A PERSONAL APPROACH

Our Profiles are designed to capture both the personal and professional lives of our contributors, as one rarely exists without the other! In this issue we talk to Jacquel Runnalls, a Specialist Housing Occupational Therapist and independent consultant working with a variety of stakeholders, who goes above and beyond in ensuring inclusively designed housing.

new accessible, adaptable, and inclusive homes and neighbourhoods and advise on all aspects of design.

This involves working directly with residents, including identifying any specific housing needs or additional adaptations to their new homes but also whether they simply need a level access shower rather than a bath. We have also purchased and adapted properties for families with very complex needs to enable them to move earlier.

WHAT IS YOUR WORKING WEEK LOOKING LIKE?

My main role currently is as Specialist Housing Occupational Therapist with the London Borough of Wandsworth Estate Regeneration team, predominantly on York Gardens in Battersea, which is a Joint Venture between Wandsworth Council and Taylor Wimpey. This involves careful phasing of decant, rehousing and demolition accordingly and we’ve just finished the first phase which was housing, a school and church.

The development will eventually provide 2500 new homes around a large park including a wide range of commercial and community facilities including a library, children’s and health centre. I try to ensure a person-centred approach to providing

Due to our training, Housing OTs provide a holistic, person-centred, solutionsbased approach. Working with disabled and older people in their own homes and neighbourhoods we see the daily barriers due to poor design so can explain what does or doesn’t work, why and offer functional, flexible, attractive solutions accordingly - whether that be certain products, finishes or wider layout and design decisions. It also isn’t just about disabled people but enabling easier access for everyone e.g. people using prams, delivery drivers with heavy items etc.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN YOUR PROJECTS?

Key aims are not only to ensure buildings comply with regulations and meet good practice guidance but provide accessible and inclusive homes and neighbourhoods that are fit for purpose, do not look institutional and are ultimately easier to maintain, manage and re-let or sell. I am in a very fortunate position as I work with all key stakeholders and get involved at all stages including going on site throughout the build, visiting with residents at completion, and undertaking post occupancy evaluation. All this provides a unique insight and valuable ‘lessons learnt.’

Inclusive design, if incorporated at the outset, should not cost more but in fact provide significant resource savings and positive marketing by meeting, and appealing to, a wider range of peoples’ needs. Accessible, adaptable and inclusive homes enable people to stay in their homes longer with less disruption, reducing the need for assistance, enable people to be discharged from hospital more quickly, allow people to have visitors into their home, and wider benefits such as improved quality of life, dignity, reduced isolation and loneliness.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED IN HOUSING?

I qualified as an Occupational Therapist in Glasgow many years ago, and over 10 years ago self-funded an MSc in Accessible and Inclusive Design which I did whilst working full time. I started out in social care but have mostly worked across a range of Housing Departments, so not just new build but allocations, lettings, housing assessment and advice, refurbishments/ decent homes, strategy and development, and on accessible housing registers which have all given me a really good grounding and overview.

In terms of new build I have worked on both general and residential, retirement and supported housing, but also other building types such as offices, hospitals and hotels. This has involved working for private companies and other organisations, such as an Inclusive Environments specialist for the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE) and with Habinteg Housing Association on a range of projects/blogs etc all of which has enabled me to have a more rounded experience.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU IN TO THIS SECTOR?

I knew I wasn’t cut out for the more ‘medical’ type of OT role such as in health, and whilst nowadays OTs’ skills are widely recognised in a many more settings, working with Housing colleagues in my first post in Glasgow I realised working with people in their own homes was much more ‘real’ for me. Luckily I’ve never aspired to making loads of money and I guess the rest is history!

WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS?

My role in Wandsworth came about thanks to my colleague Rachel Wooden, the first Housing OT in the borough, who suggested the Regen team employ their own OT and because they saw the value of her input, they did!

