Stiltz Homelifts to the rescue after disability grant disaster for Jasmine, 6

Rewind to the start of 2023 and the Blueman family from Stockport, had hit crisis point. They were almost two years into the process of trying to get a through-floor lift fitted via a local authority Disability Facilities Grant when once again, on installation day, nothing happened. This is when in desperation, they turned to Stiltz for help.

We asked Andy Blueman, an airfield operations manager at Manchester Airport, to reflect on his family’s long journey to get where they are now. He tells us about the twists, turns and triumphs that went into finally securing a Stiltz Trio+ Home Lift for Jasmine, his 6-year-old daughter who has complex disabilities.

Unsustainable safety. This is a story with a happy ending…

Andy, his wife Tara and their daughter have lived with their Stiltz Home Lift for a few months now and enjoy the daily freedom and relief it brings. Positioned in the heart of their home, the Trio+ has opened up wheelchair access to every room for young Jasmine and risky journeys between floors are a thing of the past. At the push of one button, Jasmine and her wheelchair go upstairs or down, meeting Mum or Dad on arrival. Carrying Jasmine precariously up and down the stairs is a thing of the past.

Andy starts by explaining why they needed a home lift: “Jasmine loves being with family, playing with sensory toys and getting out into the garden. She has Global Motor Delay, similar to cerebral palsy, is non-verbal and non-mobile so needs care 24/7. Plus like any child she’s having growth spurts and is getting heavier. As a result, my wife was really struggling to lift Jasmine. At one stage they both fell on the stairs when I was away working nights. It was such a frightening experience and a real wake-up call for Tara and I. Thankfully neither of them was badly hurt but we knew then, this simply couldn’t happen again.”

But it wasn’t just the stairs causing an access headache, it was their whole house. So, they decided to move and in late 2020 they found a house with potential. In his spare time Andy helps friends who are builders so he knows his stuff when it comes to house conversions. “I looked at the floor plans, did a risk assessment and could see where a home lift could potentially go.” He considered how they wanted to live as a family planning all the adaptations and equipment they might need now and in the future.

The house move happened and “a few months later we found out about Disabilities Facilities Grants (DFG), we applied and were successful. However, the process of getting a through-floor lift didn’t pan out as we expected. It was dire.”

A big let down
A DFG is funding provided by a local authority to help with home accessibility adaptation costs. Andy and Tara chose to use this support to fund a lift as stairs were the main obstacle to overcome. “Once the grant was approved, the local authority (LA) came out and put us in touch with their approved supplier. Throughout our discussions with this supplier, the conversation went just one way; the supplier told us where their lift would go, but that didn’t fit with what we wanted. I raised lots of questions, and this is where the delays started.”

At that time just coping with day-to-day life was too much for the family, let alone any more hassle brought on by, ironically, the very people who should have been helping. Jasmine was regularly in and out of hospital, so Mum and Dad had to prioritise her need, leaving management of the adaptation to the council. The family waited and waited with months turning into more than a year.

“The LA’s primary lift provider continually let us down. We even got to the point of building work starting and no one showed up on day one. It was the last straw. We said, ‘that’s enough,’ we now wanted to manage the grant and building works ourselves.” Seeing how the family had been repeatedly let down, the LA agreed. Time was of the essence, the risk of Tara falling on the stairs with Jasmine in her arms had to be avoided.

Stiltz to the rescue
With the Bluemans in control, Andy and Tara started researching other suppliers and that’s when they came across Stiltz Home Lifts. “We’d seen their ads on TV; Stiltz stood out a mile mainly because of the way their lifts looked.” Another plus point for detail-focused Andy was the unique drive system. “We didn’t notice it straight away, but all through-floor lifts tend to come with a separate, very large hydraulic pump and you’ve got to decide where to put it.

They’re noisy too so usually positioned on an outside wall blocking narrow walkways or just looking unsightly. If you want it inside the home, it has to go inside a large box, also not ideal. Stiltz has a quiet, integrated electric motor housed out of sight in the top of the lift car with no additional pump needed. Sometimes I work nights and sleep during the day so this was a much better option for us.”

“We made contact with Stiltz and one of their Trusted Assessors came out. Alastair couldn’t do enough to help. He agreed with us the lift should go where we originally wanted it, was in the kitchen leading straight upstairs into Jasmine’s bedroom. Alastair worked closely with us on the DFG application always following up and pushing it along because he knew our situation was desperate. He made sure there was constant dialogue with all parties.”

Common sense prevailed
The family did meet with some resistance from their local authority about specifying a Stiltz Home Lift but their persistence paid off. Andy and Tara proved this was the correct solution for their family and when all the paperwork was submitted, the funding was approved. The installation was finally going to happen!

Stiltz managed everything – builders, electricians, installers, the lot. Now the pressure was off the Bluemans who had enough on their plate getting the surrounding kitchen finished. Once the home lift was in they’d have at least one room in their new home complete. Within a few months everything was completed and signed off by the LA.

Brighter times
So how are they finding life with their Stiltz Lift? “It’s amazing, it’s made a huge difference to our lives. I no longer worry about Tara and Jasmine on the stairs while I’m out at work,” says a clearly-relived Andy. “Jasmine can now come down from her room straight into the kitchen with easy access to the lounge, her playroom and outside. All at the push of a button on one of the remote controls. She also loves the lights inside it”

“As Jasmine grows we’re going to be even more reliant on the home lift. It’s not just invaluable for us but eventually when we need to call on respite carers, it’s something they will also need to ensure safe manual handling.”

Challenge for change
So what advice would Andy give to other families considering installing a home lift to help with access? Straight away he concludes,

“Contact the local authority to find out what grants are available. Many don’t advertise, you need to ask and to push. There are restrictions but we’ve shown you can overcome these. Don’t assume the supplier they recommend is the best option for you. I know Stiltz is increasingly preferred by lots of councils now but every authority has a duty to provide what’s best for children with disabilities. In our case it was a Stiltz Home Lift for sure.”