Elderly dogs may not have trouble climbing the stairs in the near future an unnamed company has developed a prototype dog stairlift, named “Stair of the Dog 2022″.

Dogs have always been man’s best friend and faithful companion, forming a strong bond with their owners and becoming a full member of the family. Above all, dogs love bouncing around, playing catch and generally being active as much as possible for most of their life. Even when they reach 14 or 15, they can still be seen to be chasing sticks and balls to return faithfully to their owners.

But at some point, many dogs start to struggle with this kind of activity and it can be painful or uncomfortable for them to move – stairs often become something that elderly, arthritic and overweight dogs can’t use anymore. Arthritis affects 30% of dogs and often starts when dogs are about 7 years old. This can have a massive impact on the way you look after your dog and limit the activities you can do together. This can be saddening for owners and dogs alike, who like to go everywhere together and be at each-others’ side, which is simply not possible anymore.

There is hope for dogs on the horizon though, as a prototype dog stair lift is created so that dogs can once again climb the stairs with ease. Chunky the dog (pictured right) has been showcasing the basket-mounted stair lift to owners and dogs to show them how it is done. The lift is fitted with a paw-activated button, which is close enough to the lift for dogs to press and then comfortably climb into the basket at floor level, before starting their ascent. This makes it easy for the dog to fetch your slippers again!

Who knows in the near future, 1^st Choice Stairlifts could be helping both man and his best friend become independent in their own homes!

 Auntie Lily started to find it hard to get up stairs and decided to do something about it! 1st Choice Stairlifts were round in a flash to give her a brand new high-quality stairlift for her. Now she can get upstairs in just a matter of seconds and has never been happier.

Keep your ears peeled for the exciting antics of Auntie Lily on Heart FM and Gold FM this year, as she races up the stairs.

Can she get upstairs in record time? Click here to find out!

By subscribing to our news mailing list, you will get to hear the latest developments at 1st Choice Stairlifts, get some great advice from our experienced staff and get insight into the incredible developments and innovation for mobility products!

At 1st Choice Stairlifts, we continually look to improve the service we provide to our customers and keeping up to date in the rapidly changing world of mobility is essential to ensure our customers are receiving the best care they can get.

We hope these news updates will help you get clued up on the mobility sector and help you in any future mobility purchases you make to ensure you’re getting the right product to meet your needs.

Join the 1st Choice Stairlifts mailing list for yourself and discover something incredible today!

On the 4th of March 2011, the company started their operations, complete with a large workshop, office, reception area and a showroom with 8 working stairlifts! A lot has happened in that time and company Directors Colin Major and Coral Affleck-Major have made great use of the company’s new resources and space.

Kelly Brown joined the team last March to take charge of aftercare. The company also brought in a new Sales Manager, Kieran McLaughlin, who now undertakes the majority of the client visits. The have welcomed Lindsey Adams back to the team as Office Manager. And finally, James Doyle was hired as Marketing Executive. All the new team members are enjoying working for 1st Choice Stairlifts to continually improve the quality and range of services we offer out new and existing customers.

This has been an exciting year for 1st Choice Stairlifts, with 4 new members joining the team, some fantastic stairlift races to raise money for Children In Need and the official opening of the new showroom. The Under 10’s Calne football team we sponsor have also played some of the best football that the League has seen this year. We even had some fun with pancakes!

1st Choice Stairlifts has thrived in what appeared to be tough times and continue to provide first class service to customers. We would like to say thank you to all of our customers, the occupational therapists who help their clients get the equipment they need and all of those who have supported the company as we have grown. We hope for an equally exciting year for us and our customers in 2012!

The card accompanying the sculpture read:

“To 1st Choice Stairlifts staff,

Just a little thank you for all the staff as everyone we met there was very helpful, polite and gave a very good and quick service.

Thanks again,

*Customer’s Name*”

Everyone in the office was amazed by the remarkable design and intriguing details. The people and scenery featured in the sculpture are made of screws and iron to great effect. The diorama appears to show our satisfied customer happily using the stairlift for the first time.

