Adapt your home for disability

Understanding your needs now and in the future

An important part of our assessment is understanding what is important to you and how you support yourself in your day to day life. This is known as self management and is one of the Scottish Government's Health and Wellbeing priorities.

In line with Scottish Government's recommendations we will look for the minimum intervention to help you achieve maximum independence. This means that we will provide the minimal safe adaptations to support you to maintain an optimal degree of independence. 

We will look at ways to help you help yourself as much as you can, supporting you to maintain or improve your abilities. This means that sometimes we will recommend exercise as well as lifestyle changes or refer you on to other services who can support you.

We will aim to provide equipment that supports you to maintain the physical ability you have rather than equipment that might reduce your levels of physical activity.

Assessing your needs

We will talk to you about:

• What’s important to you and your carers.
• What you are able to do.
• Anything you are worried about.
• Any risks to you being able to live independently both now and in the future.
• Any support you have (both paid and unpaid).
• Your religious and cultural beliefs and practices.

We may need to speak to your medical professional, with your permission, to help us understand your long-term needs, and those of your carer.

• Life limiting illness: We might not recommend an adaptation if we will not be able to complete it in time to provide you with significant benefit.
• Short-term condition: We will not fund an adaptation if your symptoms are likely to improve in less than 12 months. If you have a short-term condition that is likely to continue for more than 12 months we will usually only provide advice or equipment.
• Recovery after surgery: We will not fund an adaptation if you are due to have surgery or are in an active rehabilitation programme as your function should hopefully improve. We may review your situation following your surgery.
• Changes in circumstance: We will recommend removing any equipment and adaptations if, following a re-assessment, there is considerable risk to you and/or your carers.
• Going on holiday: We will not provide equipment as we are unable to safely assess the environment.

Assessing your home

The Scottish Government requires us to discuss alternative housing options at the earliest possible opportunity. If your home is not going to be suitable to meet your long-term needs, you may need to look at alternative housing as we will not adapt your home. 

If you live in a council house and you wish to move you can contact the Housing Services Team. 

We will not adapt your home:

• If health and safety regulations mean we cannot do this safely
• If we cannot find a cost effective solution
• If your home is scheduled for demolition or in a serious state of disrepair
• If you live in a mobile home
• If you are looking to move home
• If you move from a home which has been adapted for you to a home which needs to be adapted
• If you move into a home that has been adapted for someone else, we will not remove the adaptation
• If you don't have basic amenities (e.g. toilets or sinks) we will not provide these
• If you live in rented accomodation and your landlord can offer you an alternative home that meets your needs
• If you need alternative heating or alterations to heating systems

Additional rooms and extensions

We will always consider other options before recommending an additional room or extension. These might include:

• Moving to a more suitable home
• Stair lifts or through floor lifts
• Altering existing space - e.g. if you have a large downstairs bathroom and large sitting room we may be able to use this space to create a bedroom. A 'showerloo cubicle' could also offer a solution within a downstairs bedroom space if you do not have a downstairs toilet/bathroom. An extension for a bathroom will only be considered if your bathroom is not accessible, there is not enough space to make it suitable and alternatives such as a commode or chemical toilet are inappropriate. 

If an additional room or extension is recommended, we will work with the architect and the Housing Team (for Council tenants), the Housing Association (for Housing Association tenants) and Environmental Health (if you own your own home).