New Portal Empowers Disabled People to Make Their Own Choices to Stay Safe in Their Homes
Following a year-long project, Foundations (The National Body for Home Improvement Agencies), in partnership with Iizuka, and Leeds Beckett University, have officially launched their new online self-assessment portal, AdaptMyHome.
The portal, funded by Innovate UK, streamlines the application process for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). This grant is offered throughout England to support eligible clients to make changes to their home to enable them to live there more comfortably.
Support ranges from a small ramp to major home adaptations such as accessible bathrooms, stairlifts and even extensions to make the home safer for people with mobility challenges. These alterations make it easier for clients to live in their current home, whilst also adding improvements that prevent further issues, such as falls.
AdaptMyHome offers clients a better understanding of the options available to them, as well as providing recommendations and resources to improve their homes. If a client is likely to be eligible for a DFG, they can choose to send their answers directly to their local HIA to be referred to an Occupational Therapist.
The application process takes around 15 minutes and asks clients a series of questions about how they get around their home and garden. This includes details about access to the property, how they use their bathroom and the kinds of aids or assistance they currently have.
All the information is collated to give the client’s home a score which shows how suitable it is for them. One of the key drivers for this project has been to reduce waiting lists for assessment, allowing occupational therapists (OTs) time to focus on other more complex areas such as larger adaptations.
The portal provides clients with an online solution to gather information and access council services without using the traditional phone call, enabling more people to get the support they need, when they need it.
Visit the portal here: http://www.adaptmyhome.org.uk/