There is a wide range of equipment and assistive technology that can be used in your home to make your life easier and to help you stay independent.
You are able to purchase daily living equipment - eg bath boards, raised toilet seats, high backed chairs, rails - and assistive technology yourself through local chemists, major retailers, online and through DIY stores.
Assessments
Sometimes an assessment by an occupational therapist is needed for people with more complex needs. Occupational therapists identify what disabled, frail or elderly people can and can’t do in their everyday life and can make recommendations for:
new techniques for completing activities
daily living equipment
changes (adaptations) to the persons home environment.
The aim being for the person to live independently or to support their carers to support them, promoting wellbeing.
Assessments resulting in recommendations for daily living equipment can also be undertaken by trusted assessors – these may be social care staff, health staff including trained pharmacists.
Independence East, based in Bethnal Green, is an assessment, demonstration and training house that has a range of equipment and adaptations. The centre is used for assessment clinics.
It is also used by health and social care staff in the borough to undertake further assessments of people’s needs, to try out daily living equipment and adaptations with people before making recommendations for equipment and/or changes to the people’s home environment.
The centre is also a training and development venue for health and social care staff.
Community equipment
Occupational therapists and trusted assessors can also order larger items of community equipment for loan to people. This equipment can include specialist seating, mobile hoists, profiling beds etc.
If you have any questions about equipment, you already have, or if you need to request new equipment, please contact Tower Hamlets Connect on 0300 303 6070, or email enquiry@towerhamletsconnect.org and they will assist you.
Telecare service
The telecare service operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It provides a range of front-line support and prevention technology enabled care solutions and a range of telecare and assistive technology devices including:
pendant alarms
smoke detectors
motion sensors.
The service aims to give people the freedom of living a more independent life at home or in other supported living settings with the peace of mind that someone is always at hand to assist.
Services provided by telecare include:
assessment and installation of telecare and assistive technology equipment in the person's home and other supported living settings.
monitoring and responding to calls of an emergency nature, received via the telecare alarm call monitoring system.
carrying out emergency visits, including welfare checks in response to alarm activations from telecare clients.
Telecare is currently a free service for those that have an assessed need for the service.
For further information about the telecare service, contact the Telecare Team, telephone 020 7364 4827 or telecare@towerhamlets.gov.uk.
There is a wide range of equipment and assistive technology that can be used in your home to make your life easier and to help you stay independent.