A grab rail request that took the long way round
A tenant asks for a grab rail and a stair rail after a hospital stay. A minor adaptation, so it should be quick. The request is logged as a repair, the operative is unsure whether it needs an OT assessment, and it goes back to the housing officer. For a bigger adaptation, such as a level-access shower, an occupational therapist's recommendation arrives by email, a surveyor visits, the cost is estimated, a funding route is decided, and a contractor is booked. Each step lives in someone's inbox.
The tenant, who is struggling with the bathroom every day, calls to ask what is happening. Nobody can say quickly.
Why adaptations take so long to track
Adaptations sit across repairs, asset management, housing and outside agencies. Minor and major adaptations follow different routes, and major ones can involve funding decisions outside your organisation. There is rarely one owner of the whole journey.
- Requests are logged as repairs, emails or housing notes depending on who takes the call.
- OT referrals arrive by email with attachments and are filed in different places.
- Minor and major routes are not clearly separated.
- Funding decisions and approvals are tracked on spreadsheets.
- Adapted homes are not recorded well, so they are not matched to people who need them at relet.
What slow adaptations cost
Tenants live with homes that do not meet their needs for longer, with risks to their health and independence. Complaints follow. Adapted homes are sometimes relet to households who do not need the adaptations, and then removed or wasted, while other households wait for the same work. Staff time goes on answering chase calls.
The adaptations tracker we build
- Requests from tenants, OTs, housing officers and the contact centre are logged in one place, with any OT recommendation attached.
- Each request is sorted into your minor or major adaptation route based on your policy, with a person confirming.
- Minor adaptations raise a job in your repairs system and are tracked to completion.
- Major adaptations follow your stages: assessment, survey, specification, cost, funding decision, approval, works and sign-off, each with an owner and a target.
- Tenants get updates at each stage in the channel that suits them, including phone calls for tenants who prefer them.
- Completed adaptations are recorded against the home in your housing management or asset system, so lettings can match adapted homes to applicants who need them.
- Managers see requests by stage and age, and where requests are waiting on someone outside your organisation.
| Request | Route | Tracked through |
|---|---|---|
| Grab rail or handrail | Minor | Repair job to completion |
| Level-access shower | Major | Survey, funding, approval, works |
| Stairlift | Major | Assessment, funding, installation, servicing |
| Ramp or door widening | Major | Survey, approval, works |
Your adaptations policy, eligibility and funding routes are decided by you, and clinical recommendations stay with the occupational therapist. We build the tracking; we do not give clinical advice.
What tenants and staff notice
Every request has a clear route and a current stage. Minor adaptations are done as jobs without detours. Staff answering a tenant's call can say exactly where things are. Adapted homes are recorded, so at relet they can go to someone who needs them.
Managers can also see where time goes across all requests: waiting for an OT assessment, waiting for a funding decision, or waiting for a contractor. That makes conversations with partners outside the organisation more specific, because they are based on the stage where requests actually wait.
Is this your adaptations service?
- Adaptations requests are logged in different places.
- OT referrals arrive by email and are hard to find later.
- Major adaptations are tracked on spreadsheets.
- Tenants call to ask about progress.
- Adapted homes are not always matched to people who need them at relet.