Portable, battery-powered stairclimber can be reissued to ease the pressure on the NHS
Mobility equipment supplier AAT GB is identifying ways in which authorities can take steps to deliver home adaptations to help ease one pressure point, without reforming the whole process.
Mobility and navigating stairs is one of the top 10 reasons why people need changes to their home, says AAT GB; 16 percent of home adaptations are for a stairlift.
The Scottish Government has just announced a 25 percent cut in the housing adaptations fund. This is in addition to the housebuilding fund, which has been similarly slashed for 2024/25, and the ongoing delay in allocation of existing funds for adaptations to housing associations.
The problem is not confined to Scotland; it affects the whole of the UK, AAT GB adds. While the funds for England have been ‘topped up’, the grant for each person has not been index-linked to reflect inflation and increasing labour and materials costs.
AAT says it has devised a way that utilises the existing system, enabling authorities to address stairs quickly and cost effectively. AAT’s stairclimber and its reissue capability provide authorities with a solution, where appropriate.
The portable, battery-powered stairclimber enables the recipient to safely access all areas of their home, inside and out, and requires no installation.
When the original recipient no longer needs it, the stairclimber can be reissued to someone else. With AAT’s Universal Seating System, the council’s adaptations team is assured that the users are comfortable and safe, irrespective of their age or size.
Most authorities across the nation now own AAT stairclimbers, with many increasing their stock to ease the pressure on both adaptations and the NHS, according to AAT GB.
The reissue concept is a practical way to address stair adaptations without the delay and cost of a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and without the need for any change to the existing process.
Peter Wingrave, AAT Director, said: “Whilst we appreciate our stairclimber is not always the solution, in 99 percent of cases where we are called in, it does answer the problem safely, and quickly, and with best use of budgets.
“More often than not, it can be supplied via the equipment stores or a Regulatory Reform Order so doesn’t even require the whole DFG process and funding stream! It’s a powerful tool to help address one problem that affects more than 300,00 people.”
A recent case study looked at AAT GB’s infinitely variable Grande vacuum posture support cushion.