As an additional £500+m funding is announced to alleviate bed blocking and expedite hospital discharge, AAT announces a raft of rapid delivery, best value measures to provide support once at home.
Says AAT GB Director Peter Wingrave, “The purpose of this welcome and necessary grant is to rapidly alleviate the bed blocking issue. However, just supplying the money won’t solve the problem. Why can we not change attitudes, and embrace technological advances that deliver fast, effective solutions?
“This would address the major issues highlighted in the Ombudsman’s report(*): that all too often the adaptation process (DFG) is ‘ beset by delay’, and that a ‘well-run adaptation service can not only improve the lives of disabled people but …result in significant savings for local councils’. You might argue that the introduction of stairclimbers into the range of solutions provides that immediacy, best value and independence. It does so without the delay and disruption typical in a home adaptation. It adds value.
“All these benefits can be delivered via the only profession in the UK qualified to do it, namely Occupational Therapists. All it needs is a desire to progress, and embrace technology and solutions that can deliver without delay.”
Where appropriate, AAT equipment such as a stairclimber, and vacuum posture cushion, can be delivered without delay-within a matter of days, not weeks or months. It empowers people to get home, access all levels of their home and bath, sit and sleep in comfort. The equipment can be re-issued when no longer needed by the original recipient. It adds permanent value, without the disruption of even minor works.
AAT powered stairclimbers eliminate the structural issues inherent with alternative through-floor means of transport. They enable carer and the user to safely transfer up and down steps and stairs, easily and at their own pace, without effort. They can be stored compactly away and used away from home too.
Most local authorities already have at least one AAT stairclimber in their stores, enabling almost instant access to a solution for someone who lives in a home where access/egress is an issue, or that has upstairs bath, toilet, bedroom. AAT provides full training for the carer and user. Options can even be hired from the company for the short or medium term.
AAT’s Stabilo brand of support vacuum cushions deliver precise support to the user wherever they need it, for part of the body and the environment (bath, chair, bed…).
The equipment precisely moulds to each user. It reduces or even eliminates the risk of pressure sores. It provides a feeling of safety and security, helpful when dealing with clients with sensory considerations.
The motorised Sit N Stand turns any conventional armchair into a riser, gently raising the user to standing whilst giving them complete control over the process.
AAT’s Raizer II battery-operated mobile lifting chair helps a fallen person up to an almost standing position in a few minutes. The aid can be operated by only a single assistant, and it requires only limited physical effort from the operator aside from a helping hand.
“All of our core solutions help address the issue of bed blocking,” adds Peter Wingrave. “They give people control over their ability to access their home, without the time delay and disruption inherent in a typical adaptation. The core justification of any home adaptation- minor or major- is provision of equipment that is necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practical. Our kit ticks all the boxes.”
Full details of the equipment, and AAT’s support packages- including actual or remote home assessment and training- can be accessed via the various drop-down menus on the company’s website www.aatgb.com, or by telephoning 01978 821875.
(*)Local Government Ombudsman Making a House a Home Focus Report
