Occupational Therapy

2 years ago i asked from Occupational Therapy to put stair lifts because of my poor ability to climb stairs yesterday . finally some one came and assessed me and asked about my health and she said she cannot make a decision the panel must take a decision in 4,5 weeks time they will let me know what the decision it will be.

is any one know about that rule?

thanks

[Hidden]

Hello there Akram, I am not entirely sure to be honest what this "panel" entails, I can't find any information on it, so hopefully some members will reply after me with more specific answers for you.

The only info I could find is that the OT (Occupational Therapist) takes their findings back to the local Council (could this be the panel perhaps?!) and they in turn finalise the assessment to see if it is financially viable and whether they think appropriate for you after being advised of your needs by the OT.

It's not a quick process and from what I have read it can take anything up to 6 weeks approximately.

Hopefully you will have some more info after some replies from members who have faced the same as you.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

hi dear liety A panel is a small group of people who are chosen to do something, for example to discuss something in public or to make a decision. jut i was wondering in that period time is there anything i can do to support my case?thanks

[jom277]

I am a social worker with adult social care. Due to ongoing strain on resources, if our care packages go over a certain funding amount we have to apply for this finding to a panel of team managers and senior managers and present the case and outcomes for customers before it is agreed or declined. This may be the same for occupational therapy within your local authority.

[Hidden in reply to jom277]

dear jom277 do you think i can do anything ? becouse i realy need to have stair lifts

iam sleeping on the sofa on down stair .many thanks

[jom277 in reply to Hidden]

The only thing that may help it in panel is if your gp would write a letter of support. If you have a good OT, she will put forward a good case for you and state that you are sleeping downstairs and the risks associated with it. Unfortunately with the high case loads that we have to manage, this is a realistic time scale. Bear with it, hopefully it will get through. If not she can put it back for reconsideration. Then may be the time to start chasing it up. We in the field do our utmost to get things agreed. If any issues after you are welcome to get back to me and I can try and advise.

[Hidden in reply to jom277]

thanks

[jacksie]

hi akram answer to that,if same circumstances are they come and assess your needs then they go away and discuss it with a senior who says yes or no,i had to wait a couple of weeks then i had a call to say yes for a stairlift instead of a down stairs toilet.,they also said i could have a wet room,great i thought.I didn,t have to wait long for a reply but suspect i will for fitting,yours lovingly jacksiex

[jacksie]

PS,sorry forgot to say ,they had a doctors report to support my needs.jacksiex

[rainbowdancer]

I have had OT out over two years ago and they said because we "manage" they could not help me, I ended up saving a little bit of money each month from my care component and got one our selves ,changed our lives. However now I am worse and the Dr called on all of them and they have been to asses whether they can help us with a shower room for me.

Called me back the next day and said we will be assesing you, but need to know do you have more than £23,000 in savings, I said good god no if I did do you think I would be asking for help.!

Today they turned up with a swivell bath seat and realized there was no way I would be able to use it safely x

Hope it all works out for you.

Gentle Hugs x x x

Rainbowdancer

[Hidden in reply to rainbowdancer]

thanks

[Ozzygirl64]

I have no idea how it all works but apparently the OT puts their report to the council xxxxx

[whitestarlight]

Hi akram, I called the council to ask if one of their Community O.T's could come and make an assessment of whether I could have any help due to my disabilities. It took 8 weeks for someone to come and make that assessment to be fair she was very understanding saying I could have certain things to help me. She agreed I need help with my personal care i.e bath equipment to help me use the bath but I told her I couldn't even lift my leg up even to get in the bath. In the end agreed I could have a wet room. But as far as a stair lift She said was out of the question as I have blackouts and falls without warning (another symptom with FM) but she would take her assessment to the panel to see what they say.Apparently the 'Panel' is the O.T's mangers. She told me that they have weekly meetings and they'd make a decision and would get a letter with their answer. It took 2 weeks and the answer was no stair lift because of my blackouts. I then rang the O.T and asked what else could she do,she came to see myself and husband she told us that there was 2 options: option 1 to move into another home a bungalow or option 2: I could have a through the floor lift put in. It took 10 weeks to get both things done because it as to go through council planning too,and my life has been made alot better. I know I was one of the lucky ones all I can say is my prayers was answered. Take care akram and I wish you well. Blessed Be

[Hidden in reply to whitestarlight]

hi whatestarlight, thanks for writing the OT gave me lots of equipment but the equipment that must be adapted in my house must be decided in the panel because my house is 3 bed room and we are tow .she told me to move to property 2 bed with adapted for disable but i need to have 3 bed because some one staying at night with me .

you know council people are very nasty sometime i am really worried about their decision .if they refuse am i allowed to apple against their decision?

many thanks darling