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Frequently asked questions - daily living
- I am finding it more difficult to manage generally at home. What help is available to me?
- My elderly mother is finding it increasingly difficult to manage at home and needs some equipment to help her. I have read some terrible stories about older people being pressurised into buying equipment they do not need and paying extortionate prices. How does she choose a company that is genuine and reliable?
- I have seen an advertisement for a walk-in bath in my local paper and am considering installing one. Do you have any advice?
- I have difficulty changing my light bulbs; is there a gadget to make this easier?
- My aunt loves reading but is finding it increasingly difficult to turn the pages. What equipment is available to help her?
I am finding it more difficult to manage generally at home. What help is available to me?
There is a range of support available from different statutory sources. Disabled or older people can register as a disabled person with their local council's Social Services department. Social Services have a range of services available to help older or disabled people living at home, for example help with transport, help with housework and shopping, access to day care facilities and meals-on-wheels. You have to meet certain qualifying criteria to gain access to these services, and there may be a small charge for the help you receive. If you do not want to register, but are still in need of help at home, non-registration should not affect your entitlement to services provided that you meet the qualifying criteria. Your Social Services department will have a general leaflet explaining about the services it offers, and information on how to register.
Essential equipment is available to people who are long-term disabled, so for example, a wheelchair can be provided by the NHS Wheelchair Service; equipment for home nursing can be supplied by the community nursing service; equipment to help with daily living tasks may be available through the occupational therapy services based within Social Services at your local council offices.
The Department of Health has written "A Practical Guide for Disabled
People and Carers" and a copy can be obtained from:
Dept of Health Publications
PO Box 777
London SE1 6XH
E-mail: doh@prolog.uk.com (quote
ref: 27307)
or a version can be viewed via the web: www.doh.gov.uk/disabledguide.
The organisation RADAR has also published a guide to services for disabled
people entitled "If only I'd known that a year ago", price £5.
Copies are available from:
Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation
12 City Forum
250 City Road
London EC1V 8AF
Tel: (020) 7250 3222
Fax: (020) 7250 0212
Minicom:
(020) 7250 4119
Email: radar@radar.org.uk
Website: www.radar.org.uk
My elderly mother is finding it increasingly difficult to manage at home and needs some equipment to help her. I have read some terrible stories about older people being pressurised into buying equipment they do not need and paying extortionate prices. How does she choose a company that is genuine and reliable?
There is an increasing number of advertisements for assistive devices appearing in mainstream newspapers and magazines designed to entice and targeted at people who are determined to stay independent and are consequently desperate to find a solution to their difficulties. The important thing to remember is that you should never rush or feel pressured into buying equipment.
Before you buy:
- Find out if there is anywhere that you can go for impartial advice - a Disabled Living Centre, Mobility Centre or an occupational therapist, for example, or see if the DLF has a factsheet that gives advice on choosing the product you are looking for (see Factsheets).
- Compare a range of different products, looking at their features and their relevance to you; compare prices. If it is a device that needs installing, for example a stair lift, get quotes from at least three different companies.
- Find out more about the company and its terms and conditions of sale. If it is a local company, have your local Trading Standards Office had any adverse reports about them? Can the company refer you to satisfied customers? Can you have a refund if the product proves unsuitable for your needs? Is there a guarantee? What after-sales service does the company offer for maintenance, servicing and repairs?
If you do invite a sales representative into your home, it would be prudent to have a third person present to help ask questions and to give an unbiased viewpoint. If the sales person exerts any pressure on you to sign up for their product straight away or offers you discounts that are only available if you sign or make an immediate payment, show them the door!
Suppliers and manufacturers of some categories of goods may belong to a trade association, many of which have codes of practice covering sales standards and how to deal with complaints. Some offer a conciliation service should a dispute arise.
The British Healthcare Trades Association has a membership comprising companies that supply goods such as wheelchairs, rehabilitation products and orthopaedic appliances. Several companies supplying assistive devices belong to this trade association and if you have concerns about a supplier's integrity, it may be prudent to enquire whether it belongs to this or any other trade association. BHTA also runs a registration scheme, for companies and individuals, that sets minimum standards of professionalism and competency.
