From flat to front bar: stairclimber restores pub life for Bob
Sella mobility stairclimber means Bob can join in with community activities again!
Licensee Robert Atkinson was left paralysed from the waist down and confined to the flat above his pub after a freak accident on holiday.
Now he can join in with the locals again- thanks to our S-Max Sella mobility stairclimbing wheelchair.
S-Max Sella- provided by York City Council- means Bob now saefly and easily navigates the complex staircase connecting flat and pub.
He negotiates the stairway and its two half-landings.
He's back into the social space downstairs, with a little help from his family to steer the stairclimber.
Bob’s Occupational Therapist realised how important for his mental health it was to give Bob the opportunity to get out of the flat and back into the pub environment.
However, she couldn’t use conventional solutions such as a stairlift or through-floor lift because of the stairway design. It has two half landings and two turns- one 180 degrees!
Our S-Max Sella mobility stairclimber could solve navigation along the whole staircase.
We carefully assessed the staircase, Bob and his family and showed that the Sella WOULD work.
We trained Bob's family.
They are happy transferring him into the stairclimber’s integral seat and operating the device.
"It's been a Godsend!"
Bob explains, “I’ve been licensee at The King William for 18 years; a year ago I tripped on holiday and shattered vertebrae in my back. I can’t walk, and have to be hoisted out of bed, or wherever I am sitting.
"It changed my life, and has impacted not just my mental health, but the family too.
“The stairclimber’s been a Godsend.
" I’m not confined to the same four walls anymore! I can chat with my friends, have a game of dominoes. We could have our traditional big Christmas get-together in the pub!”
Bob Atkinson heads down to dominoes, thanks to his Sella stairclimber
You can find full details of Sella, including videos of the device in action, examples of how it has helped numerous people with impaired mobility and how to book a free, no obligation assessment, here @
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Disability Equipment is looking at health & social care system-wide solutions to address the on-going delays in community equipment provision, exacerbated by the demise of NRS Healthcare.
According to RCOT, delays in providing community equipment are now a major factor in delayed discharge. 74% of equipment providers report discharge delays linked to unavailable equipment. NHS data says dealing with stairs is the first change required to the home and help with stairs is among the top three most common home adaptations(1).
At AAT GB, we are pioneering ways for OTs to take steps, address long waits and discharge delays resulting from inefficiencies in community equipment recycling/redistribution.
We were the first in the sector- and the only ones with national capability- to create a bespoke package to optimise recycling and redistribution of community equipment.
The result is our re-issue programme for our top-selling mobility stairclimber.
Class 1 Medical Device certified, our S-Max Sella stairclimbing wheelchair is battery-powered and completely portable.
It makes traversing stairs- and onward- safe and easy, without any need for disruptive equipment installation/fixing.
There is no disturbance to your client’s home environment, nor the family’s routine, dignity and privacy.
Our Sella stairclimbers are in almost all local authorities' community equipment inventory.
So our scheme means someone can be discharged from hospital, or their home environment made safe, quickly and cost-effectively: the package costs <£1500.
Under the scheme, we support OTs with an in-depth PEOP assessment of client, carer(s) and the home environment, service and set up the mobility stairclimbing wheelchair to the client’s requirements then personally train the care team in the equipment’s safe use.
Mark Roberts, AAT Director- “Re-issue of our Sella stairclimber means someone with reduced mobility is enabled to get home, or remain in their home, safely.
"The Director of Practice and Innovation at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Karin Orman, said: ‘Access to the right equipment is not a luxury, it’s essential for people to be safe in hospital and at home. Not having the right equipment can put people at serious risk of harm.'
“Our re-issue package spares that risk, and does so fast and cost-effectively, helping make the most of already stretched financial resources.”
Full details of our re-issue package and services for OTs can be found here: http://www.aatgb.com/ots/
Despite being non-verbal and dystonic, young Eliza Rizk is able to relax and enjoy family time- all because of a bean bag.
Our Chilli Bean isn’t an ordinary bean bag however.
We use innovative vaccuum technology so mum Naomi and Eliza's care team can precisely fix the contours and firmness to perfectly support Eliza, correctly. In effect Chilli Bean gives her a big blue hug.
Eliza feels so comfortable in it that the first time she used it, she fell asleep!
Why Eliza loves her Chilli Bean
Eliza’s requires 24-hour care because of her complex needs.
Her muscle spasms and lack of head control means she requires specialist seating but the family was struggling to find equipment that was comfortable, safe and delivered the necessary support to stabilise her.
