Portable Stair Climbers
Having the ability to once again go up and down stairs has made a tremendous difference in the lives of wheelchair users, who previously had to take tremendous detours or even be unable to access certain areas of their homes. However, thanks to portable stair climbers, wheelchair users now have freedom of movement even outside the house. Of course, in an ideal world, all organisations that have several floors should have portable stair climbers installed, even when they have lifts. If the lift breaks, for example, a wheelchair user would be unable to get downstairs, which could be a real problem in case of an emergency, as well as potentially putting others at risk who may feel the need to help carry these people down the stairs.
Specific stair climbing wheel chairs are very expensive, but portable stair climbers are an affordable attachment that can be fitted to almost every wheelchair. It is sometimes necessary to have help from a second person to attach the portable stair climbers, but this is generally less of a problem than not being able to climb stairs at all.
Portable stair climbers are designed with safety in mind, of course, as well as being very user friendly. As they are generally attached to the wheels, the person that is pushing the wheelchair up the stairs requires minimal effort to do so. They also operate on a battery that is rechargeable, and these batteries are made to last for a long time. The only downside to portable stair climbers is mainly that they are not quite portable due to the fact that they are very heavy in weight. This means that they should only be taken along by wheelchair users themselves if they know they will need them. This is another reason why public buildings should have a duty of care to have portable stair climbers themselves, not forcing people to rely on self owned devices.
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Benefits and Uses of Portable Stair Climbers
There are many practical uses for portable stair climbers. For example:- Many paramedics have stated that they would not be able to comfortably operate an ambulance without portable stair climbers. This is due to ease of access, but also because paramedics regularly suffer from mobility problems themselves later in life because they have had to do such strenuous manual handling.
- Portable stair climbers are also very useful in blocks of flats, where lifts regularly break down, with sometimes devastating consequences for any wheelchair user that lives on one of the higher levels.
Where Are Portable Stair Climbers Needed?
There are many places where portable stair climbers may be needed, but particularly so in buildings that do not have wheelchair ramps on the outside. There are many buildings where this is simply not possible, and they should still allow access to the mobility impaired, in line with equality and diversity laws. They may have a member of staff that is wheelchair bound, for example, meaning that portable stair climbers would even be necessary if they are not accessible to the general public. Portable stair climbers are also needed on train platforms that do not have lifts and on road fly overs.Specific stair climbing wheel chairs are very expensive, but portable stair climbers are an affordable attachment that can be fitted to almost every wheelchair. It is sometimes necessary to have help from a second person to attach the portable stair climbers, but this is generally less of a problem than not being able to climb stairs at all.
Portable stair climbers are designed with safety in mind, of course, as well as being very user friendly. As they are generally attached to the wheels, the person that is pushing the wheelchair up the stairs requires minimal effort to do so. They also operate on a battery that is rechargeable, and these batteries are made to last for a long time. The only downside to portable stair climbers is mainly that they are not quite portable due to the fact that they are very heavy in weight. This means that they should only be taken along by wheelchair users themselves if they know they will need them. This is another reason why public buildings should have a duty of care to have portable stair climbers themselves, not forcing people to rely on self owned devices.
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