VIVA ACCESS LTD

Presenters

02. Carl Chappin - Adaptations Surveyor

Carl is employed as Senior Adaptations Surveyor within a London Borough. He has over 30 years experience within the construction industry, including overseeing a team of surveyors and case workers to deliver the local authority's statutory and non-statutory obligations with regards to home renovations and disabled adaptations.

Carl works closely with the local authority community OT service and supports OTs through surveying properties, drafting plans for adaptation proposals, preparing specifications of works and organising the installation of specialist equipment and alterations such as though floor lifts, automated access systems, door widening, ramps and so on.

Carl is a highly experienced trainer and has acted as training consultant to Viva Access for over five years. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Building Surveyors.

03. Shane Elliott - Housing Occupational Therapist

Shane is a qualified Occupational Therapist with more than 20 years’ experience working in both health and social care sectors and, since 1995, has specialised in the area of housing adaptation and design. He is an experienced trainer and public speaker, delivering courses regularly on accessible housing issues and presenting at conferences and access related public events.

Shane was employed until recently as Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in Housing for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in NI and was responsible for providing professional support and clinical leadership for occupational therapists involved in the housing adaptation process, particularly in relation to complex cases. He has now been appointed as Housing Liaison Manager for the Housing Executive and Dept of Health and Social Services.

Shane is a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ Specialist Section in Housing and is the Northern Ireland representative on the National Executive Committee. He sits on the Design Standards Panel of Disability Action Northern Ireland.

04. Sara Glassberg - Housing Occupational Therapist

Sara is a qualified occupational therapist with more than 20 years experience working in both health and housing sectors. She has been based within a London community OT service for more than ten years and prior to this has worked within a range health and rehabilitation settings.

Sara is highly experienced in both Adult and Paediatric casework and carries out the full range of assessments and recommendations for a wide range of adaptations, including bathroom and kitchen adaptations, home lifts, ramps and DFG aided works. Sara is an experienced trainer with Viva Access and trains on general adaptations courses and also acts as specialist trainer on our children´s courses.

Specialism: Designing & Adapting for Children

05. Paraig O'Brien - Housing Occupational Therapist

Paraig is a qualified Occupational Therapist with more than 30 years experience in both health and social care sectors. He also has an MA (with distinction) in Disability Design Research (London Guildhall University).

Paraig’s career is multi-faceted and includes many years employed within community OT and multi-disciplinary services, as both caseworker and OT manager. He is also a highly experienced trainer/teacher and was employed for many years as Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at the University of Ulster.

Paraig has a number of specialisms, including legislation and policy, health service management, housing adaptations and community equipment, disability design standards and related OT practice skills. He has written extensively on these subjects (e.g. “Wheelchair User Housing Study: An evaluation of user’s experiences and the evolution of design standards”) and acts as consultant to a range of housing and health related bodies. Paraig is an active member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ Specialist Section in Housing and served for a number of years as its UK Chair.

Specialism: Inclusive Housing Design

06. Mary Stobie - Housing Occupational Therapist

Mary qualified as an occupational therapist in 1980 and has spent the majority of her working life practising in both Scotland and Northern Ireland, in community settings. She is currently employed in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust where she specialises in the area of housing for people with dementia. Mary has also been a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section in Housing.

Specialism: Designing for Dementia

07. Rachel Frondigoun - Grants Officer

Rachel worked for many years as Grants Officer (DFG) for UK local authorities and liaised closely with OT teams in relation to adaptations for older and disabled people. She is currently Director of Cherrywhite Consultancy Services Ltd. Her specialism is the Disabled Facilities Grant and she acts as consultant and project manager (DFG) for a range of local authorities across England.

Specialism: Disabled Facilties Grant (DFG)