Mum Naomi- herself an Occupational Therapist- desperately looked for something that would help Eliza be part of family life.
Naomi had already purchased one of our Bagel flotation cushions for the bath, to enable Eliza to enjoy the immersion experience rather than being sat in a rigid bath seat.
Naomi wondered if the same vacuum technology was available in a day chair so Eliza could join in family time…
It was- Chilli Bean!
We showed Naomi and her care team how to mould Chilli Bean to give Eliza a correct, natural and comfortable seating position and necessary stabilisation without pressure points.
Chilli Bean's ability to be reformed means that Eliza grows, or her daily support requirement change, the family can quickly and easily adjust the shape and firmness to suit.
We have removed the weeks of delay in remoulding inherent with conventional fixed mould paediatric seating.
Chilli Bean's soft fabric also gives Eliza sensory feedback. Its snug shape helps her awareness of her body. And when mum pops a sound device underneath the ChillI Bean, Eliza gets further sensory stimulation as the vibration will transfer through.
“Eliza’s reaction- falling asleep- when she first sat in the Chilli Bean was just wonderful!” said Naomi. “She’s otherwise either in her wheelchair, or we have a foam seat but the headrest on that doesn’t give her any stable support.
“The precision we can create with Chilli Bean will mean we can all relax and have family time without worrying that Eliza is comfortable, correct and stable.”
Chilli Bean is just one of our numerous vacuum posture cushions , from simple arm & wrist supports to full-size mattresses.
Our unique system means you can achieve optimum value and make stairs safe for a disabled person.
Applying the concept of one power pack for numerous tools, our S-Max makes stairs safe for wheelchair users and anyone else whose mobility is impaired.
Attach our core S-Max power unit to most standard manual wheelchairs. You turn it into a stairclimbing wheelchair.
Add our seat to the S-Max and it deals with more ambulant people who can’t manage stairs on their own. You make stairs safe for them too.
Add our Universal Seat System- developed with OTs- and in one accessory you address almost every additional support and stability required. So even someone with complex disabilities finds stairs safe again.
When prescribing, you can mix and match the three core components to suit almost every person who needs help with stairs, and who has a competent carer.
The components adapt from infants to tall elderly, initially and as their requirements change over time.
So whether your disabled client is a child, adult or elderly, you have the power to make stairs safe, quickly and easily.
The system’s flexibility means that once the original recipient no longer needs the equipment, we can be cost-effectively adjust and set up for someone else.
One piece of kit: stairs safe for many!
Says Gareth Brown, AAT Technical Director:
“More and more Occupational Therapists are appreciating that our top-selling S-Max Sella stairclimbing wheelchair can be re-issued time and again to support clients.
“Indeed, some local authorities now buy a stock of them for that very reason.
“But few appreciate that the power behind Sella- the S-Max- can be adapted so easily and efficiently to give them even greater scope.
"We bring them fast risk management.
"We enable them to re-use equipment that is reasonable and practical to purchase with none of the delaying considerations.
You remove the problems and cost of funding, installation, inability to re-prescribe, making good- inherent with the conventional, fixed alternatives.”
When you provide S-Max, you do more than just enable an elderly or disabled person to get up and down stairs.
You enable them, and their family, to retain normality and routine to daily life. So you improve mental health & wellbeing for all.
Further, because your client can still access their bedroom, the bathroom, you maintain their privacy and dignity , and family life.
Proven in practice
A stairclimber is also safer for them and their carer(s): the risks involved in carrying them upstairs are removed.
You also remove the need to transfer at the top of the stairs- inevitable with a stairlift.
Today, our S-Max is the top-selling mobility stairclimbing wheelchair in the UK.
Almost every local authority and NHS Trust has it.
S-Max has an unrivalled safety record spanning 25 years.
S-Max is unique in its product sector.
And we have a nationwide team to support you in client assessment and prescription.
We provide in-person setting up, servicing of the equipment and training the carer in its safe operation.
Note S-Max can be attached to most common manual wheelchairs. The stand-alone unit can navigate most common stairway designs but will need the wheelchair wheels to be removed.
If the staircase is wide enough, addition of the Universal Rack to the S-Max power unit means the wheelchair can be moved up and down stairs without modification.
The basic pleasures of being able to sleep in his own bed, have a bath and spend family time in the front room are now the ‘norm’ for Isaac Rimmer, all because of one piece of access equipment.
