Are the Council being unreasonable with this?

[Rampxoxo]

My elderly mother lives in a ground floor council flat. She is disabled and uses a mobility scooter to get out. She stores her mobility scooter in her flat.

When she goes out on her scooter, she struggles to get it down the 7" step at the communal front door. It is a block of 6 flats, with 3 storey (two flats on each level), which share the same communal front door.

I have asked the council to install a ramp at the front door. They have said they only do ramps for people who are completely wheelchair dependent, not to help people with scooters to get out.

Is this reasonable? I feel like they are being tight and unhelpful.

Would the ramp be onto a pavement? It can’t be a tripping hazard for other users

It is when you have to take the needs of the other residents into account. Plus, a scooter ramp will be engineered differently to a wheelchair one.

No.

A ramp provided by the council has to meet building regulations. That means it has to be under a certain gradient. That can mean it needs to be a long ramp to meet the regulations. You say there are 6 steps which would imply there is a a bit of
height from ground to front door to cover. As a PP says it cannot go onto a public footpath so may not be possible anyway. It will need to be made of concrete or metal as wooden ramps get rotten and slippy. As I say it will also need to allow for a scooter rather than a wheelchair and as it is communal be safe for whatever others may end up using it for!

You would be altering the main access for a number of people by the sound of it. Some people find steps easier than a ramp to walk up so the council may end up with a referral to alter it back!

contact your MP & local counciller
mine have been excellent
Also see if she can be referred by her doctor to the enablement centre for a prescribed wheelchair

if she gets a prescribed wheelchair then she can ask her doctor to confirm this in a letter and then use this for proof that she is Mia a wheelchair user

This is what a neighbour in my street did who had a similar problem

Disabled scooter use here. I'm saying that up front because I think it's you being unreasonable. I'm ignoring councils have no money to do this. But it's not just her home. Other people also live there, and ramps may be great for her, but they can also be difficult or even dangerous for others.

For those who think ramps are easy or cheap, they aren't. It not a case of getting some cowboy to rock up at your home. Mine, for my bungalow, to cater for a small rise up to the rear of my property, was £5k. And it's done well but I bet it isn't up to spec.

Making her own will probably get her warned about breaking tenancy rules, and would be dangerous.

Tbh, the best approach would be to get an assessment for rehousing if she needs a mobility scooter. Or to get permission for storage if there's space. But the former only works if she is assessed as requiring it.

The OT hasn't stated that a ramp would disadvantage other residents.

In any case, ramps are constructed at public buildings all the time. These are clearly designed to cater for the needs of multiple users. Unless the ramp is gold plated, it is difficult to believe that it would be extortionately expensive for one small step.

Clearly the Council policy of no to ramps for scooters is based on cutting spending. It does go against the ethos of promoting independence for people with disabilities though.

No, not 6 steps. Just one small step.

Thank you for this suggestion!

I still feel that the Council should do ramps for scooters though. Disabled Facilities Grants are awarded up to £30000, for extensions, showers, stairlift all sorts for people with disabilities. Seems funny that there is money for some alternations but not for others.

The quick way to get a formal answer from a more senior OT is either to lodge a formal complaint or raise with your MP ( Members Enquiry). This will ensure more senior staff review the issue and response from OT, then respond to you within an agreed time frame.
Probably the easiest is raising a complaint online - find your County / Borough Council ASC "contact Us" there should be clear instructions as to how to raise a complaint.

If your mother gets a ramp put in, what happens to the step. Will it still be there for those that need a step access?

The OT can't say anything about other residents - they have not addressed them and have no understanding of the practicability or law around the building regs.

Ramps are installed at public buildings where possible.

And it's not about cutting spending. It's called not having any money. If that doesn't work for you, speak to the government. Councils can't afford to look after the needs of exceptionally vulnerable children and adults. Which of them do you suggest goes without for the ramp? And that really isn't over egging it. Councils have had to reduce spending and balance budgets for nearly 20 years of austerity and pandemics. Almost all are in severe deficit. I have never known things to be so tight. We literally can't find a couple of £thousands "down the back of the sofa" for nice stuff like this.

Assessed not addressed

The OT will be making the recommendation based on policy rather than need IME. Given the shocking threshold that needs to be met for someone to actually qualify for a wheelchair I’m not in the least bit surprised by this.

Sorry my mistake - however It really isn’t as simple as you would think it would be! There are strict guidelines to work to and ramps are expensive.

www.nurturegroup.co.uk/wheelchair-ramp-regulations/

The above gives some idea of the complexity and issues to consider. To cover a 6 inch step would need almost 2m of ramp. It may also need to include platforms and possibly steps for other users. It is all part of building regs so not possible to work around - even for a daily mail sad face!

What a load of rubbish the council are telling you my friend uses a mobility scooter and they actually built her a concrete ramp outside her front door and put one on the block as well I would make a complaint to the housing department and ask for an OT assessment
The council fails to realise that back in the day people like your mum would’ve had to have used a wheelchair people who would normally use wheelchairs prefer mobility scooters as there is less stigma and it’s easier to get around

Great suggestion. Will definitely do this.

To be honest, the fact that it is a communal access is a red herring anyway. Mum is being denied a ramp because they only do them for wheelchair dependent people. If she was wheelchair dependent, they would do a ramp at the communal access apparently.

Totally agree. Sadly it's the OT who is saying no in this instance though.

You could put your own ramp on the door when she leaves the house and then pick it back up and take it in when she’s gone you can get plastic ones only thing is u would have to be there every time she goes out

Because the majority of people are twats.

The OT isn't saying no because of the communal access in any case. A ramp would be done if Mum was wheelchair dependent, because that's the policy.

The ability to get out of your home independently for a disabled person is not really just a nice luxury though is it?

If they are willing to adapt for a communal access that’s good albeit it unusual! In that case I would think the easiest route would be for your mum to ask to be assessed for an NHS wheelchair. Once she has that then it would be all systems go.

I work on the Disabled Facilities Grant programme. The OT is correct. They are following the legislation which sets out eligibility. The legislation only supports ramps for wheelchair access. I have worked on the programme for a long time and a grant has never been approved for this purpose. However, we would provide a grant for a scooter shed.

That is certainly one way of going about it and is food for thought. I think that we would feel slightly guilty to ask for a wheelchair which no doubt is expensive to provide and it probably would never get used.