How long did the stairlift get used?

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Just thinking about getting one installed for DPM and wondering whether really they are a bit of a hopeless gesture - maybe she'd be better moving downstairs?

My DGM used hers for 2 years before her dementia meant she couldn't remember to use it or how to use it. I think if it's needed for mobility only and no sign of memory problems etc it will get used more than if there are memory issues if you see what I mean.

Does your dpm have a bathroom/shower upstairs or downstairs?? My mum had a stair lift but ended up moving downstairs completely as everything was there for her. My dad uses the stair lift for carrying the clean washing upstairs 😁

It was really helpful for my grandmothers I looked into them recent and if you think they will only need one for a short time they can be rented rather than bought which might be helpful

It depends on what you need to go upstairs for. We live in an adapted bungalow, so all facilities are on the ground floor. However we have a dormer room upstairs which is used as hobbies room, library, sewing room etc. There are lovely sea views which are inspirational. I can't do stairs any more so we had a stair lift put in. It's used several times a day, sometimes. Some days not at all. As I said at the beginning, it depends on your lifestyle.

My mum has had to move downstairs as she can’t manage the stairs. We couldn’t get a stair lift as she has memory issues and she wouldn’t remember to use it.

About four years in DM's case, which I think is several times the average. It was the only way she could get to a toilet, so it was used multiple times a day.

But it would have been much better if my parents had moved house before that, though, as the stairlift just allowed them to cling on in a totally unsuitable house for longer, which was actively bad for them in many ways.

Ones I know of - one cost £4K and was used precisely once, another fitted briefly in her house in the final few weeks, a third has been fitted but she’s mostly living downstairs but uses it with help from the carer to get to the bathroom for a proper wash, so fairly useful.

Two years or so and still going. Has been worth it, though I do wonder how much longer they can stay in too big 4 bed house.

7-8 yrs and still going strong. It's been invaluable.

My DP's mum has one. She's only recently had to move downstairs and is no longer able to use it.

Not sure how long she has had the stair lift for but she definitely had several years use out of it.

My family member just had one fitted. She has a live in carer so hopefully it's helpful for a long time. Social services refused to put one in due to memory problems. It's rented at £350ish a year which includes repairs, maintenance and removal which I think is a great deal.

My DPs had one fitted after my mother fell down the stairs when she was 80. She was very fit for an 8 year old and - having been partially sighted all her life - had become blind 5 years earlier. Both my parents lived to great ages in their house. I only realised after my mother passed away that my father only used the stairlift for transporting the washing up and down stairs. At 94 he asked me if I thought the chair could be adjusted for him to use. His knees wouldn't go round the corner. They adjusted it and it helped him to stay in his own home for his last year. I think it definitely paid its way

If you are buying a stairlift check if the company will buy it back. The companies that buy them up offered depressingly miniscule amounts for a stairlift that had sadly only been used once.

That's all really helpful thank you xx

We bought a renovated stairlift for my DM a year ago when she broke her hip.
It has been invaluable to quality of life. She can be 'normal' in her own home. The cost is tiny compared with a care home or live in carers.

It is a bit of a pain for my DF (95) though as it can get in the way of him using the stairs normally.

My mum initially used hers to send the laundry up and downstairs. She would walk around it. Once she embraced it, it meant she could stay in her home until she died. About two years in total, cost £1500 (North East, straightforward straight flight of stairs). Sold for £250. A brilliant buy, highly recommend if dementia isn’t too bad at time of purchase.

It's not recommended to install a stairlift if there is a dementia diagnosis or cognitive decline. The reasoning is that they will either not remember how to use it or not remember to use it. It therefore becomes hazardous as they might either fall from it, or, as it reduces available width of the staircase and creates an obstruction, it hampers mobility on and around the staircase.

You can get a mini lift put in if there is space, which is generally considered to be safer. The same still applies with regard to remembering to use it/how to use it if they live alone.

My parents have had theirs at least 7 years. Started off for mum only, then dad started using it. He is now gone, but mum still using it.

Maybe we were unusual. Got it for my DF whose mobility was declining, and he used it for at least 5, maybe 7 years - I can’t actually remember now. After he died, my DM's mobility also sadly went gradually downhill and we'd kept it: it was an absolute godsend until the end of her life 13 years later. So we had good use out of it for over 20 years, I’d say. In fact we had it replaced once. However, there was no market for resale once it needed to be taken out.

Mum's been using hers for a decade or so - it was put in immediately after she came out of hospital having been treated for breathlessness and heart problems. She uses it multiple times a day as toilet and bedroom are upstairs. In retrospect they probably would have been better downsizing years ago, but dad was reluctant to give up the garden and they've lived there for sixty years so it was too big a wrench I think.

My DM used hers for years, and now she's gone her partner uses it for taking suitcases etc up and down stairs. He changed the battery himself and was rightfully proud of himself!
The elderly relative that currently brings me here has one and again it's been for a year or two now. Means she can still stay in her house without a lot of upheaval.

I’ve read that two years is the typical use- and many folk 9n here have recommended buying a reconditioned one as it won’t be worn out!

I didn't know that you could rent them. Storing up the info for DM... Is there a company that you'd recommend?

My mother had one for around 8 years. She had good mobility but her very painful knees made stairs difficult. My brother bought it second hand and had it fitted privately for very little. DM loved the stairlift and it meant she could stay in the house she had lived in all her married life until she died at 92.

As has been mentioned any notion of a buy back is all but a fib. My ExDP had to get rid of one from their parents house. Only been in months, they refused to buy back for some 'technical' reason. Even a charity who recover and refurbish them were reluctant to take it.

With hindsight we were fortunate that my DFs crappy seventies house couldn't have a stairlift fitted without major changes. This forced a move to a sheltered flat, which really was the best thing for him.

I should imagine that for every stairlift that gets plenty of use over several years there's at least one that turns out was a folly and waste of money. I think many are fitted when the inevitable is approaching hoping to avoid it and a move to a more practical home would be better.