AAT GB presents stairclimber as a solution to help authorities in delivering home adaptations
Mobility equipment supplier AAT GB is urging local authorities to utilise its stairclimber to deliver home adaptations to help ease one pressure point in the growing crisis
Mobility and navigating stairs is one of the top 10 reasons why people need changes to their home, says AAT GB, with stairlifts accounting for 16 per cent of home adaptations.
The Scottish Government has just announced a 25 per cent cut in the housing adaptations fund, in addition to a slashed housebuilding fund for 2024/25 and an 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 its stairclimber has devised a way that utilises the existing system, enabling authorities to address stairs quickly and cost-effectively. Its re-issue capability provides 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 re-issued to someone else. With AAT’s Universal Seating System, the authority adaptations team are assured that the users’ comfortable and safe, irrespective of their age or size.
Most authorities across the nation now own AAT stairclimbers, with many even increasing their stock to ease the pressure on both adaptations and the NHS.
The re-issue concept is a practical way to address stair adaptations without the delay and cost of a Disabled Facilities Grant, nor without the need for any change to the existing process.
Peter Wingrave, Director of AAT, said: “Whilst we appreciate our stairclimber is not always the solution, in 99 per cent 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.”
AAT GB recently introduced an innovative mobile lifting chair to aid fall recovery.