Below: On site at Wandsworth’s Winstanley and York Road

Phase 1 Block 5

Left: The ever important accessible play! Here’s a completely level access roundabout with an area for someone to sit and space for a wheelchair user, and seating around the play area/ landscaping. There’s never enough, if not always forgotten

I’m currently overseeing two estate regeneration projects, a new build satellite site and an extra care housing development with general needs shared ownership. I have written site briefs to try and provide missing detail in regulation, explanations, reasoning, and product specifications and due to lots of lessons learnt, am constantly updating these.

They also provide longer term costsavings by embedding considerations for people with a wide range of impairments such as easy to understand and operate fixtures and fittings, tonal contrast, appropriate lighting and consideration to noise/acoustics.

I have a really supportive manager who totally ‘gets’ what I do and is also passionate about things not looking institutional and as a result feedback from residents has been fantastic, even saying they can’t believe it’s council!

We are further demonstrating innovation by providing genuinely accessible and adaptable (general needs) homes such as fitting baths over level access showers and trying to further reduce barriers in our wheelchair accessible homes by fully automating communal and front entrance doors, automating kitchen rise and fall worktops and fitting removable back panels to improve aesthetics, using attractive height adjustable shower seats and minimal combined shower riser/grabrails.

All of these not only improve aesthetics but provide homes that are easier to re-let and save resources by providing flexibility and avoiding having to rip out and change items.

Outside of this, I work freelance for CAE, provide OT input into the Accessible Now project with Homefinder UK and Habinteg, and as a paid consultant for Guy Harris at Accessible PRS. Part of my problem is that I can’t say no and keen to impart what I have learnt over many years, so much of what I do in my ‘spare’ time is voluntary.

ANYTHING IN THE PIPELINE YOU CAN SHARE?

I recently starting working with CAE to update Habinteg’s Housing Design Guide. It will be an Inclusive Housing Design Guide based on site briefs I’ve written for Wandsworth, due to be published by RIBA, so very exciting! Although I’m the main author, my friend and colleague Marney Walker will be assisting, along with technical advice from Habinteg’s Development manager.

The cyclical review of two British Standards is now due - BS8300 and BS9266 - so the committee I sit on will be undertaking this mammoth task, again in our ‘spare’ time!

Left: One of our new build wheelchair accessible apartments, which has an electric rise and fall worktop in the kitchen Below: We’re future proofing standard bathrooms by installing level access shower trays under baths

WHAT ARE YOUR MOST PROUD MOMENTS IN YOUR PROFESSION?

It would have to include getting a Distinction in my MSc, being asked to speak at a Housing conference in Hong Kong on the history of UK accessible and adaptable housing design, giving evidence in the Houses of Parliament to an Inquiry into Housing for Older People, co-authoring Habinteg’s Wheelchair Housing Design Guide and other fantastic day-to-day opportunities such as being the RCOTSSHousing’s national lead on Accessibility and Inclusive Design, and sitting on a British Standards committee responsible for an Accessible and Inclusive environment.

Also, myself and Rachel Wooden were finalists in the ‘Innovation in building diversity and inclusion’ category of the 2022 National MJ Achievement Awards.

I also received a 2022 Homefinder UK’s Nargis Rahman award and many years ago the RCOTSS-Housing’s Elma Shearer Award.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS?

Home life…errr…I’ve had a fair few ups and downs including my dad dying from MND – he had a great sense of humour but also taught me fairness and humility and it was him who gave me the impetus to do my MSc.

On a more positive note, getting married (second time around) and taking my teenage nephew on a road trip of British Columbia last summer in the hope that he has some great memories when he’s older! A shout out to my husband who is the most positive, supportive person I know, and we have the perfect pet arrangement often having our neighbour’s dog to stay.

DO YOU HAVE TIME FOR ANY HOBBIES OUTSIDE OF YOUR WORK?

I like to pretend I’m still sporty – cold water swimming (having done it for many years), running, mountain biking – but sadly seem to have lost my motivation of late!

FINALLY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU DIDN’T DO THIS?

Oh, I’d be lost!