The National Audit Office has said that tens of thousands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)  “are not identified or treated quickly enough and this dramatically affects long-term outcomes and people’s ability to remain in work.”

Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating and distressing disease that currently affects 580,000 adults in England with a further 26,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It is estimated that rheumatoid arthritis costs the NHS £560 million annually and costs the economy £1.8 billion a year through sick leave and work-related disability - over a third of people with RA stop working within 2 years of symptom onset. In severe cases patients may require mobility products such as mobility scooters, walk in baths and stairlifts.

The Report highlights how early diagnosis (ideally within three months of symptom onset) is the key to the successful treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and to to minimising the damage and disability caused by this progressive and incurable joint disease.  Unfortunately the average length of time from the first symptom onset to treatment is nine months, which has not improved in the past five years. There are two main reasons for the delay in diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: Firstly; public awareness of the disease is low and many people delay seeking medical help for RA often because they rarely associate RA symptoms (swollen, painfull & stiff joints) with a condition that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Secondly; RA is difficult to diagnose and requires specialist knowledge and expertise for diagnosis. These two reasons combined can lead to long delays from symptom onset to treament with the average patient visiting their GP four times before they are referred to a specialist for diagnosis and treatment. Currently only a tenth are treated within three months of symptom onset.

The report recomends: “The National Health Service (NHS) should take a more co ordinated approach to identifying people with symptoms of early rheumatoid arthritis, so that they get access to specialist care quickly and receive support and advice to help them manage and live with the disease. This would provide better value for money, better outcomes for patients, and lead to productivity gains for the economy. Some of the systemic improvements needed to manage and control this disease also apply to other long-term conditions requiring specialist-led care.”

Some key facts about Rheumatoid Arthritis:

• RA is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints but can also cause inflamation of tissues around the joint but may also affect many other tissues and organs including the lungs and the skin
• Approximately 1% of the worlds population is affected by RA
• Women are more than twice as likely as men to get RA
• Onset is most common beyond the ages of 40-50, but any age can be affected
• Severe RA may shorten life expectancy by 6 - 10 years

David Cameron has pledge to end the “world of bureaucratic pain” facing families of disabled children through the introduction of a “one stop shop” assesment process to cut through the current bureaucratic red tape.

The Tory leaders severly disabled son Ivan, who had both cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy, died earlier this year at the age of six.  He has spoken previously how Ivan has made a significant influence on his life and has made him a passionate supporter of the Health Service. Addressing the Research Autism conference, he spoke of how under the current system parents of disabled children are faced with having to answer the same questions about their child repeatedly, as well as writing out huge number of forms and waiting for long periods in phone queues.

Under his plans, families of disabled children will get one-off assessments by a team of professionals consisting  of  a paediatric doctor, physiotherapist, child psychiatrist, nurse and a benefits assistant who will all visit the family at the same time and offer complementary help and give the family as much support as possible. As well as helping families of a disabled child “to clear that first hurdle quickly and efficiently” the new plans would also “give them a key to open one door to everything they need”and should help to reduce costs by cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that is believed to account for a quater of all disability spending.

Mr Cameron has also promised to increase the number of health visitors and to increase resources in order to help voluntary organisations provide respite care.

Bespoke stairlifts are one of the UK’s leading reconditioned curved stairlift manufacturers with over 20 full time experienced staff and access to a UK wide network of qualified stairlift engineers. They manufacture the popular BS101 reconditioned curved stairlift which is designed to go on curved or more complicated stair cases and come with a full 12 months warranty as standard.

The BS101 re-engineered inner or outer curved stairlift

Bespoke Stairlifts BS101 negotiates bends, landings and corridors with ease and can be fitted to either an inner or outer curve. The BS101 is also suitable for use narrow stair cases due to its slim carriage and rail. The BS101 comes complete with easy to use push button controls, optional joystick control, swivel seat, and D.C. powered batteries that charge automatically and provide a smooth gentle ride even during a power cut.

Stairlift Suppliers have been asked to sell a Stannah 300 stairlift that is no longer required in the Great Barr area of Birmingham. The stairlift is right hand fitting, in excellent condition, with track that covers 13 stairs. The stairlift is beige (metal) and salmon (chair padding) coloured. Originally fitted in 2000 but has had very little use and has been maintained by Stannah.

Anyone interested in purchasing the stairlift should contact stairlift suppliers through our contact form: on the stairlift suppliers website.

Acorn Stairlifts have recently redesigned their stairlift remote control. Following customer feedback Acorn Stairlifts decided to overhaul the look and the feel of their remote controls. Acorn decided to make the remote more ergonomically designed. This involved making the remote slimmer, less clumbersome to hold, and easier to operate.

A key feature was to make the up and down switches larger and made specifically for those with poor mobility, or arthritis in their hands. They are now more friendly for the disabled user who can operate the switches simply by sliding their thumb up or down. As well as making the remote control easier to use this also reduces the risk of the remote being dropped on the floor.

