Who can get it?
ADULTS
If you are an adult the Occupational Therapy Team will use
the government's
Fair Access to Care Services guidelines to
decide whether or not you are eligible for help. Wigan Council can
only provide a service to people assessed as having
critical or substantial needs. If
your needs are assessed as 'low' or 'moderate' the team
will either phone you or write to you with information about where
you may be able to get help elsewhere.
Equipment and minor equipment is available for eligible adults
with a permanent disability, who live permanently in Wigan and who
need practical help due to sight or hearing loss, physical or
learning disabilities, frailty or illness.
If you are an adult and think you require equipment, you need to
download and complete a self assessment form, or ask the
council's Central Duty Team to send you a copy (see contact details
below).
This is your opportunity to tell us all about your situation and
difficulties and also what you think you need to help you.
If you are unable to fill in a self-assessment form, staff from
the Central Duty Team can help you by asking you the questions
over the phone and writing down your answers. Or, you may prefer a
family member to fill in your form for you. The Central Duty
Team will send the completed form to the occupational therapy
team, who will then get in touch with you to let you know whether
or not you are eligible for help.
CHILDREN
If you are a child or are acting on behalf of a child and
think equipment and/or minor adaptations are required, you
need to contact the Children's Duty Team on 01942 828300. They will
ask you questions to establish what activities at home you are
struggling with and they will send any equipment requests to the
Occupational Therapy Team. In order to be eligible for equipment
the child must be resident in Wigan and have a permanent
disability. Simple equipment can be provided fairly quickly.
More specialist equipment may take longer to provide. There is no
charge for equipment.
Unfortunately, there is currently a great demand for the
occupational therapy service, which means that, unless your case is
extremely urgent, you may have to wait to be seen. When it is your
turn to be seen, a member of staff will contact you to make an
appointment to visit you in your home. They will discuss your
difficulties with you and, where appropriate, ask you to
demonstrate how you carry out certain tasks. This is important to
help them decide what the best solution may be. They will discuss
and agree with you what the next actions will be and provide you
with a written care plan that they will ask you to sign.
It is Wigan Council's policy to use a "best value" approach to
providing equipment and adaptations. This means we always try
to find the most cost effective solution to meet your
needs.
If you would like something more than we recommend, for example,
a more luxury version of a piece of equipment or additional
features added to an adaptation we have recommended, there are
schemes available that will enable you to add money to the cost of
the items we recommend. Please ask your occupational therapist
about how to do this. This applies to both children and adults.
How to get in touch
The Wigan Council Central Duty Team is the first point of
contact for all adult referrals and general enquiries. You can
contact them from 8.45 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday and 8.45
am to 1 pm on Saturdays on 01942 828777.
The Children's Duty team is the first point of contact for all
children's referrals and general enquiries. You can contact
them on 01942 828300 from 8.45am to 5pm Monday to Friday
or at:
Ince Town Hall Annexe
Ince Green Lane
Ince
WIGAN
WN3 4QX
Telephone: 01942 828300
Fax: 01942 828320
Email: cindutyteam@wigan.gov.uk
For further information, please follow this link:
Health and
Social Care for Adults and Children
To contact Ashton Leigh and Wigan Community Healthcare's therapy
services or the Community Health Development Workers contact the
Single Point of Access 01942 822699.
Victim Support's Stop and Lock Service
For more information about Doorstep Safety and Victim Support's
Stop and Lock Service, is available on the Doorstep
Safety page or contact Victim Support on 01942 322033.