Medical Banding?

Xx_Luchia_xX

Hi everyone!

Recently had a medical assessment from Gateway 2 Care(Accessible Homes) as I have a disability and struggling to manage with the bath and stairs in my home.
The lady that came out explained that due to the design of the building they unfortunately couldn't do any adaptions and suggested we register on the Choose N Move website, She said she was going to write a report for this and she was 99% certain we would be placed in Band B.
Luckily the other day the account was approved on the Choose n move thing but it showed Band D, I contacted them immediately and was told this is just the default Band and that the case was now with accessible homes who would update the banding with the medical information from the assessment.

I've never used this system before and wanted to ask what this banding thing actually means?
Is Band B a good thing?
I did explain to the lady who came out that I couldn't live in a flat with a communal area and she told me not to worry about that as my medical report would waiver the age restrictions for a Bungalow.

Has anyone gone through this before? Curious how long roughly it takes for the banding to be changed from the default to the new one and what the banding thing is?

Many thanks 

canaldumidi

Bitof a specialised area. Might do better on the Benefits board here. Or you might be lucky and someone here might know.....

Xx_Luchia_xX

canaldumidi said:

Bitof a specialised area. Might do better on the Benefits board here. Or you might be lucky and someone here might know.....

Shall have a look but I would of thought Housing was the most appropriate place.

deannagone

This can differ so much from Borough to borough.  I do think you'd be better off asking your local Housing Office, or find out which department handles the banding.  Even your housing manager might be a good idea as they probably will have dealt with this before (given they manage so many properties).

Xx_Luchia_xX

deannagone said:

This can differ so much from Borough to borough.  I do think you'd be better off asking your local Housing Office, or find out which department handles the banding.  Even your housing manager might be a good idea as they probably will have dealt with this before (given they manage so many properties).

Hi 😀 
I did ask them and all the could tell me is the application is now with the medical department(Accessible Homes, the people who did the assessment)

Ratkin007

Band D would be the general needs band. When first registered you are banded according to basic circumstances i.e number of rooms you have currently and number of persons in household, whether or not notice has been served. You would not be assessed immediately on medical grounds without the report as it is not as simple as saying you have a medical condition, otherwise a lot of people would automatically get the higher priority. Your starting point would bd with the assessor and how the process works as it does differ from authority to authority, i.e does she do the report, pass it to her manager, then pass it to the team that deals with banding for it to go to a panel for approval and then to someone else to update. She was 99% sure you would be placed inband b. Was the priority approved. Does your authority have any guides which explains banding or can you access the allocations policy which gives more information.  I will also add that in some areas ground floor flats and flats with lifts are considered suitable for people with medical conditions, especially where bungalows are in short supply (though Inote you are not objecting to flats) 😊

Xx_Luchia_xX

Ratkin007 said:

Band D would be the general needs band. When first registered you are banded according to basic circumstances i.e number of rooms you have currently and number of persons in household, whether or not notice has been served. You would not be assessed immediately on medical grounds without the report as it is not as simple as saying you have a medical condition, otherwise a lot of people would automatically get the higher priority. Your starting point would bd with the assessor and how the process works as it does differ from authority to authority, i.e does she do the report, pass it to her manager, then pass it to the team that deals with banding for it to go to a panel for approval and then to someone else to update. She was 99% sure you would be placed inband b. Was the priority approved. Does your authority have any guides which explains banding or can you access the allocations policy which gives more information.  I will also add that in some areas ground floor flats and flats with lifts are considered suitable for people with medical conditions, especially where bungalows are in short supply (though Inote you are not objecting to flats) 😊

Thank you for the information 😀
Only thing I've been able to find out so far is the account is currently with the Medical Team which is the same department that the lady who came out to do the report is from so I guess it's just waiting for them to change the banding based on her report.
She did say Bungalows are now given to people which assessed medical needs over the elderly now(I'll have the assessed medical needs) and that I should only place interest on bungalows if I don't want a flat, luckily they do come up quite often here(2-8 every week) and most have a icon that says "Assesed medical needs will be given priority over age/others".
I guess it's just a waiting game now for them to update the banding, she did say due to disability and unable to do adaptions she was 99% certain I would Band B and her report would be pushing for that.
They don't really give a great deal of information 

AFF8879

If it’s genuinely a case of a ground floor flat “not being suitable” for you and your medical condition, as opposed to just being your personal preference, then I would think the assessor would have to take that into account in their decision 

Xx_Luchia_xX

AFF8879 said:

If it’s genuinely a case of a ground floor flat “not being suitable” for you and your medical condition, as opposed to just being your personal preference, then I would think the assessor would have to take that into account in their decision 

At the moment I live in an upstairs flat(private entrance) and the stairs are the main issue but also unable to use the bath unaided, unfortunately they are unable to do the adaptions needed due to the design of the building(that's all I was told on why they couldn't be done), she said I would require a ground floor property but I told her that I couldn't live in a flat with a communal area and was told it wouldn't be an issue and that all I needed to do was place interest on Bungalows only on the Choose n move thing.
They did provide some things to help around the home(walking stick, bed rail etc) to put me on until I can move but she did note these are only temporary measures and not a long term solution 

KxMx

If you go onto your councils website you should be able to find the housing section, which will explain the allocations policy and have various documents that you can read. 

Some ground floor flats have their own front door and no communal entrance - worth considering perhaps? 

Bungalows are in very high demand, of course one would be ideal but may be worth considering the right type of flat if that gets you somewhere quicker. 

Rambosmum

It would depend why you couldn't live in a flat with a communal area - if it's for mental health reasons you'll need to explicitly state that with the housing department, because most accessibility issues (heavy entry doors, thresholds etc) have been resolved. 


I've worked in several LAs and band b is in all of them, the highest band. Band A (sometimes band M depending on the authority) is usually very specialised issues, where people in that band won't actually bid, suitable houses will be found, adaptations done and it presented to them with little or no choice. Band b is often (though depends on authority) a priority band for specific types of property.