Changes promised to address long waits for disabled people in North East Lincolnshire to get their homes adapted
Staff shortages are said to be behind the delays
Last updated 26th Jan 2023
Delays and rising costs due to inflation have caused North East Lincolnshire to change the way it funds adaptations to homes for disabled people.
The council’s disabled grant funding pot received from government has been underspent in recent years and missed targets for wait times to work being granted funding and its completion. In one case, a man with multiple sclerosis had a two year and three month wait from approval to the adaptations being done.
Staff shortages including a national shortage of occupational therapists who decide on the applications have been identified as the reason for longer waits. To solve this,”trusted assessors” who normally help out with hospital discharges, will be able to decide on minor adaptations like grab lifts and ramps. Cost limits for the varying levels of adaptation sought will also rise.
Cllr Stan Shreeve, portfolio holder for health, wellbeing and adult social care, passed the change to the council’s housing assistance policy through powers delegated to him. “I’m really happy that we will make this significantly easier for our residents to receive support from the area,” he said. A considerable amount of work had gone into the changes and these were also amended after consultation feedback.
Key modifications to the policy include:
“Trusted Assessors” to be able to handle at the Assisted Living Centre at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital simple adaptation cases – after course training approved by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists
A new category of Fast Track Adaptations – up to £15,000 for simple changes, such as replacement of adaptations like level access showers
A new triage system with Single Point of Access to allocate cases quicker to registered providers and contractors
The limit on grants for minor adaptations such as stair bannisters and widened doors will increase from £1,000 to £2,500
New grants to help with adaptations, including an Assistive Technology Grant – up to £1,000 per case for smart technology like remote heating controls
An increased emphasis on use of empty properties to house the homeless – the council will explore opportunities to buy houses for this and offer the chance for empty property owners to lease their homes for this.
The maximum time to complete the home improvements after an occupational therapist approved them should be a year, or 260 working days, and in 95 per cent of cases for these to be done in 80 working days. The average completion time in North East Lincolnshire has been 265 working days.
Several case studies were provided in a report to a council scrutiny panel in late November of how applications were handled. This included ‘Tom’, 32 and not his real name, who had multiple sclerosis and had to use a wheelchair at all times.
He was referred in November 2019 to the council’s housing team by an occupation therapist in an East Midlands. Tom and his mum were due to move to North East Lincolnshire but the home they were moving into was not suitable to his needs.
A specialist bed, hoist and other elements were provided to help Tom move. The occupational therapist also approved the grant application in February. A wet room, front and back ramp access and a wash-dry toilet were some of the facilities then planned to be installed.
But it took until May 2022 for all works to be completed with “supply chain issue” identified as the main delay reason. Tom’s condition also deteriorated during this time and his facilities need grew to include a door entry system so he could enter and leave the house independently.
Part of the £3.2m government Disabled Facilities Grant funds were used last year to hire temporary occupational therapists and staff at the council’s partner Equans, who oversee installing the adaptations. This had not been entirely successful, with one of the two new therapist positions still vacant in November and continuing problematic vacancy levels in Equans.
The council aims to get through the backlog of disabled facilities grant assessments and installations within 12 to 18 months. There were more than 300 residents in North East Lincolnshire waiting for major adaptation works to start in April to October 2022.