The equipment is our Sella mobility stairclimber, prescribed through the Occupational Therapy service at Ainsdale Centre for Health & Wellbeing.
Dad Paul says that our Sella has made a massive difference to family life normality: Isaac can have a bath again, sleep in his own bed in the room he shares with his brother, and they have space and freedom to be a family downstairs.
Isaac , 9, was born with Cerebral Palsy and has dystonia. A mistake during brain surgery meant to improve his quality of life made Isaac’s condition worse: he became less able and heavier.
Paul and his wife Rachel were struggling to carry Isaac up and down the steep stairs in their Victorian home.
The only answer for everyone’s safety until a solution was found was to move Isaac’s hospital bed into the front room.
The family’s Occupational Therapist Helen Murphy appreciated the family’s desire for Isaac to be able to access upstairs, to be in his own bedroom and be able to bath.
So she reached out to us to assess Isaac, the family and the home environment to determine whether our Sella mobility stairclimber would be appropriate.
family life normality achieved!
Sella worked! Paul and Rachel found it easy to transport Isaac up, down the stairs and on to their final destination- the bathroom, bedroom, lounge, with no need to lift/transfer Isaac en-route…
Sella is the UK’s top-selling mobility stairclimbing wheelchair. Its light weight, high balance point and automatic braking make it easy for Paul and Rachel to use.
Sella’s in-built seat, arms and lap belt mean Isaac is always safe and comfortable, even if he has a dystonic episode whilst on the stairs.
For the family, it was an added bonus that AAT made the effort to deliver the Sella the week before Christmas.
“It made such a difference to our Christmas celebrations!” says Paul. “Isaac could be with his siblings upstairs and have a stocking at the end of his bed on Christmas morning. We were able to celebrate as a family, with space, in the front room.”
Adds Paul: “We know life will never be ‘normal’, but we want Isaac to do as much as he can. Little things like being able to have a bath, which he loves, and to be with his brother and sister upstairs make all the difference. Now he can do those things again, because we can safely get him up and down stairs with the stairclimber.
“And hopefully, in the summer, we can use it to get him out into the back garden too!”
Full details of the Sella stairclimbing wheelchair, how it works and how to book a free no obligation assessment can be found @ www.aatgb.com/s-max-sella/.
An often-overlooked element of safeguarding children is their wellbeing- ensuring healthy development and safe environments at home. We can help...
Safeguarding also involves empowering children to engage with normal family life and routine.
For any child with reduced mobility, there comes a point where their- and family life- is disrupted, because of a fixture present in almost every home: the stairs.
We, the UK’s biggest provider of stair navigation solutions to local authorities and the NHS, have developed a potential resolution, that prevents any disruption to the home, can remove the need for a major DFG adaptation/modification or re-housing.
We deliver access to the home, retaining routine and normal life.
Sella stairclimbing wheelchair makes stairways safe when caring for a disabled child
How our safeguarding proposition works
Our proposal is cost-efficient: the core components not only answer the problem of giving them and their family a safe environment at home, they grow with the child to adulthood.
When the original recipient no longer needs the S-Max, Occupational Therapists can prescribe/recycle/re-issue it to another child. And there's little or no additional capital equipment cost.
Central is our proposition is our top-selling S-Max mobility wheelchair stairclimber. S-Max is a core powerpack unit that can be attached to a wheelchair or have an integral seat.
Add our unique Universal Seat System, which adjusts to individual need, and the child can be safely transported as they develop from infancy into maturity.
The way S-Max works further enables Occupational Therapists to enhance safety at home.
S-Max traverses the stairway and on to destination. S-Max removes the risk of a transfer at the top of the stairs that is inevitable with a stairlift.
Normal family life continues with dignity and privacy.
Director Peter Wingrave explains
“Two of the four key aspects of safeguarding children are promoting welfare: ensuring children have the best outcomes and are growing up in safe, effective circumstances and early intervention: supporting children and families when problems emerge to prevent issues from escalating(1).
“Difficulty managing stairs is one of the most common reasons why any family with a disabled member needs intervention and support.
"Where appropriate, our S-Max is a time- and cost-effective means of preserving safety.
"We can support in PEOP assessment, service, deliver the S-Max and train the family in its safe operation within two working weeks. If one is available in Equipment Stores, it can be effected even faster!
“The child is kept safe. Their- and their family’s- wellbeing, mental health, dignity and privacy- is protected.”
Addressing postural care should be a pre-requisite of occupational therapy yet is a postcode lottery, says RCOT(1). We have a solution!