Company Director Coral Affleck-Major gave a personal thank you for the gift, “I would like to say that receiving a present from a customer always gives us great satisfaction in our work, and this gift is outstanding! We feel  humbled to receive a hand-crafted sculpture that they put so much effort into making. It really makes our jobs worthwhile!

“As an independent family business which always tries to give each customer a personal experience, we value our customers above anything else. It’s nice for us to receive something this personal in return. Thank you.”

The sculpture will now take a proud place in our showroom for all of our employees and customers to enjoy.

Yes, it’s another excuse to buy goodies you have been trying to avoid since the Christmas binge. And who can really resist stocking up on flour, eggs and milk to join in with the sugar-fed hysteria of pancake day?

We’ve taken a few of our favourite pancake recipes from BBC Good Food to whet your appetite!

Are you going to make a stack of pancakes with different flavours in each layer burger-style? Or will you turn eggs, milk and flour into the next gourmet food?

Whatever you make, we’d love to see what you create for Pancake Day! Email a picture of your pancakes along with the fillings you chose to email@1stchoicestairlifts.com.

1. The Classic Sugar And Lemon

For decades this has been the standard, and the shops still run out of lemon juice every year! If you’re a fan of this classic, make sure you stock up tonight!

1. Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the milk and 100ml of water together. Break the eggs into the well and start whisking slowly. Add the milk and water in a steady stream, whisking constantly and gradually incorporating the flour as you do so.
2. Whisk until the batter is smooth and all the flour has been incorporated. Set the batter aside to rest for 30 mins, then whisk the melted butter into the batter.
3. Heat the pan over a medium heat. Very lightly grease the pan with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour roughly 2 tbsp of batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. You want to use just enough batter to make a delicate, lacy pancake. Cook the pancake for about 45 secs on one side until golden and then using a palette knife or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for about 30 secs until it freckles.
4. Slide the pancake out of the pan and either serve immediately or stack on a plate with baking parchment in between. Continue until all the batter is used up.
   

2. Scotch Pancakes with Banana and Maple Syrup

Scotch pancakes are one of my favourites and go well with anything you put on them, like bananas and maple syrup. Try them with a dollop of ice cream on top too!

1. Put the flour, baking powder, egg, milk and sugar in a large jug then whiz with a hand-held blender until smooth (or just whisk together in a bowl).
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan (add a little butter if you need) and pour in small amounts of batter. Once the top of the pancake has bubbled and set, flip with a palette knife and cook on the other side. Repeat until all the batter is used.
3. Stack the pancakes in a pile, slice the bananas and add to the plate. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve with Greek yoghurt or vanilla ice cream and extra maple syrup.

3. Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Apples and Pecans

For the health nut who still wants a delicious treat, this is the perfect recipe for you!

1. Make the topping. Peel, core and quarter the apples, then slice each quarter into four. Heat the butter in a large frying pan. Cook the apples until golden, but still firm. Stir in the pecans and maple syrup. Heat gently for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
2. For the pancakes, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Mix together the egg yolks, buttermilk and melted butter and whisk into the flour mixture until the batter is thick and smooth. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter until evenly mixed.
3. Heat a large frying pan, preferably non-stick, and brush lightly with melted butter. Drop 2 or 3 large spoonfuls of batter into the pan to make pancakes about 10cm in diameter. When the surface has dulled slightly and bubbles appear, after about 3-4 minutes, carefully flip the pancakes over and cook on the other side until browned.
4. To serve, place a spoonful of the apple mixture on a pancake, top with a second pancake and spoon over more of the topping. Repeat to make three more pancake stacks.

4. Dinner-Style Pancakes with Bacon and Apples

Pancakes don’t always have to be sweet, and the Americans found a brilliant combination with bacon and maple syrup!

If you’re looking to mix up a classic, try it with apples, oranges and grapes!