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Stairlift Suppliers have been asked to sell a stairlift that is unfortunately no longer required. The stairlift (a Bison Bede Classic Stairlift) is located in Malton, North Yorkshire. It comes with 4.1 meters of track and is in good working order.

Any dealers interested in this stairlift should contact stairlift suppliers through our contact form: on the stairlift suppliers website.

Mobility Aids LTD are specialists in the supply of bathroom adaptations for the elderly and disabled throughout London and the South East. Their product range includes walk in baths, bath lifts, walk in showers (low and level access showers) and wet room showers. The products are aimed at those who find bathing difficult due to reduced mobility or disability. Many people who suffer with a disability or reduced mobility find bathing difficult, they may also be at risk of slipping when getting in or out of the bath. Practical solutions to this include fitting a walk in bath, walk in shower, or having the bathroom especially adapted to allow wheelchair access through a wet room.

Many people who are considering adapting a bathroom could also benefit from a stairlift. Mobility Aids LTD have teamed up with Stairlift Suppliers to offer significant discounts on the price of stairlifts, to their customers who purchase any of their bathroom adaptations. Mobility Aids LTD can Supply Bathroom adaptations and stairlifts throughout London and the South East. For more details contact Stairlift Suppliers UK quoting Mobility Aids LTD.

The Government is launching a design code for all new houses built from 2013 onwards. The design code will require key features to be incorporated into the design of the new homes to aid those with mobility problems. The code is primarily concerned with ensuring there is adequate room for the use of mobility products such as stairlifts and wheelchairs within their homes. This will make all new homes “Lifetime Homes” meaning that all new homes must be designed to cater for the needs of the elderly or disabled. The term “lifetime homes” refers to the way the new homes could be purchased by a young couple and still be able to meet their needs into their 90’s. This is important when you consider that the percentage of older people in the UK is continuing to rise (in 2006 the number of people over the age of 85 increased by 69,000) fueling the demand for accesible “Lifetime Homes” homes.

The key features of the Lifetime Homes design code are primarily concerned with making life easier for anyone with impaired mobility. Some of the key features that developers must include are:

• Doors must be wide enough to allow wheelchair access
• The staircase must be wide enough for a stairlift or wheelchair platform
• Ther must be suitable room for wheelchairs to turn
• Sockets must be high enough to prevent the need for people to bend down to them
• Parking spaces should be wide enough to allow wheelchair users to get in and out of cars
• There must be room for a downstairs shower in all homes with three or more bedrooms

The scheme should help to ensure that the elderly do not have to move homes for reasons such as not being able to fit a stairlift due to narrow stairs, or there being inadequate room for use of a wheelchair. The Government hopes that developers will adopt the code voluntarily. The developers will be given until 2010 to show signs that they are adopting the code, otherwise legislation will follow in 2013. The Government predicts the cost to developers will be low (around £550), allthough this has been disputed by some developers.

The design code for Lifetime Homes has been widely welcomed and has the support of the charity Help The Aged. However, it should be noted that there are currently around 25 million households in Britain and with only around 200,000 new homes built per year, it could take many years before Lifetime Homes make up a significant proportion of the market.

Minivator stairlifts, who manufacture the popular minivator 950, 1000 and 2000 stairlifts, have announced another year of continued growth, with sales figures in 2007 increasing by 13% over their 2006 figures. This success can be attributed in part to strong sales to both trade and Governement sectors. On top of the 13% increase in sales figures Minivator has also reported a 32% increase in their operating profit. Minivator expect to see continued success through 2008 as they role out their evolution service package and a programme of new product launches. The Evolution range is due to be expanded over upcoming months and will give dealers new ways to work in partnership with Minivator and will improve the service that dealers can offer their customers.

This success has not just been restricted to the UK market, as significant sales growth has also been achieved by Minivator’s US subsidiary Sterling Stairlifts.

Stannah Stairlifts have recently launched an exclsuive offer to B&Q customers. B&Q customers will receive a 10% discount on the cost of a Stannah stairlift whilst Diamond Card holders will qualify for a 15% discount. This means that the basic new straight stairlift from Stannah (The Saxon Stairlift) would cost £2,302.20 (normally £2,558) with a 10% discount and £2,174.30 with a 15% discount for Diamond Card holders.

The price is based on a new Saxon straight stairlift with 4.5m of new straight rail. The stairlift comes with joystick control, manual swivel seat, keyswitch, choice of upholstery, retractable safety belt, 12 month warranty, one free service and emergency breakdown cover. It is worth rembering that the above price is for the Saxon stairlift with a manual swivel seat and many people find a powered swivel to be more beneficial - typically powered swivels add around £100-£200 pounds to the cost of a stairlift.

The offer excludes Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Isle of Man and only one discount may be used per purchase.