Question Regarding Bathroom instead of walking shower. — Scope | Disability forum
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Question Regarding Bathroom instead of walking shower.

Lost
Lost Community member Posts: 50 Courageous
Hi I need advice on this please. We moving in to bungalow on this Monday die to me not able to manage stairs. 
In bungalow there is walking shower with no chair I have difficulty standing at all due to severe mobility issues also this walking shower looks really dirty it's like it's been used for 10 years with out cleaning.

My question is I would like to have bath tub put in as I use bath board to sit on it and have shower We also have 2 small kids 2 year old and 3 year old and clearly bath is more convenient for all of us. 

Landlord said I can put bath in my self If I pay for it they refuse to put bath in. 

Can I ask some help from somewhere to have this put in ? Problem is my ESA has stopped due to false statement made by MAXIMUS assessor so I just sent paper work of for MR so I'm really tight on budget I rang up plumber who wants £250 just to have this fitted if I supply bath tub and that will cost £150 so it will be around £400 To have this done. 

Is there anyone I can ring and ask for help to have this done I'm reciving PIP and just waiting for MR on my ESA

Any advice or help would be great.

Thank you.

Comments

  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    What area are you in ?

    CR
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
  • Lost
    Lost Community member Posts: 50 Courageous
    edited April 2018
    CockneyRebel said:
    What area are you in ?

    CR
    Runcorn, near Liverpool 
  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    Ah
    little bit far from me ( I was a plumber )
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
  • Lost
    Lost Community member Posts: 50 Courageous
    Ah
    little bit far from me ( I was a plumber )
    Thanks anyway Rebel.
  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Hi Lost

    Try your local council, to be assessed for a "Disabled facilities grant".

    Its sounds like you should be granted one, it's means tested.  But as you are on ESA and do not millions in your off shore tax havens!  You will be OK.

    They will organise Bob the Builder, to undertake the work.

    Lets us know how you get on.

    Good luck.

    Atlas46
  • Lost
    Lost Community member Posts: 50 Courageous
    atlas46 said:
    Hi Lost

    Try your local council, to be assessed for a "Disabled facilities grant".

    Its sounds like you should be granted one, it's means tested.  But as you are on ESA and do not millions in your off shore tax havens!  You will be OK.

    They will organise Bob the Builder, to undertake the work.

    Lets us know how you get on.

    Good luck.

    Atlas46
    Hi atlas 
    Does same apply if I'm with housing association  my landlord said If I pay for it I can put bathtub in.

    So can you please confirm if I ring local council they can help me to put 1 in ? 

    Thank you 
  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Hi Lost

    It applies to all properties, including Housing Associatons.

    I will have a look at your local authority's web site and get back to you.

    No singing in the bath mind!

    Atlas46

  • 1804
    1804 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    Or go through your GP.  get an occupational nurse to assess you. That way u can get a grant through this assessment.
  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Hi Lost & 1804

    Thank's for your assistance 1804, but I maintain that Lost is best adviced to contact her LA to apply for the grant.

    Lost's GP has no imput into the process, as it is without the NHS and falls entirely within the remit of the LA.

    Once Lost has completed tha application for the grant, the LA will send a visiting officer to her address to check her elegability etc.  They then may want to send an Occupaptional Therapypist, to undertake a "home assessment" but I doubt this.

    Hope this helps.

    Atlas46
  • 1804
    1804 Community member Posts: 29 Connected
    No worries. Just thought I mention this as an idea. Thats good to here. As I had one great help. Got a rising chair on loan. Rails put in. Raised toilet seats. And a bath lift that is rechargeable.
  • Lost
    Lost Community member Posts: 50 Courageous
    atlas46 said:
    Hi Lost & 1804

    Thank's for your assistance 1804, but I maintain that Lost is best adviced to contact her LA to apply for the grant.

    Lost's GP has no imput into the process, as it is without the NHS and falls entirely within the remit of the LA.

    Once Lost has completed tha application for the grant, the LA will send a visiting officer to her address to check her elegability etc.  They then may want to send an Occupaptional Therapypist, to undertake a "home assessment" but I doubt this.

    Hope this helps.

    Atlas46
    Thank you so much I was begin to worry as I don't have crazy money just laying around money we get barley livable my PIP goes towards mobility car so ESA IS ABOUT what we have to live on 

    So this advice  is great and very helpful.

    Thank you  very much

  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Cheers 1804

    Just been through the process, with a very dear mate of mine, who is very disabled with CP and I had to support him all the way.  Even though I am as nearly as bad as him.  He now has the poshest wet room for miles around and I have the scares on my back to prove it!

    Take care my friend and thanks for your assistance.

    Atlas46
  • Jean_OT
    Jean_OT Community member Posts: 513 Pioneering

    Hi @Lost

    Sorry for the delay in being able to respond to your query, I only have certain hours allocated for working on community posts so it can sometimes take a few days to get a reply from me.

    There is no harm in asking for the community Occupational Therapist (OT) to assess your home for potential adaptation and equipment needs. However, on the basis of what you have written, I very much doubt that this will result in the OT being able to arrange for you to have a bath paid for by the Disabled Facilities Grant Scheme (DFG). I hope that false expectations haven't been raised for you.

    The reason that I doubt replacing your shower with a bath will meet the criteria for  DFG is because DFG will only consider adaptations to give the disabled person the ability to attend to their hygiene needs. This needs to be in an appropriate safe manner and addressing those needs in the most cost effective way. The DFG isn't concerned with your preference to have a bath rather than a shower for your children, nor is it concerned with the shabby state of the current shower cubicle (that is a cleaning/maintenance issue for you to discuss with your landlord).

    If it is feasible for you to use a shower, perhaps with the addition of appropriate seating (which the OT will most likely be able to advise on and supply),  I expect that the shower will be deemed the most cost effective means of meeting your hygiene needs.

    To replace the bath with a shower under DFG you would need to demonstrate that there is a reason (related to your disability), why you are unable to use a shower but could use a bath. Or alternatively that you have strong clinical evidence to prove that you need a bath for a medical reason (some examples would be needing to soak a skin condition or having to soak in a bath to ease pain/mobility issues).

    As a point of information - DFG's are no longer available to all housing association tenants. This is because some housing associations have come to local arrangements with the local authority whose area their housing is in. Basically this is an alternative, opt out arrangement,  where the housing association gets an annual flat fee from the local authority to meet the needs of their disabled tenants rather than DFG applications being made on an individual case basis.  

    For people reading this thread at a later date it is worth noting that at the time of writing the DFG process was under review  https://www.independentliving.co.uk/advice/independent-review-dfg/?omhide=true  and it is predicted that changes may well be on the horizon.

    @Lost if you discover that you are unable to get a DFG to replace the shower with a bath then you may wish to check out the possibility of a charitable grant: https://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/search-grants 

    Best Wishes

    Jean  

     

    Jean Merrilees BSc MRCOT

    You can read more of my posts at: https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-an-occupational-therapist

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