Assisted living aids can help you to maintain independence, stay safe at home and manage your condition better. This may be a wheelchair, walking sticks, a gadget to open bottles and cans, or devices to help your breathing, such as oxygen in a bottle.
Sometimes you can get help with adapting your home. This includes having extra hand rails fitted or changing the height of the bed. Other things that can be done to make it easier for you to move around include:
- widening doors and installing ramps
- installing a stair lift or providing a downstairs bathroom
- adapting the heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use
- providing gadgets for free or at a reduced cost, though sometimes you may have to wait
What's available?
For information on what’s available and where to get it from, speak to your GP or practice nurse, local pharmacist or social care staff.
Any aid is useful only if you know how to use it properly and safely. Whenever you get new (or replacement) equipment ask to be shown how it works. Over time, all aids need checking to see that they still work. Make sure you know where you can find new parts for an aid or who to talk to about getting an aid repaired or replaced.
How to get more help
- For more advice on equipment to help you manage around the house, visit the Directgov website.
- Phone social services at your local council and ask for a home assessment.
- The Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) can also give free advice.
VAT relief
You may be eligible for VAT relief on devices and services you buy specifically to help you cope with your long-term condition or disability. This might include items such as wheelchairs, artificial limbs, chair or stair lifts, gadgets and devices such as kettle tippers.
You can find out more about VAT relief for disabled people on the HM Revenue & Customs website. If you can't find the answer to your questions there you can call their Charities Helpline, which covers VAT relief for disabled people. The helpline number is 0845 302 0203 and is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
You can also find out more about VAT relief at Directgov, the government’s official online source of information on benefits.
