The importance of accommodation
The importance of accommodation cannot be underestimated in a child brain injury claim. From my decades of working as a child brain injury solicitor, I have learned there are so many considerations. Not only does the property need to meet the needs of the child and facilitate their rehabilitation and recovery, but it must also continue to meet the needs of the family and protect their privacy, whilst still feeling like home. It also needs to be capable of supporting the child to be as independent as possible in the future, promoting dignity, self-esteem and quality of life.
We are delighted to share this video which showcases one of our clients, Emily, in her newly adapted home.
We seek interim payments of compensation at the earliest possible opportunity, driven by the need to fund life-changing bespoke care and rehabilitation regimes, which can be set up and overseen by a specialist brain injury case manager. At that point, a client and their family will ideally want to move to a suitable rental property pending the purchase and adaptation of a property that will suit their long- term needs. This can take time. A property purchase and adaptation project might happen whilst the claim is ongoing if interim funding is available for this, or if not, it will take place after final settlement of the claim.
There are a number of factors that must be considered when looking for a suitable property. From a practical perspective, more space is almost always needed.
Carers and therapists
So often, our clients’ comprehensive care and rehabilitation regimes feature one or sometimes two carers round the clock to meet our clients’ complex needs and ensure their safety and wellbeing. Our clients’ rehabilitation programmes will include input from numerous therapists, including neuropsychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and music therapists. The sheer number of healthcare professionals involved and coming into the home can, at times, feel overwhelming and suffocating. Great care must be taken to ensure the home environment helps accommodate and promote our clients’ rehabilitation and meets their needs whilst also avoiding the sense that the family home starts feeling like a rehabilitation centre, and thus, no longer like home….
To ensure professional care can be delivered effectively and without intruding on family life and privacy, it is important therefore that carers have their own separate bedrooms, with a bathroom for their own use, a kitchenette area in which to prepare meals and snacks and also an office space for writing up notes and other administrative work, all within easy reach of the client’s bedroom and en-suite bathroom so they can attend to them swiftly as required through the night. A separate entrance for carers and therapists can also help to ensure family life is not disrupted. Multiple carers and therapists trudging through family areas can be both overwhelming and unsettling and it is important for parents and siblings that they feel their home is still their home and a private, secure haven. Separate areas and access for carers and therapists can help facilitate this, with the added bonus of also preserving the privacy of the carers. It might be harder to achieve this in a rental property where there are limitations as to what adaptations can be made, and so a property with more rooms might be needed to provide a sense of separation between family life and professional care.
A dedicated therapy space
A dedicated therapy room is also a good idea. Family members should not have to leave family spaces, such as the family living room and be confined to their bedrooms when therapists visit, but this can so often happen if there is no separate space for therapy. A room dedicated to therapy means family spaces can function as they should – as family spaces. In some cases, a client’s therapy needs may require some specific features to be installed – such as a hook on the ceiling for hammocks and swings for sensory integration therapy. This is best achieved in a dedicated space, where there can also be storage for therapy equipment, such as large balls, padded blocks, trampettes and so on. Also, from the perspective of the child who has a brain injury, the concept of having rooms with dedicated purposes is helpful as they will start to associate specific rooms with specific activities, i.e., therapy taking place in the therapy room, family time in the family living room and sleep in the bedroom. Multipurpose rooms can be confusing and sometimes counterproductive.
Accessibility
The layout of the home needs to be very carefully considered. If a client uses a wheelchair and requires hoisting or has mobility issues, then the accommodation should ideally be single floor and level or, at the very least, family spaces and the client’s room, therapy room and carers’ rooms should all be on the same level. This can often be facilitated by building a ground-floor wrap-around extension to a property if there is sufficient space to do so and funds are available to purchase and adapt. For rental properties, a large property with a bigger footprint will likely be needed. Sometimes through floor lifts, and the space that these can take up (often one room downstairs and the room immediately above it on the first floor) may need to be considered.
Doorways will need to be wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and will need to line up, with access routes remaining uncluttered. Assistive technology touches such as automatic openers to doors, remote control lighting and heating and automatic lighting can help facilitate greater independence and convenience in the home. Again, there needs to be sufficient storage space for equipment, especially given that some of our clients will have more than one wheelchair – a typical everyday wheelchair and also an all-terrain wheelchair.
Bathrooms/wet rooms
Bathrooms need to be big enough to feature a specialist bath that can provide a sensory experience with music, lights and therapeutic bubbles or jacuzzi-like spa effects where indicated. Other clients prefer wet rooms – sufficient space is required for these and a body dryer, if needed, as well as a specialist “wash and dry” toilet. A client’s bathroom will ideally be ensuite and within easy reach of the carers’ accommodation.
Family spaces need to feature a toilet suitable for the client, if their ensuite bathroom is some distance away, to ensure dignity is preserved. This is because some clients can only give very short notice of the need to use the toilet, and a toilet close by will prevent accidents and the distress these can bring.
Entry to the property
Thought must be given as to how a client might transition from their vehicle into the house. Ideally, there should be a covered carport with quick and direct access into the house, so that if the weather is inclement, the client is not exposed to it. Sufficient parking is also required for carers and visiting therapists.
Outdoor space
Outside space and the garden must not be overlooked. It should be both accessible and safe for the client and also function for the family, with consideration given to level surfaces, lighting, fencing and security and also, if possible, a sensory or therapeutic space as well as an outdoor play area with appropriate specialist play equipment – inground trampolines, installed flush to the ground to reduce risk, are a firm favourite of clients and their siblings.
Future proofing
Future proofing the home is an important consideration. What might function perfectly for a child needs to be capable of working for an adult too. It is therefore vital that any purchased home has the potential to meet a client’s needs throughout life with minimal adaptation.
The importance of a collaborative and expert team
Often, occupational therapists with expertise in equipment and accommodation are well placed to assess whether a property is suitable. Specialist property finders can also be engaged to assist with the search and liaison with agents.
In Emily’s case, Adaptation Design Limited were involved from the outset. After a property was identified, Tess Whitehead, Occupational Therapist, assessed its suitability and worked with Michael Clifton, Architectural Technologist to devise and realise a scheme that could not only facilitate the smooth running of Emily’s care and therapy regime, but also ticked all the boxes in terms of Emily’s personal tastes, creating a bespoke and beautiful home that functions perfectly to meet her needs both now and in the future. We wish Emily much joy and happiness in her beautiful home.
