My Stairlift by Jon McVey

The Spring 2015 edition of One Voice carried two first-rate articles about stairlifts, including Ann Craig’s account of buying her stairlift.  The following are a few random thoughts about my experience.

1. Making the decision.  This took some time, climbing the stairs had become gradually more difficult, but when is the right time to take the decision?  I wanted to continue climbing stairs as long as I could, but the balance though was safety, so after a serious fall we made the decision to do something.

2. Install a lift or move. A bungalow would make life simple, however the decision was easy for us. We like our house, and for reasons of family and children, we need to live in the area for the time being and bungalows locally are in short supply and expensive.

3. Beware of free independent stairlift guides. I sent for a free guidebook advertised in the back pages of a newspaper. I was looking for a stairlift so it seemed like a good idea. Within a few hours I was receiving sales calls, some assertively, even aggressively seeking appointments. By contrast I contacted manufacturers and local suppliers directly, all of which were very helpful. By the way, the guide had no more useful information than any of the brochures.

4. What to do about the door at the bottom of our stairs. The position of the door meant that the rail of our straight lift would be a trip hazard. The solutions were to have a folding rail or a moving rail. The latter seemed like the best option for our household.  The system works well although it makes an annoying beep when it moves. It is another moving part so it does need some maintenance so for piece of mind I have kept a service contract.

5. Style. The numbers of options of colours and designs are sadly very limited, so we decided the colour we liked best and redecorated.  We needed a new carpet, so we had this fitted before the lift was installed. We keep a spare piece in the attic to make good when we move house.

All in all, the stairlift has made my life much easier and there is a sense of freedom. I can access upstairs again  during the daytime  and can again carry things up and down stairs. Little things, but it makes such a difference.