Assistive Technology Loan Bank – South Yorkshire Children and Young People

South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board have funded a limited pilot loan bank of Electronic Assistive Technology (EAT) equipment for Children and Young People in the region.

Loans can be for any piece of EAT not provided by the specialised services. We have a resource with some examples of the equipment available for loan and our local service resource pack also includes a fuller range of items that may be appropriate for you to loan.

Loans are for 3 months maximum and should support assessment of need, in order to aim to provide equipment from local funds.

Loans can be made for the purposes of a local professional’s own personal exploration and learning. This request does not need to be linked to a specific client.

How the loan bank works

• A local professional identifies a child or young person (up to age 25) in the South Yorkshire ICB region who may benefit from trialling EAT but does not meet the criteria for referral to the specialised service.
• A request can be made for equipment from the loan bank, and should include how long the local professional would like to loan the equipment for.
• Barnsley AT Team will review the request and establish:
  • Is the request for Electronic Assistive Technology?
  • Can the request for this equipment be fulfilled by the loan bank?
    • If yes then is the equipment available immediately or is there a waiting list?
    • If no then discussion with requesting professional as to alternative solutions.
  • If the equipment is in stock this will either be couriered to the professional making the request, or be available to pick up from the Barnsley AT Team.
    • If the equipment is not currently in stock the referrer will be informed of the likely timescales and the referral placed on a waiting list.
  • During the loan if there are any problems with the equipment the Barnsley AT Team Support Desk can be contacted.
  • A reminder will be sent half way through the loan period to confirm the return date and invite you to contact supporting clinician for guidance if required.
  • Responsibility for the equipment return lies with the requesting professional.
  • The relevant Barnsley AT Team loan agreement terms and conditions will apply to the loan.

Equipment will be managed by the Barnsley AT team -i.e. the equipment will be cleaned, data cleansed, electrically and functionally tested, and recommissioned on return to stock.

Loan Request Form

• Barnsley AT Loan Bank Request Form

Conditions of loan

Please note that at this stage this is a loan bank and not a provision service. The aim of equipment loans from this loan bank is to enable evidence to be gathered about the person’s use of technology to enable application for funding from an alternative source. You will be asked on the request form to identify potential funding routes if the loan is successful.

It is important for us to evaluate having a loan bank to then consider further development. Requesters will be contacted at the end of the loan for feedback and then again two months later.

We have a limited amount of funding for the loan bank so it is likely that there will be a waiting list or we may not be able to meet all requirements. If this is the case you will be informed at the point of referral and this will all be recorded to provide evidence of demand which will be used to support any future bids or commissioned service.

 Context

Electronic Assistive Technology includes equipment that supports those with often complex disabilities to communicate and interact with their environment NHS England commission specialised services to provide assessment and equipment to some of those who require this support, but the majority of provision of Assistive Technology is from local, ICB commissioned, services.

A recent report, commissioned by the South Yorkshire ICB, highlighted significant gaps in the Electronic Assistive Technology pathway and identified a number of opportunities to improve access to this equipment, in particular for children and young people with learning and/or physical disabilities.  There are national drivers and strategies to improve the availability and use of technology in health and social care provision and to improve the support of those living with complex and significant disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy or Autism.

A key recommendation from the Access to Electronic Assistive Technology report was to have a regional equipment supply service for Electronic Assistive Technology equipment that is not provided via specialised services. This equipment includes non-specialised communication aids, technology to support interaction and skill development such as switches, and eye-gaze systems used for activities and exploration.