Platform lift: taking a wheelchair up the stairs

A platform lift makes sense when the user stays in a wheelchair, when there is a staircase wide enough to take the folded platform without blocking it for others, and when there is room at the top and bottom for the wheelchair to drive on and off. It is also used on short flights, such as steps to a raised ground floor or a split-level room.

If the stairs are narrow, or there is no space at the landings, a vertical lift or a through-floor lift is often the better option even though it involves building work. An occupational therapist's assessment, arranged through the council, is the best way to compare the options before a surveyor designs anything.

The platform is much larger and heavier than a stairlift chair, and the rail is usually fixed to the wall or to posts rather than the treads. The surveyor checks that the wall or floor can take the loads, that the folded platform leaves a usable stair width, and that there is a level area at each end where the wheelchair can turn, wait and drive on and off. In a building where the stairs are an escape route, the parked platform must not obstruct escape.

Inclined platform lifts are built to the same European standard as stairlifts, BS EN 81-40. A quote should state the platform size, the rated load, the travel and the safety features, such as edge sensors, folding ramps and barrier arms.

• platform size and the maximum load including the wheelchair
• rail route, fixing method and any structural work
• clear stair width with the platform folded
• landing space needed at the top and bottom
• controls, call points and emergency lowering
• electrical supply and who installs it
• warranty, servicing interval and breakdown response

In a home, an inclined platform lift is usually funded privately or through a Disabled Facilities Grant, which in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can pay for adaptations that improve access to rooms. The council must approve the grant before work starts, and it may send an occupational therapist or trained assessor.

In business premises the rules depend on who uses the lift. The Health and Safety Executive explains that a platform lift in a shop used for customer access is in most cases not covered by the lifting equipment regulations, but the business providing it is still responsible for its safety, including routine maintenance and inspection. Where the lift is provided for or used by people at work, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations apply, with thorough examination of equipment that lifts people every 6 months. The installation also has to fit with the building's fire strategy. If you are a business, say so in your request so the installer can quote for the right documentation.

Source: gov.uk · hse.gov.uk

VAT Notice 701/7 treats a chair lift designed for use in connection with a wheelchair as eligible for zero-rating when supplied to a chronically sick or disabled person for their own use; the person does not have to be carried while seated in the wheelchair for the lift to count. Installation, repair and maintenance of eligible goods can also be zero-rated. The person, or someone acting for them, gives the installer a written declaration.

Tell us about the staircase, its width if you know it, the space at each end and whether the lift is for a home or a business, then confirm your phone number and email address. Lift installers in your area see it without your details, and exactly one can buy it. It is not offered to anyone else afterwards. We email you the installer's name, address and phone number before your details are passed on. It is free for you, no installer is obliged to take it, and it is withdrawn after 21 days if unsold. Offrano checks that buyers are registered businesses, not the lifts they install.