Changes to your relative’s home can help them to live more safely and with greater independence. Buckinghamshire County Council offer support with home adaptations for the elderly in Buckinghamshire, both in terms of free occupational therapy and the funding of changes.
Home adaptations can vary from fitting a rail in the bathroom to installing a stairlift or converting the purpose of a room. For larger changes such as the last 2, the work can obviously be quite expensive. Fortunately, there are some grants available to older people who need assistance with home adaptations in Buckinghamshire. This includes the Disabled Facilities Grant, which can provide up to £30,000 of home adaptations. You can read more about this below.
Getting a Home Assessment in Buckinghamshire
If you think your relative could benefit from some small changes to their home in Buckinghamshire, you should get in contact with the Buckinghamshire Adult Social Care first response team. This is a team of occupational therapists working for Bucks County Council. They can be reached by email at [email protected] and by telephone on 01296 383204.
They can visit your relative’s home for free and provide recommendations for making it safer and more appropriate to their needs. For small changes, such as leg rests or personal alarms, they may be able to provide your relative with an equipment voucher. They may also be able to make minor adaptations to your relative’s home for free.
The occupational therapists will send any recommendations for larger adaptations to your relative’s district council. If major changes are needed, they can assist you in working out how they may be funded. This could include your relative applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant to help cover the cost of the changes. You can read more about this below.
Getting a Home Assessment in Milton Keynes
Home assessments and support with home adaptations for people living in Milton Keynes are not organised through Bucks County Council.
Instead, your relative should contact the Milton Keynes Access Team, which is the front door to all their Adult Social Care services. They can help you to organise an assessment with their Community Occupational Therapy Team over the telephone, at a clinic appointment, or in your relative’s home. They can be contacted by phone at 01908 253772 or by email at [email protected].
They also have a Self Assessment Tool available.
Grants Available in Buckinghamshire for Larger Home Alterations
Disabled Facilities Grant
The Disabled Facilities Grant is a financial package that can help your relative to pay for larger adaptations to be made to their home. The grant is means-tested and up to £30,000 can be made available. This can include changes such as installing a stairlift, converting a downstairs room into a bathroom, or fitting a ramp.
The first stage in an application for a disabled facilities grant is to organise a home assessment for your relative. These are provided by the Buckinghamshire County Council’s Adult Social Care Team or by the Access Team in Milton Keynes. This assessment will allow the council’s occupational therapists to make recommendations to the district council’s housing team for works to be made to the house.
Once the district council have agreed with your relative which alterations to your relative’s home will be grant-funded, they will provide a ‘Disabled Facilities Grant application form’. As the grant is means-tested, your relative may need to contribute towards some of the cost of the changes.
If you want more information about applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant in your relative’s area of Buckinghamshire, you can speak to your relative’s relevant council team. They may also be able to advise your relative about any other grants or financial support that they may be eligible for. Contact details for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes’ councils can be found below:
Buckinghamshire Council
- Telephone: 01296 383204
- Email: [email protected]
- Visit Website
Milton Keynes Council
- Telephone: 01908 253772
- Email: [email protected]
- Visit Website
