87 year old Stairlift turned down by Council, need help in appeal
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Councils have limited budgets, with not enough money for everything they would like to do, so will take the cheapest option.0
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All the above aside... stairlifts are the most awful of things for most people. They're awkward to get into, they're slow, they're a "bit scarey" and even "dangerous" to use unless you're actually very mentally nimble/able and thoroughly competent and fearless.
You'd not get me in one.
Would you feel confident that your mother was using it correctly every time? Safe to get on it/off it and secure herself. Able to press the button on the arm? Safe to make the executive decisions needed to operate one safely? I know mine would've c0cked it up as I saw her fumbling with one once... they end up crawling up and down the stairs in the end as it's "too hard".0 -
If these things are installed early enough they can be a boon. Most who reach this type of age are mentally quite sharp. That's largely how they get there in the first place, by managing their own risk. Sadly, mental sharpness and physical strength e.g. ability to climb stairs unfortunately do not necessarily coincide in the elderly. It is the minority who are mentally incapable of using a stairlift either from fear or fumbling, and if you ask me, it is a small sub-group of that significant majority who are mentally capable, who far too easily choose to poo-poo it.PasturesNew wrote: »All the above aside... stairlifts are the most awful of things for most people. They're awkward to get into, they're slow, they're a "bit scarey" and even "dangerous" to use unless you're actually very mentally nimble/able and thoroughly competent and fearless.
You'd not get me in one.
Would you feel confident that your mother was using it correctly every time? Safe to get on it/off it and secure herself. Able to press the button on the arm? Safe to make the executive decisions needed to operate one safely? I know mine would've c0cked it up as I saw her fumbling with one once... they end up crawling up and down the stairs in the end as it's "too hard".0 -
Council has a budget for such items services . Its not only the cost but the servicing .
After April new budget you can try again .
Pester the occi services got one for my Dad but like so many stairlifts /vertical lifts etc 6 months later deceased .
Personally if it was me i would get a local installer to put in a second hand stairlift if allowed .0 -
Even if you win the appeal don't expect the council to do the instal next week. Expect many months.
Get a quote from a local independent and see how much you're talking about.Never pay on an estimated bill0 -
peterbaker wrote: »The cheapest option for avoiding costly continuing care of an elderly pet is an injection. Or in more human terms, some NHS hospitals of our acquaintance might say pneumonia. What are you advocating by suggesting local authority staff can only be expected to do what their budgets allow them to do? And on what experience exactly? Are you saying it is acceptable?
What would you "like to do" about it? And why isn't the necessary money raised in central government or local tax to do it? Is it because you are another alright Jack and do not want to pay for others' misfortune? Or perhaps you term yourself as a "realist". Or perhaps you feel you do not have the power to protest and be heard and get things changed? I'm serious. A robust and fair tax collection system and wise expenditure of it defines a country's true values nowadays. We should perhaps all ask ourselves more frquently what are the true values we hold dear and are prepared to contribute tax to pay for, and then ask ourselves if our country is supporting those values? We have for too long had a party political disconnect between those two things foist upon us. Low tax is bad, not good.
What values do we have left in UK if we can't even fund a refurbished stairlift for someone who has reached average life expectancy to enable them to remain at the home where they've spent many decades, rather than be institutionalised or otherwise pushed around until they die?
Its a good question.
What values do we have when we deny a family a home we say they should be entitled to because an 87 year old who physically is unable to use half of the house whilst its also a danger to her doesnt want to move somewhere more suitable.
For what its worth i think i have very strong values, that said i believe in a libertarian approach to governance, which means we sort ourselves out and live with the consequences. Its just if this woman gets everything she needs, it makes it very difficult saying no to the next person. When it comes to my turn ill have decided it wasnt worth working at all at which point youve got no one left to pay.0 -
My is 87 who has had 4 children and was married, but after my Dad died a few years back, she now lives alone in a Council town house, now she struggles with the 2 flights of stairs and has had some falls, she is frail but her mind is very strong and sharp.
We contacted the Council and they sent a occupational therapist who said she needed a stairlift and a wet room, this was quoted and sent to Council who put it to a panel who declined it due the council could possibly offer a my Mum a smaller property where this is not needed and this would free up the larger property.
Would your Mum need two stairlifts as well as the wetroom?
It wouldn't be a good use of the ratepayers' money for the council to spend this money on your mother's house when there is a reasonable alternative available.
As your mother is already having falls, a one-storey property would be much better for her - the emergency services will find it much harder to get her down two flights of stairs if a fall results in her needing hospital treatment.
As we get older, we have to be realistic about our living situation. If a move would be difficult for her now, imagine how much harder it would be in, say, five years time.0 -
Even if the family were to fund it themselves they would still need the councils permission to install it , in the circumstances that would be unlikely .0
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Going back a few years a friends mum needed a stairlift and the council agreed to fund it HOWEVER the wait would be 18 months, so the family paid for it.
Since then council budgets have been slashed and slashed again.0
This discussion has been closed.
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