Disabled Access: What the Law Says

If you own a building or provide services, it is your responsibility, under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), to ensure that everyone can access them. This means that people must be able to get into buildings, and move freely around inside them, to use their facilities, whether they are visitors or live or work there. Current legislation means that everyone must be able to do this, regardless of disability, age or gender.

Any organisation not meeting their statutory obligations can be challenged in law, and reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which polices disabled access.

Of course, the most common barrier to access in any building is the stairs, and you may need to install at least one access solution like a disability lift to ensure you meet the requirements of the DDA. Each building is unique so each installation of a disabled lift presents its own challenges. Some are subject to additional laws that restrict physical changes (e.g. historic or listed buildings). In these cases, the disability lift installed must meet Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requirements while also respecting original building features at the same time.

In addition, companies and organisations must train its staff to operate and maintain equipment such as a disability lift, and ensure they are well versed in relevant health and safety regulations and procedures.

It’s no exaggeration to say that access solutions like a disability lift have the potential to transform the life of a disabled person. Of course, a disability lift on its own can’t make everything perfect, but it can go a long way to making life much easier. In particular, access to a disability lift has transformed access to hospitals, residential homes and other public buildings, and these devices have given back a strong degree of independence to many people with disabilities.

Types of Disabled Lift

Advances in technology have been crucial to the development of the disability lift, and a number of different kinds of disabled lift are now on the market. In fact, ‘disability lift’ is a very generic term used to cover many different types of disabled lift.

For example, one kind of disabled lift is a platform which lifts a wheelchair from ground-level to an upper floor. Even within this type of disabled lift, there are various kinds of wheel chair lifts such as hydraulic wheelchair lifts, wheel chair stair lifts, electric wheelchair lifts and so on. Wheelchair lifts are one kind of disability lift which can save you money by getting rid of costly ramps or elevators. Safety features on this kind of disability lift include straps, barriers and railings to avoid accidents from occurring.

Recently, another kind of disability lift, platform lift, have also gained popularity. Platform lifts also allow people in wheelchairs to access building floors above ground level. This kind of disabled lift can be genuinely elegant, using modern materials linked with passenger lifts. With this kind of disabled lift, the person in wheelchair can take pleasure in the environment without needing any extra support.

What DDA Lifts Can Do for You

At DDA Lifts, we have one of the most comprehensive selections of disability lift models around.

But before we install your disabled lift, we will talk to you in detail about your project to make sure we fully understand the building design before we recommend a particular disabled lift. We explore all the options with you, so that you are fully informed about your choice of disability lift. After all, buying a disabled lift is a big commitment, so we want your choice of disability lift to be the right one.

But, whatever disability lift we agree to supply you with, you can rest assured that your disabled lift will meet not only Disability Discrimination Act compliance, but all building regulations. Equally, when we put in a disability lift, we make sure that disabled lift fully complements its surroundings and the building in which it has been installed.

Then, when it comes to installation of your disabled lift, we’ll be with you every step of the way. Any problems with your disabled lift will be identified and put right at a very early stage.

We can offer help with your disability lift whether you are refurbishing a building, or need a disabled lift for a new build. You will see from our web site that we are disabled lift specialists, with a wealth of experience in this area, and a range of disability lift products on offer. In fact, the range of disability lift products that we offer provides lifting heights of anywhere between 250mm and 15m. This means that, whatever your access problem, we have a disabled lift to suit it.

If you are serious about installing a disability lift in your premises, it’s a great idea to register with our site, then we can keep you informed each time we add a new type of disabled lift to our range of products.

Our Disability Lift Products

Our range of platform lifts have hydraulic, screw and nut or scissor mechanisms.

Each time we supply a disability lift, it is certified and guaranteed to the latest British and European safety standards. And, since we take personal care of installation of each disabled lift, we can promise consistency of standards at all stages from enquiry through to final commissioning.

You’ll find our team knows everything there is to know about each disabled lift we offer. We’re happy to help, and pride ourselves on our customer service excellence.

So, even if you just want advice about installing a disability lift, we’ll be glad to talk to you. Contact us by phone, email, letter or fax and discuss your accessibility needs.

We’re bound to have a disabled lift that fits the bill perfectly. And, remember there’s loads more information on our web site, so log on today and see what a disability lift from DDA Lifts could do to enhance access at your premises.