Wet room

aboora

Hi
My husband has not had a bath or shower since february 2017....council have refused grant to convert  bathroom into wet room. They have said we have to much income..although both my husband and i are in receipt of disabilitybenefits.
Was wondering if anyone has any advice or whom shall i approach.
Thanks
Abs

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @aboora, it might be worth trying this online grants search to see if there are any organisations that may be able to help you. Good luck!

aboora

Hello again
Since october i am still getting nowhere. My hubby who has end of life stage 5 enal disease has not showered or hathed since feb 2017.... nobody serms to care. We are both disabled...
Can anyone suggest wat to do noe
Thks

Pippa_Alumni

I'm so sorry to hear that, @aboora. Things sound really tough for you at the moment. I wonder if @Jean_Scope has any suggestions?

aboora

Thks..how do i chat with jean pls

Pippa_Alumni

@aboora I've tagged her in so hopefully she should see this message when she is next online. All of our advisors receive a high volume of messages, but somebody will get back to you ASAP! 

aboora

Oh thank you..im not in rush...ive waited since feb 17 to shower or bath my husband..perhaps 2018  will hopefully be more forthcoming.
Got to positive. 

Jean_OT

Hi @aboora

So sorry to read of your husband's circumstances.

Disabled Facilities Grants for adults are means-tested and being in receipt of DLA/PIP doesn't exempt a person from the means-test. The council should be able to provide you with a copy of the calculations that they used when they determined that you had too much income for a grant. If the figures are incorrect you should contest them. However, if the figures are correct and you have too much income then your options may, unfortunately, be limited to self-funding the adaptations and/or trying to get charitable funding to part or fully fund the work.

As @PippaScope previously mentioned there is a grant search tool at: https://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/search-grants  which might help you to identify a charitable organisation to apply too. However, most charitable grant givers also how criteria for who they give grants to and this often includes a means-test. If you are unable to find the finance for the work yourselves and can't find a charitable funder to assist you might have to try to fundraise by means such as crowdfunding, see: https://www.scope.org.uk/Support/Disabled-people/Grants/Fundraising-yourself

Even if the cost of the adaptations became immediately available if may well be some weeks or months for the work to be completed so it would seem wise to explore interim means of your husband being able to access bathing facilities. Without knowing more about his mobility etc it is difficult to know what an appropriate temporary solution might be. I would suggest that you try to get the support of your husband's GP with contacting the council's Adult Care Team to request they find a temporary solution. For example they may be able to arrange to transport him to a care home to use an accessible wet-room there. 

Kidney Care UK  https://www.kidneycareuk.org/get-support/advice-support/  are able to advise those effected by renal disease on grants and other matters than impact on their well-being.

Best Wishes

Jean

https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-an-occupational-therapist

aboora

Thank you so much for your very informative and most helpful message.
I will start with kidney care and explain circumstances...im sure they encountet lots of similar issues.
Once again thank you