1. Put the egg, milk, sugar, flour, 2 tbsp melted butter and 1/2 tsp of salt in a blender and whizz until smooth, or use a hand whisk. Ideally, let the mixture stand for an hour or overnight, although you can use it straight away.
2. Fry the apple in a little butter until softened and golden. Keep warm. Heat a non-stick frying pan, melt a knob of butter, and drop in tablespoonfuls of pancake mixture. When bubbles rise to the surface of the pancakes and burst, turn them over and cook for a minute or so longer. Keep warm in a low oven while you make the rest. Layer the pancakes with the bacon and apples, drizzle with maple syrup and serve with sour cream or crème fraîche.

5. Cinnamon Pancakes with Compote and Maple Syrup

A personal favourite of mine when it comes to all things sweet is cinnamon! If you want to impress your friends by transforming a simple recipe into a delicate dish, this could be the one for you.

1. First make the Apple, pear & cherry compote (click here for recipe). You’ll need half the compote for this recipe.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, sugar and ½ tsp salt. In a jug, whisk the egg, milk, vanilla and melted butter. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture gradually, whisking as you go to make a smooth batter. Ideally, let the mixture stand for 1 hr (or even overnight, covered in the fridge), although you can cook with it straight away.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Melt a knob of butter, then drop in tbsps of the mixture to make pancakes about 10cm across. Cook for 2-3 mins until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip over and cook for 1 min more. Keep each batch warm while you use up the rest of the batter. Stack up the pancakes and serve with hot or cold compote, maple syrup and yogurt.

If you want to personalise these dishes, try putting your own spin on them. You could use pastry cutters to make them into fun shapes, or even make your own edible Leaning Tower of Piza!

Remember, if you want to show off your creations, email a picture of your pancakes along with the fillings you chose to email@1stchoicestairlifts.com

Have a very happy Pancake Day!

Inside Housing.co.uk reported last month on the lengthy waiting times for people with mobility problems to get funding from disabled facilities grants to get vital home alterations such as

Oona Goldsworthy, the Chief Executive of Bristol Community Housing Foundation discovered that some of the City’s tenants were not receiving the support they needed from basic but essential equipment such as stairlifts and easy access bathing facilities.

‘I was really shocked by the conditions that people had to live in,’ she says. ‘I feel real shame.’

Some residents have been sleeping in their chairs because they are unable to get upstairs without help.

Housing associations like the BCHF cover the cost up to £1000 of home adaptations for their tenants but if the cost is greater, an application for a disable facilities grant needs to be made. However, many housing associations do not keep track of progress made on these applications which has led to massive delays in funding being approved.

‘It would take six to nine months to get an appointment with an occupational therapist. Then you had to wait for surveyors, which would take another six months,’ she explains. ‘At all stages there were backlogs. You had to go back to the beginning of the queue [after each stage]. People were waiting between 18 months and two years to even know if they were going to get adaptations done.’ This is a long time to wait for people having problems just getting upstairs or cleaning themselves.

Some people estimate this waiting period to be longer. Brenda Joyce who is involved in independent living at the MS society believes, “the majority of people will wait at least three years, which can seriously affect an individual’s health and quality of life.” She adds that the root of the problem is in reducing council budgets and an overly complex application process.

Bathing has been an issue for many, even those who have bathing facilities on the ground floor as they are now unable to get in and out of the bath unaided.

Oona Goldsworthy has said, “It was very life limiting. It has also, I think, led to people feeling very depressed about their situation.”

The gap in funding for elderly support is not limited to Bristol. There are currently 500 tenants in the Liverpool on the waiting list for home adaptations such as stairlifts, wheelchair lifts and bathroom adaptations, which highlights a lack of support for home adaptations around the country.

Coral Affleck at 1st Choice Stairlifts said, “It is a shame that local authorities do not get the funding they require and as such, thousands of people nationwide are suffering needlessly.”

