4 replies to this topic

[wheelywendy]

hi i'm really p....'d off today, i've been looking for a fully adapted bungalow for the past 8 yrs, after being told there really is no more they can do to my bungalow to adapt it further, the bathroom is very tight and only accessable in my old chair, not my new one as wheels are slightly wider at the base, internal doors are normal sized so ok for manual chairs (just) but not for either of my electric chairs, the garden is vast and impossible to maintain from a wheelchair, infact the grassed area is big and full off pot holes so cant get across it very well in manual chair and often get stuck in electric one, the kitchen is full height worktops except for 1 small lower one and in whole is managable with a struggle, except the top cupboards of course.
so i've been looking out for an accesable bungalow to come up (i'm in local authority housing) after 8yrs one has come up, i got quite excited its in a nice area where i'd feel safe, its near to a shopping centre so i could be independent with my food shopping etc, nice flat areas that i could walk my dogs and enough space on the drive to park (and get out of car easily) and room for my wheelchair trailer,
excitedly i rang to put myself down for this bungalow, only to be told i dont qualify as its two bedroomed!! I currently live in a two bedroomed bungalow which they accepted me for 10yrs ago, now they tell me basically i cant move unless i accept a 1 bedroomed bungalow in areas that i'd be too scared to leave my home without someone with me, and even then its liable to be several years before one comes up again!!!, i cant see how they can do this, after all if i was able to move into that 2 bed bungalow its gonna free them another 2 bed bungalow up anyway, so whats the difference. anyone with any tips or suggestions i'd be very grateful as basically they tell me i have no rights, my carer has contacted them to tell them that she frequently stays over night with me, in fact a few weeks ago i was so poorly she stayed for 8 nights in a row, so i do need the spare room,
but more importantly i need to be rehomed somewhere i can independently get around and somewhere that i feel safe. help please

Edited by wheelywendy, 24 April 2009 - 01:05 PM.

[ems]

ok, do you get higher rate care allowance on your DLA?
Cos if so, it meant that you need care at night as well as in the day, which means a carer ( or someone!!) will need to be around at night to turn you etc... carers need somewhere to stay btw ... getting me? hehehe

Another thing, when I came out of Stoke yrs ago I was offered a three bed bunglalow in a lovely little village with a huge garden from the local housing asociation... why? Because it was the only place they could actually adapt for me. Thankfully I didnt end up needing it as I managed to buy my own. One of our friends locally had a flat with a housing association when she came out of hosp, they called it tempory housing until the built her a bungalow. That flat was a 2 bed flat with dining room and living room, the bunglaow they built her, was a 2 bed... because she had higher rate carers on her DLA, and her OT said she needed it. I take your OT will back you.. if you have higher rate care ?

Edited by ems, 24 April 2009 - 01:48 PM.

[wheelywendy]

ems, on Apr 24 2009, 02:43 PM, said:

ok, do you get higher rate care allowance on your DLA?
Cos if so, it meant that you need care at night as well as in the day, which means a carer ( or someone!!) will need to be around at night to turn you etc... carers need somewhere to stay btw ... getting me? hehehe

Another thing, when I came out of Stoke yrs ago I was offered a three bed bunglalow in a lovely little village with a huge garden from the local housing asociation... why? Because it was the only place they could actually adapt for me. Thankfully I didnt end up needing it as I managed to buy my own. One of our friends locally had a flat with a housing association when she came out of hosp, they called it tempory housing until the built her a bungalow. That flat was a 2 bed flat with dining room and living room, the bunglaow they built her, was a 2 bed... because she had higher rate carers on her DLA, and her OT said she needed it. I take your OT will back you.. if you have higher rate care ?

thanks for that ems, i will contact my ot on monday and try that line, have also asked my gp to email them with reguards to needing someone to be there 24/7 when my asthmas bad, so i'll try hitting them from all angles, i have tried getting them to build on to the current bungalow as theres loads of land front back and side, but they dont have sufficient funding or so they say, would have solved everything as i live in a lovely village, but just fed up of struggling when things could be sooo much easier with the right layout. thanks wendy

Edited by wheelywendy, 24 April 2009 - 03:22 PM.

[Slowlegs]

wheelywendy, on Apr 24 2009, 03:19 PM, said:

ems, on Apr 24 2009, 02:43 PM, said:

ok, do you get higher rate care allowance on your DLA?
Cos if so, it meant that you need care at night as well as in the day, which means a carer ( or someone!!) will need to be around at night to turn you etc... carers need somewhere to stay btw ... getting me? hehehe

Another thing, when I came out of Stoke yrs ago I was offered a three bed bunglalow in a lovely little village with a huge garden from the local housing asociation... why? Because it was the only place they could actually adapt for me. Thankfully I didnt end up needing it as I managed to buy my own. One of our friends locally had a flat with a housing association when she came out of hosp, they called it tempory housing until the built her a bungalow. That flat was a 2 bed flat with dining room and living room, the bunglaow they built her, was a 2 bed... because she had higher rate carers on her DLA, and her OT said she needed it. I take your OT will back you.. if you have higher rate care ?

thanks for that ems, i will contact my ot on monday and try that line, have also asked my gp to email them with reguards to needing someone to be there 24/7 when my asthmas bad, so i'll try hitting them from all angles, i have tried getting them to build on to the current bungalow as theres loads of land front back and side, but they dont have sufficient funding or so they say, would have solved everything as i live in a lovely village, but just fed up of struggling when things could be sooo much easier with the right layout. thanks wendy

Hi,great suggestions EMS. I would like to suggest you perhaps contact your MP for social housing and the media if none of that works. Good luck, sounds like beauracracy gone mad.

[wheelywendy]

Slowlegs, on Apr 24 2009, 08:14 PM, said:

wheelywendy, on Apr 24 2009, 03:19 PM, said:

ems, on Apr 24 2009, 02:43 PM, said:

ok, do you get higher rate care allowance on your DLA?
Cos if so, it meant that you need care at night as well as in the day, which means a carer ( or someone!!) will need to be around at night to turn you etc... carers need somewhere to stay btw ... getting me? hehehe

Another thing, when I came out of Stoke yrs ago I was offered a three bed bunglalow in a lovely little village with a huge garden from the local housing asociation... why? Because it was the only place they could actually adapt for me. Thankfully I didnt end up needing it as I managed to buy my own. One of our friends locally had a flat with a housing association when she came out of hosp, they called it tempory housing until the built her a bungalow. That flat was a 2 bed flat with dining room and living room, the bunglaow they built her, was a 2 bed... because she had higher rate carers on her DLA, and her OT said she needed it. I take your OT will back you.. if you have higher rate care ?

thanks for that ems, i will contact my ot on monday and try that line, have also asked my gp to email them with reguards to needing someone to be there 24/7 when my asthmas bad, so i'll try hitting them from all angles, i have tried getting them to build on to the current bungalow as theres loads of land front back and side, but they dont have sufficient funding or so they say, would have solved everything as i live in a lovely village, but just fed up of struggling when things could be sooo much easier with the right layout. thanks wendy

Hi,great suggestions EMS. I would like to suggest you perhaps contact your MP for social housing and the media if none of that works. Good luck, sounds like beauracracy gone mad.

thanks slowlegs hadnt thought of that will give that a try on monday,
thanks wendy