Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) England

From the little I know you have to have very little in the way of savings to be eligible.

Some years ago my elderly Mum got a grant to have her bathroom converted to a wetroom to enable her to stay in her home. Although she owned her own home she had very little savings and was on pension credit. We had to get 3 quotes and then the council decides. It was a great wetroom and Mum was able to stay in her own home for many more years.

Primrose53 🙏 .. glad your mom got her wet room .. this is something the OTs mentioned and I did read that if have savings over ??, you would be expected to pay an amount .. given that a lot of councils are struggling with adult social care, I might not get any DFG …

I live in a block of flats and two of my neighbours have had their bathrooms converted to 'wet rooms'. They were both on low incomes and there doesn't seem to have been any problems.

I was lucky enough to get this done using a disabled facilities grant. An OT (occupational therapist) whom I saw at a place called an Independent Living centre suggested that she would make the application to Adult Social Services for an assessment. She did so and I was contacted, visited first by another OT at home, then, once her report had been considered, by the contractor who would be completing the work. I could choose colours for wall tiles and non slip flooring and also paint for the walls. Some weeks later the work was done and they made a terrific job of it. I am on a low income and get Pension Guarantee Credit, so I didn’t have to pay at all. Obviously they carry out a financial assessment to determine that. I am thrilled with my new bathroom …I have a fold down seat in the shower area, access to the shower area via a folding ‘gate’ of sorts and two wall rails for support. I kept my lovely colourful shower curtain. Whilst the contractor was there he supplied a raised toilet pan and a new hand basin. It really has changed my life for the better and I am extremely lucky that the first OT who assessed me, made the suggestion. If you are not sure where to start, give Adult Social Services at your local council a call, explain your difficulties and they should arrange a first consultation with an OT for you. It’s not a particularly fast process but it’s worth the wait when the outcome makes such a difference day to day.

I wonder why they dont just fit a 'usual' enclosed shower cubicle in, but a large one,& fit the folding seat in.But cheaper to fit surely and nicer looking than those horrid- looking(in my opinion) folding waist-high folding door contraptions which dont take long to become old& grubby looking.

We had a community OT came to our house recently.

We would like a curved stairlift for my elderly DH who just had a hip facture operation and I was told that our council will fund the cost of a new Stannah stairlift without mean testing under the Disabilities facilities grant. I still had complete the application form declaring our income and savings.

The OT asked whether we wanted to convert our bathroom into a shower room. I told her I will get a company called UDoor to fit a door in our bath and we will pay the cost ourselves to minimise disruption.

The savings threshold for DFG is very low £6k I think.

Nannan2

I wonder why they dont just fit a 'usual' enclosed shower cubicle in, but a large one,& fit the folding seat in.But cheaper to fit surely and nicer looking than those horrid- looking(in my opinion) folding waist-high folding door contraptions which dont take long to become old& grubby looking.

Have you ever tried to get in a fully enclosed shower cubicle
with another adult both very slippery? (Well, yes I have, not strictly for hygeine purposes). It's a tight fit and if one of you slipped/ fell and broke a hip, emergency services would have to dismantle it to get them out. So no good for a carer showering a disabled or frail person.

The folding gates enable a carer, staying fully dressed and bone dry (including feet) to assist the naked wet person in the shower. I often did this for the grandchildren. They are private teens now. Their own very modern home nearby has three glass wall showers. They still like to come here for a shower because ours is their favourite; DGD treats it like a little spa. Don't blame her, its my all time favourite too.

The showeree can either be seated on the fold down seat; or standing while supported by the safety bars or their zimmer walker. Standing shower is useful for incontinent people to get a really thorough wash of skin folds etc.

The floor to ceiling wall panels, floor and quality folding gates are easy to clean perfectly ( I use the power shower on full blast) and stay in perfect condition for many years. Ours is 30 + years old, installed by previous owner.

I'd recommend them to any older person; so much room and comfort.

What butterandjam maybe ok for 2 people but not solo