I have seen an advertisement for a walk-in bath in my local paper and am considering installing one. Do you have any advice?
Walk in baths can help people who have difficulty getting their legs over the side of a standard bath or who have difficulty getting up from the bottom of the bath. They have a door at the front or side for entry. The main drawback of this is that they can not be filled with water until you are in and the door has been sealed; and you can not get out of the bath until the majority of water has drained away.
Before purchase, check that:
- You can manage the door controls.
- You can manage the step into the bath.
- The seat height is not too low.
- There is enough leg room for you, particularly if you have stiff knees.
- The tap controls can be reached from sitting and managed independently.
- Water temperature is thermostatically controlled - remember you can not fill the bath until you are in and the door is locked. You risk scalding yourself if water temperature is too high.
You should also find out the volume of water needed to fill the bath. Compare this to the capacity of your current bath. Does your tank have sufficient hot water capacity to fill your bath?
Keep a towel nearby, so that you can place it around your shoulders to keep warm whilst the water drains away.
You should also consider who else uses the bathroom facilities and their needs; and how long you are likely to remain in your home. Having an alternative style of bath may make your property more difficult to sell.
There is a range of walk-in baths available from different suppliers and we would suggest that you look at least three different models to compare features and prices. Our helpline can provide you with a list of suppliers. You should be aware of the other devices available on the market to help with bathing and an overview is available in the DLF's factsheet Choosing a bath and bath accessories. You can also find information on products on the market in the DLF's new search and comparison website, 'Bathing made easy'.
I have difficulty changing my light bulbs; is there a gadget to make this easier?
Changing light bulbs is a common problem amongst many older and disabled people. There is not a gadget to make it easier, but we can give you the following advice:
- Have a table lamp in every room so that you have an alternative source of lighting.
- Buy long-life light bulbs so that bulbs need to be changed less frequently.
- Ask for help. If you do not have a neighbour that you can ask, sometimes local branches of Age Concern, Help the Aged, British Red Cross, Church groups, Girl Guides, etc. can help.
- If there is no alternative but to manage yourself, change the bulb in daylight hours, at a time of day when you are feeling most able, and use a ladder with a handrail that you can hold on to. There are some reasonably light weight aluminium ladders available.
Pendant lighting is particularly difficult to manage, especially one-handed, because it is impossible to hold the light fitting still whilst trying to insert the bulb. Wall fittings are easier and you tend to feel safer when you are adjacent to a wall rather than in the middle of a room.
Sometimes, you can buy lamp shades on a coiled flex designed to pull the lighting down lower over a table, for example. This makes changing a pendant light bulb easier, but these types of lamp shades tend to go in and out of fashion and are not always available.
My aunt loves reading but is finding it increasingly difficult to turn the pages. What equipment is available to help her?
Using a support for a book can make turning pages easier, simply because the book is in a better position for the reader to reach the pages and it frees both hands. You can use a cantilever table with a tilting top, or a purpose designed book holder to support a book.
There are simple DIY ways of making page turning easier by:
- Putting a rubber thimble on the end of a piece of dowel to give an extended reach and a better purchase on the pages.
- A carer placing a paper clip on forthcoming pages and the reader using a magnet to pick up the paper clip.
There is also a key depressor called a Palm Striker (see www.palmproducts.co.uk/palmstrikers.htm) that is a rod with a rubber tip attached to a hand strap. This can help in a similar way to a rubber thimble.
If these ideas do not work, then you can look at the range of electric page turners that are available. There are currently three sold in the UK, supplied by:
The equipment is expensive to buy new (from around £1,500), so you may want to try the community occupational therapist at your local council Social Services department to see if he/she can help in any way, or there may be a charitable trust that can help with funding.
We are also aware of a page turner that is manufactured in France by a company called Lee Entreprise.
If managing books in this way is not possible, then an alternative is to listen to books on tape. Local libraries may loan books on tape, but there are also some postal lending libraries for people who are physically unable to turn pages, for example:
You can also subscribe to the Talking Newspaper Association of the United Kingdom to obtain newspapers and magazines on tape.
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