Stairlift guidance for parents please

munckee

So took my dad to hospital yesterday after he hit his head against a cupboard when he fell over (which happened 24 hours earlier but my mum never called anyone because they didn't want to make a fuss, despite him being clearly physically injured and confused!!) turns out as well as/due to the fall he has had a mild stroke.

He is already struggling with the stairs a bit and we were looking at getting extra handrails on the stairs but after having to get my mum a wheelchair at the hospital today because its 3 miles from the door to the ward, I figure maybe we should look at stairlifts.

There appear to be 3 million companies and options, anyone got any tips on what not to get or decent companies who will do a decent job without charging as much as a new car.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

CavemanGrogg

Stair lifts are not cheap, either to buy and install, rent - they can be rented, and even maintain.  Having a cousin who spends most of his time in a whee chair, it really hit home to me not just the extra costs involved for people with disabilities and special needs, but also how these needs restrict them, everything from housing, to where these people can go.  And something that I personally find criminal, and beyond shocking, how most of the facilities that people with disabilities need to use, are the lest accessible - my cousin for example has to go to a place that I'm not joking here is up a unpaved dirt road that needs a car with high ground clearance just to get to the car park never mind that it's impossible to use a wheel chair there there's not even any ramps for people to use for his assessments.

Personally I would seriously consider renting one, instead of buying on, I would even go so far as to suggest having a proper look at their housing situation, and perhaps consider suggesting to your parents to move to a single floor property - this doesn't have to mean a smaller property.

drofluf

We had Stannah’s for both my grandmother (it changed her life and gave her another 5 years of independence) and my father. 

Can only remember great service from them. 

BluesLover

Just over 4 years ago my wife had a bad fall, fractured skull, traumatic brain injury etc. It put her into a wheelchair and we needed a stair lift fitted quickly, ready for when she came out of hospital.
I used a local company and they were excellent. They are Ableworld in Southampton.
The stairlift cost £2k and we have an annual service at £80 a time.
I can recommend them totally.
See if you can get a referral for a home visit from an OT (occupational therapist) or physio. There's all sorts of equipment they can get free for you to help make life a bit easier.

Stratavarious

We got one for my mum but eventually it proved far better after my father’s stroke to have them live downstairs as there is still a mobility issue beyond the lift itself to accommodate. 

There is a downstairs bathroom and bed now and grab rails on doors (super cheap) and in the main corridor.   If there is an option, getting everything close on the ground might prove the most liberating and safe.  It did for us.  The stair lift has not been used for a decade.

strtdv

Speak to the occupational therapist and physiotherapist looking after your dad in hospital (they're usually happy to speak to immediate family). Part of what they do for older people who are admitted with mobility issues is look at what needs done to the house (the OT) and do a stairs assessment (the physio).

In my experience they tend not to recommend stairlifts (as technically they require supervision in use), and may be more likely to look at either a downstairs arrangement or a care package.

BillDL

My Mother has just had to have a new stairlift fitted.  The original one was fitted when "the council" (Social Services side as far as I recall) paid 2/3rds of the cost and thereafter paid for the ongoing maintenance services that were carried out by Stannah technicians.  It was a MediTek one.  It broke down about 6 weeks ago after it began to grind to a halt intermittently and the call-out tech said the motor or the speed regulating clutch/brake mechanism had ceased to work.  He said that he knew of no companies that now carried spares for those stair lifts since MediTek folded back in 2018.  I searched for a replacement motor and the only one I could find was in a complete chair and track in America.

The call-out tech referred the matter back to Social Services and my Mum had to wait 3 weeks for an occupational therapist to come and assess her to see whether she qualified for a stairlift.  Duh!  Of course she does.  That's why it was fitted about 15 years ago, and a hell of a lot more medical issues have affected her since then.  Another two weeks went by and my Mum phoned to find out what was happening.  She was told that although she qualified for a stairlift in terms of disabilities, the case would have to be passed to another department before the go-ahead could be given for a replacement one to be fitted.  She phoned again a week later and was told that the wait could be 2 months or more and even then "the budget" may not be there to fit one for her.

She has a mobility scooter in the garage but, having been a prisoner in her own home which is an upstairs flat with internal stairs down to a door at the side of the house, and being reliant on me and others to bring her shopping and take bags of stuff down to the bins, she bit the bullet and decided to use her emergency savings to get a new one fitted.  About £1,500 for a straight track down 13 to 15 steep steps with a fold-up bit at the bottom to accommodate the door opening, and manual rather than electronic swivel seat - fairly basic but perfectly functional.

There is no shortage of companies that fit stairlifts, and it's probably going to increase due to social services lack of funding.  She had a few of the large companies like Stannah in to quote, but the best price, fastest attendance, and most personal attention was by a local father and son company that have been in the business for many years and have a very good reputation.  They are authorised fitters for known brands, and they fitted a "Brooks" one that is exactly the same as an "Acorn" one, given the fact that they are the same company.

It's all very well getting an independent fitter in to do the job, but you need to make sure that they are authorised fitters or the warranty could be voided and I would say it's important that they fit a well known brand so that spare parts might still be available in years to come.  Call-out time is an important factor with stairlifts, but I'm not sure whether large companies like Stannah would have a faster response time than an independent smaller local company.

Even if your Father would possibly qualify to have a stairlift partly or fully funded by social services (disability tested rather than income tested), I would say that if he can afford to pay for it himself I would encourage him to do so, because getting it serviced or repaired could be problematic the way council budgets are at the moment and are likely to be in the future.

If you have a company that sells disability aids and mobility scotters in your locality, they would probably be a good place to ask for referrals to local stairlift companies of good repute.

munckee

Thanks everyone, I will speak to the OT at the hospital if I can get hold of them. Living downstairs is not really practical although they have a wet room on the ground floor they haven’t got a dedicated room he could have and my mum also could do with a stair lift and they have separate rooms. 

I’m close to Southampton so ableworld worth a try. We’d be paying for it ourselves to get it quickly.  

EricTheWeary

My mother had one. I wasn't involved and can't remember the company but my brother sorted multiple quotes, mostly because the shape of the staircase made it difficult to fit . I think there were refurbished ones that would have reduced the cost but because it was an odd shape they couldn't source one. 
My mother go the hang of it really well. I was surprised because it terrified me. The only problem really was that the handrail had to be taken off and a narrow staircase became even narrower so the stairs became more difficult for everyone else. 

spark240

Basically they rip you off at every opportunity….fitting, maintaining, and buy back….but…if it’s necessary to improve your lifestyle then it is what it is…

DuploLicks

Wife was an OT. Definitely get them involved. My wife’s thoughts are that the stroke might impact cognitive ability so that would need to be assessed to make sure the chair is suitable. 

OTs get a bad reputation for sticking in blockers but they’re do a lot of assessment other than, “can they sit in a chair?”, they should look at a host of factors.  Hence why sticking in the same chair after 15 years might not be the right choice