Equipment and home adaptations (occupational therapy)

Advice and support to help you do daily tasks if you have an illness or disability.

What occupational therapy is

Occupational therapy (OT) can help support you if you’re living with illness, old age, frailty or disability.

If you’re finding it difficult to do daily tasks and activities, our occupational therapists can give you advice or assess you for practical help like equipment or adaptations to your home.

Getting the right help early on can help prevent falls and allow you to stay independent for as long as possible.

What it can help with

Occupational therapy can help you with practical tasks like:

• managing your personal care, like washing yourself, getting dressed, or getting on and off the toilet
• moving around your home, including stairs and steps
• making food or drinks
• getting in and out of your home

If someone cares for you, we can give them advice or equipment and adaptations to help them to look after you safely. 

What it cannot help with

Occupational therapy is about improving your daily life by enabling you to do things yourself. It does not replace NHS services if you have long-term healthcare needs.

We cannot help with:

• physiotherapy: contact your GP if you need help to restore movement and function
• providing walking aids, wheelchairs or scooters: contact your GP instead

Request an occupational therapy assessment as a member of the public

Request an occupational therapy assessment

Make a professional referral

If you work in health or care, use our professional form to refer someone to our occupational therapy team.

Refer a client to the occupational therapy team

What happens when you request an assessment

Someone from the occupational therapy team will call you to get a better understanding of your needs. We might be able to recommend equipment or minor adaptations after this call if we can get a good understanding of your situation.

We might need to arrange a home visit so we can see for ourselves how you’re managing. We’ll agree a convenient time with you and talk you through the process.

Outcome of the assessment

At the end of the assessment we’ll:

• recommend equipment or home adaptations that could help you
• give advice or refer you to other agencies

We might be able to lend you some items of equipment. You can keep these for as long as you need.

If we think you’d benefit from more help and support at home, we might recommend a care needs assessment.

How long you’ll wait for an assessment

There is a high demand for our OT service. We’ll send you a letter in the post with an indication of how long you might have to wait for an assessment.

Equipment to help you with daily tasks

We can recommend equipment and simple aids can help you move around your home safely. These include:

• grab rails
• toileting aids, like raised toilet seats or a toilet frame to help you sit down and stand up
• kitchen aids like adapted cutlery or easy-open can openers
• bedroom aids like over bed tables or commodes
• hoists or slings to help your carer lift you

Buying your own equipment

In some circumstances, it might be quicker to buy your own small pieces of equipment. You can buy many simple pieces of equipment or aids from your local pharmacy, supermarket or hardware store. You can also get them from mobility outlets and online.

If you are unsure what equipment might be helpful, you can:

• find guides on the types of equipment available on Living Made Easy
• contact Disabled Living for impartial advice and information

You can also buy personal alarms and monitoring systems that can alert someone if something is wrong. Find out about alarms, sensors and monitoring systems to help you stay safe in your home

Repair, replace or return equipment

If your equipment is faulty, broken, no longer needed or you move out of the borough, contact Medequip who provide our OT equipment. 

Email

kingstoncustomerservices@medequip-uk.com

Phone

020 8154 2922

Adaptations to your home

If you’re disabled or have mobility issues, we can advise you on how to make changes to your home to help you live independently and safely in your own space.

Minor adaptations

Minor adaptations include equipment or simple changes to your home that do not need significant building work. This can include:

• grab rails installed in your bedroom, stairs or bathroom to help you move around
• access rails and small changes to steps outside to help you get in and out of your home

Major adaptations

In some circumstances, it may be necessary to make significant changes to your home to make it easier to move about and use your home safely and independently. 

Major adaptations include:

• stairlifts
• level access shower
• access ramp to help you get in and out of your home

What occupational therapy costs

Advice and occupational therapy assessments are free. We will not charge you for any equipment we recommend and lend to you.

Paying for changes to your home

There might be a cost for adaptations to your home. To help with the costs of major home adaptations, you might be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant.

Pay for a private occupational therapy assessment

Alternatively, you can pay for a private assessment by a registered occupational therapist.

Find an occupational therapist on the Royal College of Occupational Therapists website