Hi there,

Wasn't sure on the appropriate section so am posting in here...

I have a few questions...

Firstly I was due to have my present (council) bungalow adapted after a 3 year wait however I was going to move to another area so decided not to go ahead with the works. However, there has now been a change of plan and I will be staying in my present property in the long term so would like the work to go ahead...

The issue is that my "community OT" (who has been utterly useless the whole 3 years) isn't very keen on me as I have tended to speak my mind about how I was treated having to live in substandard conditions etc. And she was quite abrupt and rude when she found out I had decided not to go ahead with the work. I understand a lot of work went into the whole thing and see where she's coming from but a part of me felt the frustration she experienced was nothing compared to that she had caused me...

Is it unreasonable for me to get in touch and say that I now want the work to go ahead? Is there any way I can bypass this woman as we really don't see eye to eye...I get on with most people and would say I am easy to get on with but for some reason she took a dislike to me...maybe because I was young when I first met her and she didn't respect my opinions...

Other than that I am considering renting privately and finding somewhere suitable that way...but how would this work with regards to housing benefit?

I'm a full time student so in receipt of DLA/Income support/Housing benefit.

What are my options?

Many thanks!

Ryan

Hi i had a similar situation with the OT i had it took along time to get my flat adapted in the end i got my local counciller to come to the flat to show them what had not been done and a week later they started adapting my bathroom and i asked for a new OT and got one i had the work done then i moved to another area and am now waiting for the new flat to be adapted i have already had the OT in this area come to visit and what a massive differance she is compared to the first one and touch wood all seems to be going ok,the council have a duty of care to help you live as normal life as possible and three years is not good enough.
I also got my local hospital OT involved and they where great in writing reports and helping deal with the council.



Hope you get this sorted out soon


Si

Thanks for the reply!

How did you go about changing your OT?

I wish I had done this years ago...

I was told I couldn't have my house adapted due to not having a permanent tenancy, despite the fact as soon as I turned 18 it would become one...when I argued that this was unacceptable and discrimination based on my age she said "you're not the only one" with a serious attitude so I quite naturally flipped at her ignorance and refusal to understand it was unacceptable...I actually told her to leave...I didn't like her from the start...she was too negative for my liking...there's being realistic but still making it obvious you want to help and then there's being negative, saying nothing constructive and giving the impression you couldn't care less...the latter was her...just excuse after excuse...

I'll have a look through my paper work and see if there is anyone else I can speak to about the adaptations...might phone the spinal unit and see what the ot's there can do...

Thanks, Ryan.

I asked to speak to the head of the OT department and told him i wanted a new OT gave him my reasons which are very similar to your situation and they assigned me a new OT,the spinal unit OT should be able to help with assesments and what you need to have done the more you have on board the better it is i had to get as many i could think of to help that included the local counsiller it also helped me to get my GP involved using my state of mind as in i was getting more and more depressed with the situation of not being able to live as normal a life as possible due to the living conditions i was forced to live in,you have to try every thing i know you shouldn't but some times its the only way to get the job done.


Si

Yeah I agree...

Previously I wrote to my MP back and forth...the gp also wrote a referal to the council saying it needed doing but they paid no attention. I'm strong minded and don't really get depressed as such but in the early stages (first year) it definitely made an impact. In a way it's done good in that I know I can manage without adaptations but it is getting a bit ridiculous now...especially being used to a proper wet room at uni.

I have actually got the plans here, finalised, and £30000 had been grante to carry out the works...only by the time the work was due to start I was at uni and had other things on my mind...then I was going to move to London permanently so said it would probably be a waste of time doing the work. I then received a snotty letter saying I had to pay the architect fees from my OT...how she expects me to afford that I don't know...but this is what's making me unsure as to whether I can just phone up, say I've changed my mind, and get it all sorted...

I'll give the spinal unit a call too.

Thanks, Ryan.