Louise House in Shrewsbury to be trialled as new medical assessment centre

Shropshire Council is pleased to announce that Louise House in Shrewsbury will be trialled as a new medical assessment centre, offering people with disabilities in Shropshire a great facility, right on their doorstep.

The trial will be run by Capita for four weeks, starting on Tuesday 7 July 2015.

During this time, Capita will provide medical assessments for people in the process of claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

Louise House will welcome people from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and borders, including Wrexham. This will mean a great deal to people with disabilities as, previously, if they were unable to secure a home visit, they would have been asked to travel to Rhyl, Swansea or Birmingham for an assessment.

All PIP claims require an independent medical assessment – this includes new claims and migration from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP – so with a disability prevalence of 16% in Shropshire alone, it could save people with disabilities and their families a lot of time.

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult services, said:

“I’m pleased that Louise House has been chosen. It is uniquely placed to provide appropriate facilities for medical assessment, as it already has treatment rooms with Wi-Fi, examination couches and handwash basins, as well as administration support from A4U, a disability organisation based at Louise House.

“I’m sure the trial will go smoothly and look forward to this becoming a regular arrangement.”

Louise House also hosts the weekly Autism Hub. Operated on behalf of the council by A4U and other partner organisations, it is open to anyone on the autism spectrum, including Asperger Syndrome, and their carers from 12pm until 4pm every Thursday.

Lee added:

“We’ve had some really great feedback from the people who have been coming along to the hub sessions.

“Sessions such as these enable us to provide a quality service to those individuals on the Autism Spectrum (with or without a diagnosis) who may otherwise not receive any support. It’s all about giving people a greater quality of life and supporting them to increase their confidence and independence.”

Further information

PIP, which has replaced DLA, is to help people who have a disability which affects their ability to carry out a range of everyday activities. PIP can be claimed by people who have a long–term disability or a condition that impacts on their ability to live independently.