But it isn’t necessary to wait years to get the support you need. At  1st Choice Stairlifts, we can make those life changing home alterations like stairlifts and bath lifts affordable.

From as little as £350, you could get a bath lift to give you the support you need to use your bath again.

From just £500 we could fit a stairlifts to give you freedom in your own home – something that could take years to get fitted by the council!

Don’t wait for the help you need. We could install a stairlift in days! Call us today on 08000 19 22 10 for a free, no-obligation stairlift assessment.

They escaped the UK’s heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures and got married on the golden sands of a Mexican beach.

Having been together as a couple both in business and in pleasure for several years, they decided to tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by immediate family members.

Colin Major and Coral Affleck (now Affleck-Major) created 1^st Choice Stairlifts back in February 2004 to provide customers with a wider choice of stairlifts and ensure that we could provide a lift for anyone who needed help getting upstairs. We use over 12 different lift manufacturers, with a range of over 20 different lifts.

The team at 1st Choice Stairlifts would like to wish them a very happy life together.

The OFT has taken action against several mobility aids traders and even a stairlift manufacturer, following a market study last year which found some firms were engaged in unfair business practices.

The OFT has revoked the consumer credit licences of Amarjit Gill and his business associate Ranjit Dhami over concerns about how they sold mobility aids. Amarjit Gill, who traded as ABM Mobility, breached consumer protection legislation, including using aggressive sales techniques, despite warnings from Derbyshire Trading Standards, and repeatedly breached interim enforcement orders.

Ranjit Dhami held a separate licence and had traded as A.B.M., Phoenix 1000, Eurostar, Star Enterprises and Phoenix Enterprises. She was judged unfit to hold a credit licence by the OFT because of her association with Amarjit Gill’s business.

Separately, the OFT carried out an investigation into Yorkshire-based Acorn Mobility Services Limited (Acorn) for potential breaches of consumer protection laws. As a result of constructive discussions, Acorn has voluntarily amended the terms and conditions it uses in its customer contracts and supporting documents to address potentially unfair terms.

The OFT was also concerned about complaints received about Acorn’s customer service. During the investigation the company agreed to overhaul its customer service procedures including setting up a freephone helpline and improving training for staff. The company is continuing to work closely with its local Trading Standards Service to improve complaints handling.

An investigation into a separate national mobility aids trader, for suspected unfair doorstep sales practices, is also well advanced.

Alongside the OFT’s work, local Trading Standards Services are continuing to tackle unfair sales practices by mobility aids suppliers at local and regional levels.

David Fisher, OFT Director said:

‘We warned traders that unless they stopped using aggressive sales techniques and unfair business practices to sell mobility aids they would face enforcement, and that is what we are doing.’ 

‘We will take further action, working in partnership with local Trading Standards Services, if there is evidence of unfair trading or where fitness to hold a credit licence is called into question.’

Our Comments

Coral Affleck, Director of 1st Choice Stairlifts said, “It is terrible to hear that some companies in our industry are taking advantage of very vulnerable people. We have full BHTA and OFT membership and are always reviewing our customer service to find innovative new ways to help and support our customers.”

1^st Choice Stairlifts have installed well over 2000 stairlifts all over the South-West of England, including Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Oxfordshire, Bristol and Berkshire and have built up a great reputation within the community for installing and maintaining high quality stairlifts.

“It’s been great working here,” long-time employee Lindsay said, “It’s great to see the company still going strong after 8 years. We’re definitely making a positive impact in our community!”

1^st Choice Stairlifts a wide range of straight stairlifts and curved stairlifts to help people get upstairs again. They now also install and maintain a wide range of Wheelchair lifts, such as through-floor lifts, vertical lifting platforms and step lifts. “No task is too great for us; if a client needs access to a difficult location, we have the mobility lifts to make sure they can,” Company Director, Coral said.

The company has high hopes for future growth and both the directors and staff look forward to giving customers more independence in their own homes.

You can see our full range of stairlifts, wheelchair lifts and bath lifts  here.