Our Grande vacuum posture cushion delivers almost all sedentary and supine positioning support required day or night.
So just one health professional need prescribe.
Caregivers can precisely mould and fix the mattress-sized cushion to correctly support whether sitting or lying in the day or sleeping at night.
You can use Grande as a mattress for resting, sleeping or physiotherapy, or folded to create a seat- stand-alone, on a chair, on a sofa. You address numerous posture management requirements.
We've made Grande so it is tactile and easily transmits sound waves, so it can double as a conductor for sensory stimulation.
how it works
The technology we use is based round the principles of a bean bag, giving the precise shaping inherent in the concept. You can contour the 'beans' precisely to the body shape you need.
By attaching a pump, you extract the air between the 'beans' , fixing that shape with the preferred degree of firmness.
You can detail the shaping as required. So you achieve correct stabilisation with minimal pressure and even allowing for pommels, wedges, hollows for feeding tubes. There is no need for restraint, even during dystonic episodes or hyperactivity.
Your need to frequently re-plump/ position becomes a thing of the past.
To re-shape, you simply allow air back into the Grande and mould as necessary, be it a simple adjustment for body position and comfort or a complete reconfiguration.
changing the way postural care is delivered
“The role postural care plays in the health and wellbeing of disabled people and their carers is acknowledged, but the way our health service is structured, delivery is fragmented.
"Yet addressing it would have a huge impact not only on the people who need it, but on the demand for associated NHS services,” says Peter Wingrave, AAT Director.
“If just one healthcare professional thinks outside the box and looks at something like Grande, that answers the specific issue they have for a client but simultaneously could answer other issues for that client, surely it must be considered?”
We've identified an effective way for landlords and Occupational Therapists to enable tenant accessibility in, out and around their homes and reduce their need for re-housing.
38% of disabled people live in rented accommodation(1). Mobility is the biggest disability issue(2).
Being a portable piece of equipment, our stairclimber is classed as an auxiliary aid.
Our stairclimbing wheelchair overcomes the issue of stairs limiting accessibility.
It works whether in a rented house or common parts in a MOU (multiple occupancy unit).
Unlike the conventional alternative of a stairlift or through-floor lift, our battery-powered S-Max stairclimber requires no physical or structural change to the home.
Once the client is sat on the S-Max, there’s no need for intermediate transfers until the destination is reached.
Their carer just pushes a button and guides the S-Max from room to room, up and down steps and stairs.
S-Max solves accessibility and mobility for more than one disabled tenant.
Our equipment helps numerous disabled tenants overcome their mobility limitations over its average 15 year lifespan(3), using our unique re-issue scheme.
Nor is additional capital equipment funding/ DFG allocation(4) required.
“In our 25 years’ experience, we find S-Max can solve the problem of stairway access in 90+% of scenarios,” observes Peter Wingrave, AAT Director.
“S-Max provides a fast, safe, cost-efficient way to enable people to remain in their homes.
"People are no longer at a substantial disadvantage in their home, unable to access various floors or go beyond their front door.
“Something as simple as re-allocating a stairclimber could avoid disabled tenants having a sense of isolation and inaccessibility. And most local authorities already have our stairclimbing wheelchair!”
Latest data reveals that over 3/4m people fracture a joint every year(1)- costing the NHS and social care >£4.4billion pa.
Occupational Therapists and physiotherapists can help patients with fractures be safe at home once discharged from hospital. And they simultaneously reduce the burden on social care.
Almost every home has stairs, whether to gain access if a flat, or to move around the home if a house.
For the patient to be able to continue with their daily life, they need intervention. Delay waiting for modification causes bed-blocking.
Where appropriate, Occupational Therapists have an easy intervention available for prescription- an S-Max stairclimbing wheelchair.
The S-Max wheelchair that has enabled Phil and Mel to get out and about
The battery-operated kinematic Class 1 Medical Device can either fit to a wheelchair or include an integral seat (the S-Max Sella), to safely transfer the injured person up and down steps and stairs. The person overcomes the barrier of wheelchair stair access.
There is no installation, fixing to walls, floors: all that is required is an hour or so’s training, provided by AAT.
Lightweight and mobile, the S-Max mobility stairclimber can be used by even the most petite operator. It folds away when not in use.
With the addition of a Universal Back accessory, any additional thorasic or pelvic support required can be achieved- whether for the initial recipient or future beneficiaries.
