Now this really is off topic...

Be wary of sub-standard or defective stair lifts

 

Only a problem when it got to the landing...

 

Oddly enough check out eBay for Stannah.
If he has a straight staircase you are only looking at a grand or so, bit of
a no brainer. Almost worth having just for the effects of a night on the
Ardbeg.

 

Right then - time to listen to me for a change - I spend my life
caring for a disabled wife and I have been down this path of peril.
Feel free to ask questions, remove the obvious for email.

At this point you should also be considering the longer term issues.
Once mobility issues kick in they invariably deteriorate and the
dreaded wheelchair beckons. Time to consider a move to an accessible
bungalow or to build a ground floor extension. The problem WILL get
worse but you should support the patient's self respect by helping
him to stay out of a wheelchair until he really needs it.

In the short term you should have a stairlift and two of these, one
upstairs and one down. http://www.uniscan-walkers.co.uk/
A downstairs toilet helps but it needs to be large enough to
manoever a walker and later a wheelchair.

Consider an electric raising/reclining armchair to help standing
and fit some cheap "elephant foot" raisers under other low seats
and sofas.

The most important things to consider for accessibility are level
access and lots of space. Ramps up to external doors are fine but
you also need to level the floor through the doorframes to remove
the trip hazard of the threshold. Internally you need wide doors
and corridors and plenty of manoevering space especially in
bathrooms. Borrow a wheelchair and try out access to every room,
remember that lardarse patients get extra wide chairs.
Bathrooms should have a level walk-in shower, wet room style, with
a shower seat. Raised toilet seats are a cheap help for easier standing.

Bedrooms can be another issue, once again you need plenty of
manoevering space and no tight corners. Avoid low ceilings to allow
room for a hoist. Simple items such as a bed lever attached to
the wall are a great help but need a solid (brick) wall at the
bed head for fixing.

Your local social services will provide and fit simple items such
as bed levers, grab handles, and raised toilet seats.
Talk to the experts, the physioterrorist and the OT will give a proper
assessment of needs and point you in the right direction.

 

Seriously. Talk to some nursing home owners and find out what they
recommend. I've seen a few in nursing homes and they get a hard time, in
use all day long. Any that stand up to that with a high degree of
reliability have to be worth considering.

 

In that case, **** stairlifts - couldn't you liberate an Otis, or
something?

 

[some stuff]

<fx:falls off chair>

 

The Uniscan has sprung rear wheels with walking stick style ferrules on
the downtubes. Any weight on the handles causes the ferrules to hit
the ground so it cannot move. A good compromise between wheels and zimmer.
Go for the emergency button, your local social services will provide
one for a small monthly charge. Insist that she wears the dongle around
her neck AT ALL TIMES and have a keycode box fitted to the front door.
If she has a fall the worst damage is done after the fall waiting for
help to arrive.

 

FRO to uk.rec.geriatric you wrinkly smelly old cunts, where your type are
tolerated

 

Did you press your alarm button? Need a hand getting back on it?

 

"Oooh, *thank* you, young man!"

 

They won't be moving to a bungalow (or anywhere else for that matter)
because they like where they live and the upheaval would probably
finish off what falling down the stairs failed to do.

They have a downstairs toilet and a double sized upstairs shower where
he can sit on a stool to have a shower so that side of it is sorted.

He's got an electric recliner.

The local council have sorted out ramps from the conservatory to the
back garden, hand rails by the toilets, zimmer frames upstairs and
downstairs and all manner of other things he might find useful.

The bedroom isn't a problem apart from when he goes to the toilet in
the middle of the night and falls over.

Chesterfield council are brilliant at providing anything needed but
the biggest obstacle is persuading my dad to go for it.

The problem is that he has strokes for a hobby but refuses to go into
hospital for treatment. The doctors can't get his medication right so
his blood either ends up too thin and he falls over or too thick so he
has another stroke. He's made up his mind he's going to pop his clogs
at home and it's going to be the home they're in now so I'm not going
to let anyone force him out of there. This might seem harsh or
unfeeling but it's his decision, my mother is happy to go along with
it and they've got the cash to finance any assistance they need so
that's how it's going to be.

 

I reckon I've got all the info I need and the intelligent half of the
Porter household can add more if I need it so I'll phone up the holder
of the purse strings and tell her what you guys have said.

Cheers all.

 

Just checked and it was a Stannah. She had it arranged through the
council with a grant, so (as others have posted) it might be worth
looking into whether that's possible too.

 

Ahhhh - a cantankerous old sod.
Stop worrying - they live forever out of plain bloody minded stubborness.

 

takes one to know one

 

Make sure you check if you can get a grant off the local authority too.
They may cough for part of the expense. Hoops will inevitably need to
be jumped through but it may be worth it in the end.

 

You can also sometimes pick them up second hand. But if money isnt an
issue...

 

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:24:49 +0200, davethedave

snip>

With Chesterfield having a nice caring council they may well get a
grant but if it's means tested or they find out that my parents are
life long Tories that'll go out of the window.

The main thing is to just get something sorted out because he's
reached the point where the stairs are a major obstacle and he's not
the sort of person to just give in and sleep downstairs.

Nobody likes a quitter...

 

Catch-22, shirley?