Today I've been helping an elderly constituent on Corbridge Road, Mrs B, get a stair lift installed into her property. She likes her house and isn't inclined to move so this is the best option for her.
I managed to help Mrs B get a DFG - a disabled facilties grant from Reading Borough Council which means as she's on a low income she won't have to shell out for the lift. This is also good news for the Council tax payer as it means she will be able to stay in her own home for a few more years and won't need to move into more accessible accomodation (at least for the time being).
Recent surveys done by RBC have found that more and more elderly people In Reading are expressing a desire to stay in their own homes as long as possible, rather than moving into residential care. This means that given the impact on Reading of a growing elderly population, the Council will need to do more both to adapt its own housing stock, including building newer, more accessible types of accomodation more in tune with the needs of older people.
Anyway, back to Mrs B, the only slight complication in the otherwise smooth process of getting her a stairlift, has been the fact that RBC has recently outsourced the dministration of DFGs to Ridgway Care and Repair, so we don't know exactly when her stair lift will be installed (RCR are acting as the agent). Let's hope it's sorted soon.
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