Most local authorities have the equipment already, so it is just a case of re-issuing from stores.
If one is not to hand, AAT’s assessment managers can visit the patient within days. A stairclimber delivered from stock within 3 days of receipt of order.
That purchase can then be used to support the specific person, then taken into stores and re-issued to others.
A person-centred solution
In this way, Occupational Therapists achieve a person-centred solution.
They manage risk of the injured person falling on the stairs.
Their client's environment and ability to perform routine occupations is also safely addressed.
Thus, Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ guidance on falls management(3) is followed.
And the person is discharged from hospital, releasing the bed.
“Prescribing a stairclimber is a best-value way to achieve a broad, holistic answer to a client’s ability to be discharged faster from hospital, and live home life better, with less disruption to routine,” explains Peter Wingrave, AAT Director.
“It is the most efficient way to overcome the issue of navigating stairs, removing all the danger of someone trying to go up or down on crutches (an accident waiting to happen), the indignity of bottom-shuffling, or them being confined to one level with all the disruption to them and the rest of the household in moving beds downstairs, commodes etc. With its re-issue capability, one stairclimber can help numerous people.”
Ful details of the S-Max, including videos on it in action, and an assessment booking form, can be found on AAT’s website: https://www.aatgb.com/s-max/.
The doors to “normal” family life at home and away were shut to the Nelsons because of son Alexander’s reliance on a wheelchair. Our Sella mobility stairclimber has changed that.
Alexander has severe epilepsy, Lennox Gastaut Syndrome and global development delay affecting his cognitive, learning ability and motor skills.
As a result he relies on a wheelchair to get around. He is, and always will be, reliant on others for daily living, including all transfers. Also, his capability can be affected by his seizures, meaning Alexander sometimes requires hoisting to support safe transfers. Access at home and away is restricted.
Alexander's limitations have also meant the family had to carry him up and down stairs. Mum and dad have experienced a few “near misses”.
They were getting increasingly worried about safety.
However, Alexander’s medical conditions and the design of the house meant a stairlift was not an option. Nor would a through-floor lift be a straight-forward solution because of the property’s structure: that would have been very disruptive and costly, requiring structural changes to the family home.
The Occupational Therapists' Answer- "a light bulb" moment for access at home and away!
The family’s Occupational Therapist, Fran Richardson, had an idea.
She suggested a mobility stairclimber, and arranged for us to visit and assess Alexander, the family and the home environment to see whether a Sella stairclimbing wheelchair would work.
We found in our assessment that Alexander could transfer from his wheelchair onto the stairclimber with only some support, and was relaxed when going up, down the stairs on the Sella.
As Alexander tends to sit cross-legged, we have accessories the mobility stairclimbing wheelchair to maintain correct and safe posture, and his comfort. We included a large seat with a ramped pelvic pad, small head rest, thoracic pad plus a lap belt and dynamic harness to supplement the standard integrated arm rests and seat.
Because of these additions we made, the accessories be easily altered to ensure his continued safety as he grows, stability and comfort with no need to change the core equipment.
When Alexander is transferred into the Sella stairclimber, the technique and process is similar to that used to transfer him into his functional chair or shower chair, maintaining consistency for him and his family.
If Alexander needs to be hoisted into the Sella stairclimber, the unit’s brakes are applied and it reclined against an appropriate support, thereby replicating a tilt-in-space chair and facilitating good transfers.
Alexander's mum says:
“We love the stairclimber for Alexander. He’s comfortable and happy in it. And, because it is not fixed to the structure of the house, it allows us the flexibility not only to use it at home but away- we take it with us when we visit family or go on holiday.
“AAT has been brilliant in their attention to detail setting up the stairclimber to suit Alexander, with the advice and hands-on training. And we know we csn contact them if we have any questions or issues.”
“AAT has been brilliant in their attention to detail setting up the stairclimber to suit Alexander, with the advice and hands-on training. And we know we csn contact them if we have any questions or issues.”
Our Sella stairclimbing wheelchair is now the UK’s biggest-selling stairclimber. The Class 1 Medical Device certified equipment is unique in its sector in that, when the original recipient no longer needs it, the Sella can be prescribed (re-issued) to another user.
When coupled with our pioneering Universal Seat System, we can help Sella accommodate almost every additional postural support the user may need whilst using the stairclimber, further helping make best use of available resources and budgets.
Full details of the Sella stairclimber, including how to book a free, no obligation demonstration or assessment, can be found at http://www.aatgb.com/s-max-sella.
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