

Ricability, 30 Angel Gate, City Road, London, EC1V 2PT 020 7427 2460

• Contact local mobility aid shops directly (see Help from Providers of Disability Equipment) Link to this section or call Mobility Matters Network on 08705 134130 which is a group of independent distributors, that will arrange for your nearest dealer to send you a price guide for the models they sell. Most will provide a home visit and demonstrate products in your home.

Whatever you do, take time to make your decision. Do not be drawn in by special offers or discounts that the salesperson claims are available only for a limited time.

(Source: 'Which' magazine report April 2002)