When someone approaches social services because they can no longer bathe safely or manage at home, they are usually placed on a waiting list for an occupational therapy assessment and a Disabled Facilities Grant. That process is essential and protects good decision making. But while it runs, people often continue living in homes that actively increase risk, stress and reliance on others.

The issue is not assessment. The issue is time.

Strong evidence from the Bath Out 2 project shows that speed makes a real difference. This national randomised controlled trial compared people who received a level access shower quickly with those who remained on the usual waiting list. Those who received their adaptation sooner experienced better physical and mental health, greater independence with bathing, reduced fear of falling and fewer actual falls. They also made less use of health and care services overall. Waiting was not neutral. It came with a cost.

This is where proportionality, in the spirit of the Care Act, becomes important.

What if, at the point someone is referred for adaptation support, we did two things at once?
The person stays on the waiting list for a full OT assessment.
But with their consent, their landlord is also notified straight away.

That simple shift does not remove professional judgement or bypass statutory processes. It allows action to happen in parallel rather than in sequence.

Many social landlords already plan bathroom and kitchen renewals, manage adapted housing stock, and can carry out minor changes quickly. Early notification gives them the chance to look at practical options while the formal OT and DFG processes continue properly in the background.

This approach is not about cutting corners. It is about acting proportionately when the problem is clear and the risk is immediate. It reflects the Care Act emphasis on prevention, wellbeing and least intrusive intervention.

For occupational therapists, this can mean fewer repeat visits, less firefighting and better outcomes with the same professional safeguards in place. For tenants, it can mean earlier improvements to safety, dignity and independence. For the wider system, it offers a way to reduce avoidable falls, delays and escalating care needs.

Bath Out 2 shows us that faster adaptations improve lives and reduce demand. The Care Act gives us a framework that supports early, sensible action. The opportunity now is to connect those two things and ask a simple question at the very start of the process:

Can we act now, while we assess properly?

Sometimes getting to the right solution sooner starts with doing two things at once. If you want support with setting this up, Foundations is the national body for the Disabled Facilities Grant.