Adaptations in the home, 6 months on?

An adaptation can be defined as ‘changes you can make to your home. These make it safer and easier to move around and do every day tasks' (NHS England). Adaptations are a form of supported living, which itself refers to schemes that provide personal care to people as part of the support that they need to live in their own homes (Social Care Institute For Excellence).

Working in collaboration with the Manchester Equipment & Adaptations Partnership (MEAP),  HWM developed a survey to be completed through telephone interviews with citizens who had received an adaptation in their home at least six months prior. 

The survey comprised a series of 30 questions regarding whether or not these adaptations had improved or changed the person’s home life.

We found that the majority of recipients reported they were well informed about the assessment process and the adaptations received by the respondents are reported by a significant majority to have led to improvements in their wellbeing, confidence, mobility and independence. However, a concerning number of respondents felt disappointed with the wait time between their assessment and the installation of adaptations in their home.

Therefore we recommended that the quality of information provided to recipients of adaptations should remain at the same level throughout all future adaptation installations. Moreover, this review should be repeated with the offer of reimbursement in order to increase the sample size of respondents and also its diversity. Finally, this review should also be repeated and broadened out to include a deeper dive into tech enabled care through collaboration with suppliers across Manchester.

If you would like to read the full report, see the download link below.