Daily living aids: products, information and advice

What are daily living aids?

Working with local authorities and the NHS across the country, NRS Healthcare are trusted suppliers of daily living aids. These are products designed to help make lots of everyday tasks easier, especially if you are living with a health condition, and are often also referred to as ‘mobility aids’. Daily living aids can help if you have mobility problems, or find certain everyday tasks difficult, such as going to the toilet, taking a shower or bath, preparing food, drinking, getting dressed, getting in and out of your bed or chair and sitting comfortably.

Daily living aids are used by lots of different people of all ages. They can be really useful if you are living with conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, COPD, dementia, stroke or Parkinson’s disease which may cause pain, mobility problems, memory problems, difficulty eating or drinking, or lots of other symptoms that affect your independence.

How do I buy my own equipment?

Sometimes, if you are assessed as having a requirement for daily living aids to help you at home, you may be able to get this equipment free of charge through your local authority. However, dependent on the extent of your needs, not all daily living aids are provided for you and you may need to purchase some yourself if you think they will help.

Many local authorities provide a basic range of daily living aids, and they are unable to offer you much choice as to the type and style of equipment you can have free of charge. For example, if your OT recommends you have a rise and recline chair to help you sit down and stand up more easily, you may only have a small selection or no choice as to the colour, style and so on available on loan to you. You may wish to buy such an item yourself, to get exactly what you want. This is called ‘self-funding’ and means you choose to buy equipment yourself.

There are many different retailers selling daily living aids, both online and in your local area.

How can Healthcare Pro help me?

Healthcare Pro also provides options to people who are unsure what daily living aids are available, or what products may best meet their needs.

We have a team of OTs and OT Assistants in our product advice team. They have over 40 years’ experience between them, and know most daily living aids inside and out! They are available during office hours over the telephone or by email, to answer any questions you have about daily living aids. They are really easy to talk to, and know the right questions to ask about your condition and the difficulties you’re experiencing so they can recommend daily living aids that may help you. If you have already been advised about what products you need, but are unsure which to choose from, or you need to understand more about the functionality of the product, how to use it or even how it is assembled, our OTs will be able to advise you. To contact our OT product advisors, telephone 0345 121 8111 or email productadvice@healthcarepro.co.uk

How can Safe+Well help me?

Healthcare Pro is part of the NRS Healthcare family who provide a local information and advice service called Safe+Well, which operates in 13 areas around the country, on behalf of the local authorities and NHS in each area. Safe+Well aims to provide people who need to buy their own daily living aids with the correct independent information and advice about what they need, the choices available to them and where to buy it from.