OTs are very frustrated because they are not able to exercise their professional judgement. The rules--I'm sorry, "Ministry guidelines"--trump all. There is not even room in the system for the sort of argument that bean-counters would like. For example, you can't say "doing X that you don't fund would cost $5k and be a one-off, but doing Y that you do fund would cost $20k+ every five years (and achieve a less satisfactory result), so let's do X". My OT and I could have made that case about 2 years ago about something, but there was no way to get it considered.

Ironically enough, I was told they wouldn't fund a standing frame because it WASN'T for rehabilitation. The assessor told me she thought she could make a case for funding of a standing frame if I'd lost the ability to walk and was intending to use a standing frame in an effort to get it back. Because she'd just had me demonstrate my heavily-leaning-on-walker hobble around the kitchen, she said she couldn't make that case. In her view, rehabilitation was fundable but preservation of existing function was not.

Completely different reasoning, same result: we can see you would benefit from this thing, and that the consequences of not having this thing could be dire, and that having this thing could save the health system money in the long run, but NO.

Charity paid for my standing frame. I firmly believe it is part of the reason I am still alive.

(because we want nothing to do with them since they seem to think residential care would be appropriate for Peter)

Residential care is appropriate for Peter like execution is appropriate punishment for farting in public.

Yeah. They tried to assure us that they’d see me on the screen if I needed to come in, but the screen only comes awake in reception when the button is pressed–I saw it happen while we were up there. I only caught a glimpse of the standing person’s top half, so I imagine I would have been completely invisible even if I’d BEEN able to, IDK, throw a rock at the intercom button, or beg a passing seagull to peck it for me. The angle of the photo is a little misleading–that intercom panel is MILES over my head.