Southwark: Retail model for simple aids

Customer request

Mr X had just come out of a temporary residential placement - referred to by him as a ‘Convalescence Home’. While he was there he found that the raised toilet seats were perfect for him as his knees “....give me bother when I’m getting on and off the toilet”. When he came home the only place he thought to get a raised toilet seat was from his local council. He called Southwark’s main customer contact centre but wasn’t satisfied with the service there as they wouldn’t give him a direct telephone number to the Occupational Therapy (OT) duty desk - and hadn’t yet been trained to issue prescriptions for simple equipment.

Prescription offers choice

Once Mr X did get through to the OT duty desk, it was suggested to him that a prescription would be the perfect solution. From this point onwards Mr X was delighted. “I received a prescription by post the next day. I took it to one of the shops on the list. The staff in the shop showed me the toilet seat I could have for the prescription. I saw another toilet seat there that was nicer, so I paid a bit extra for that one I wanted.”

This was only the second prescription to be issued by Southwark and, while it demonstrated that there is work to do about familiarising staff and retailers with the processes, the outcome was a satisfied customer who was able to express choice and control over the simple equipment that helps him in his life.

Names changed to protect individual’s privacy