Personal care and accommodation adaptations

Personal care

All students will need to cover the costs of their personal care needs, which replicate the support you would need in your own home. This includes assistance getting dressed and undressed, getting up from and into bed, taking medication, eating, drinking, accessing the toilets, shopping, and cleaning. The University is not able to provide or fund personal care support. If you currently have, or will have, a personal carer, please let us know at the earliest opportunity. Contact us at include@essex.ac.uk

Do consider the support needs you will have between lectures during the day and to attend extra-curricular activities as this should be considered in any care assessment. If you have been supported by family members prior to coming to Essex, then you may find it useful to keep a diary of the support they provide over a week or month, e.g., what they do, time of day or night and how long it takes, so that you have this information available. UK students should contact their local council to ask for a care needs assessment. If you are applying for UK general disability allowances for the first time, this can take a considerable time. So, as soon as you are considering living on campus, please contact your council Adult Social Care Team so they can assess your needs and agree a care plan and funding for this.

International students

If you are an overseas student, please do consider how these additional costs will be met and ensure that your personal care support is organised prior to your arrival in the UK. You can find local care providers via a Google search or via the Essex County Council website. You can contact them to discuss your support needs and ask for a quotation of their fees, terms, and conditions.

Individual adaptions to accommodation

if you will likely need additional changes to our adapted accommodation to meet your needs such as a hoist, this will be part of your care assessment by social services. It can be a lengthy process to be assessed, receive approval, and then liaise with various services to make the adaptions, apply at your earliest opportunity.

Delays

Delays in providing information about your required specialist equipment/adaptations and any funding you have secured for room adaptations may mean that the university cannot guarantee adaptions will be completed in time for you to move in at the beginning of term.

Services here to help you

Accessibility & Wellbeing Team

Email: include@essex.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 1206 874000)

• Advice on possible sources of funding for personal care.
• Advice on arrangements that have worked for previous students.
• Liasion with Accommodation Essex.

Accommodation Essex

Email: askthehub@essex.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 1206 874000)

• Information on the standard adaptations available in University accommodation.
• Advice on accommodation arrangements for live in personal care assistants.

Health and Safety Advisory Service

Email: safety@essex.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 1206 872944)

• Provide training to you and your personal care assistants on basic fire safety, safe evacuation and, where necessary, use of specialist evacuation equipment.
• Assist with you with your Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)

Your responsibilities

• Liaise with your local Social Services/NHS continuing care team with regard to a care plan and the funding available to you for specialist equipment and/or personal assistants.
• Provide confirmation of funding for any specialist equipment and installation to include@essex.ac.uk
•  Advise Accommodation Essex of any specialist equipment that is installed into your room and put in place suitable arrangements for the regular inspection / maintenance as specified by the supplier.
• Provide a copy of the equipment maintenance contract/s covering the period of your study to Accommodation Essex for their reference. Note: The University will not be responsible for any form of maintenance or associated costs unless agreed otherwise in writing by Accommodation Essex.
• Advise Accommodation Essex when you arrange for the removal of equipment at the end of your stay and meet the costs of returning the room to its original condition, unless agreed otherwise in writing with the University.
• Recruit, appoint and arrange payment for your carers (you may prefer to consider an external service provider who will do this on your behalf).
• Liaise with the Health and Safety Advisory Service to ensure that you and your personal care assistants receive fire safety training and that your PEEP is in place.
• Ensure your personal care assistants have information and training appropriate for their role, including orientation of campus, moving and handling of people training and use of any specialist equipment.
• Have an emergency arrangement for your support in place should a personal care assistant be ill or unavailable.

Please note: If external specialist suppliers are to be used, they will be required to provide various documents to Accommodation Essex, who will liaise with the Estates Management Team to help facilitate the process. There will need to be sufficient advance notice, prior to any work commencing on campus.