Home lifts
And this is important as demand for home lifts has been growing significantly. Improvements in our medical care has meant we live longer, and that people recover, to varying degrees, from injuries and accidents they wouldn't otherwise do. But in both cases reduced mobility is often a major side effect.
Which leads to options for those who are unable to manage stairs. Originally the only two options available was either to stay in the same house but move all essentials downstairs (such as the bedroom, bathroom, etc) or to move out into a bungalow or flat where everything is on the same level. Even places with a doorstep could be a major obstacle.
But the improvements in technology, and the reduction in price that mass production has made possible, has meant that now home lifts are a very viable option for anyone who has difficulty with stairs, or who is unable to deal with them at all.
The Home Lift Options
This again leads to options, and which one you go for is likely to depend entirely on your own circumstances – mostly your own mobility and the layout of your house. These lifts are a wonderful aid as they allow you to stay in your own home whilst keeping the upstairs open as a viable option.
For those who struggle with stairs but who are not wheelchair bound a stair lift is probably the best option of all the home lifts. It fits against a load bearing wall, using runners for a motorised chair to travel up and down.
This chair is easily accessed for anyone, simply walk up to it, unfold the chair and sit down. Basic controls will allow you to go up and down as required. Some stair lifts are able to go around corners in the stairs whilst others aren't, so pay special attention to that.
A inclined platform lift is a platform that again follows runners, usually on both walls. It enables a wheelchair to roll on to it, be secured, and then will rise (or lower) following the stair case. This provides easy access to the upstairs for wheelchair users without having to alter their home at all. Some are able to follow corners on stairs, but many aren't, so be careful when choosing.
A vertical platform lift is a platform that travels between floors vertically, so in most cases that will mean fitting it against a wall and allowing the lift to pass through the floor, which in turn means making a hole for the lift to pass through, but it again provides a very convenient method of passing between floors for wheelchair users.
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