Stair Climber

Scalamobil stairclimber:

Access into or within a property can often be difficult to adapt to enable easy access for a disabled person. This can be due to the limited space, the number of steps, or the height of the property to the main footpath.
The usual routes to adapt would be to ramp, or fit a lift. These can often be costly solutions and are not always feasible. See the example below of steps that could not be adapted, going down from a communal driveway to front door of a basement level flat.

These steps could not be adapted for a number of reasons:
1) They are very steep
2) There is minimal room at the bottom of them to the front door on the left. This means that there is limited space for a lift and it makes it difficult to manoeuvre a wheechair.
3) The distance from lower level to ground level is very high and could therefore not be ramped.
4) To fit a platform lift would have required major excavation of the steps, which may not have been feasible and would have been very costly.

A solution to this is a stair climber. The one made by scalamobil is the one I have used several times. I have found it easy to operate and successful is several cases. It does require the disabled person to have someone to operate it, you cannot use it independently but if there are no other options, this is the compromise to be made. You may also have to have the wheelchair adapted slightly to enable it to be attached to the stair climber, or have a different wheelchair that is compatible. Scalamobil do have a lot of brackets to attach that can be used with different wheelchairs.

The scalamobile can be disassembled easily and fitted into a car so that it can be taken wherever you may need to use it.
It is a very easy piece of equipment to use with little strain on the user. The mechanics of it control the ascent and descent and the user just guides it and supports it in an upright position.
Click on this link to see one in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7DmqZ-NLOE