How do I know if I would benefit from an adaptation?

If you or someone you live with has a permanent and substantial disability and you/they feel that an adaptation may be necessary:

Contact Call Derbyshire and request an assessment of your needs. Their phone number can be found by using the link above. The Call Derbyshire service will pass your details on to the appropriate team who will arrange for a worker to visit you to undertake the assessment.

You will be visited by either an Occupational Therapist or Community Care Worker who will assess your needs.

During the assessment, the worker will help you to identify specific goals plus those of any carer. They will work with you to identify things that might help you retain or regain your independence, including the provision of equipment, support and if necessary adaptations.

If an Occupational Therapist at a hospital has recently assessed you, they can forward their assessment and recommendation to us. If you live in a council house they can send their recommendation for an adaptation direct to the relevant district council (opens in a new window) housing department.

What happens next?

If an adaptation is identified as the best way of meeting your needs the worker will either:

Arrange for you to be visited by the relevant people to design and progress your adaptation (Disabled Facilities Grant route).
Make a formal recommendation direct to the district council for them to undertake the work (council housing).

Council Housing
If you live in council housing, the district council will consider the request and will decide whether this is appropriate and if so, award a priority.

Privately owned or rented, or housing association
If you live in privately owned, housing association or private rented accommodation, you will be issued with a preliminary test of resources form. Depending on the scale of the proposals; the Architects Department may be requested carry out a joint visit with an Occupational Therapist to begin the design and prepare drawings. Once the design has been agreed with you and the necessary planning consent (if required) is secured, the work will be put out to tender.

Only when the tenders have been received and the necessary permissions granted can the formal request for a grant be made to the district council.

If you live in privately rented or housing association property you will have to get the owners permission for the proposed work to be undertaken.

Throughout the process an Occupational Therapist (or Progress Chaser) will act as an intermediary between you, the district council, grants office, architects and any contractors.

Some district councils work in partnership with a home improvement agency who may be asked to help administer the grants procedures, e.g. complete forms and obtain estimates.