What should I do if my stairlift loses power during a journey?

If your stairlift loses power during a journey, stay seated, keep the seat belt fastened and do not attempt to climb off onto the stairs. Release the control, ask for assistance and contact Independent Stairlifts for advice. Leave the stairlift only when it has reached a safe landing, or when a trained person has confirmed that it is safe to do so.

A stairlift can stop because of a power interruption, a depleted battery, a safety sensor, an obstruction or a fault in the lift or charging system. The safest response is the same initially: remain calm, avoid sudden movements and do not try to force the lift to move.

• Release the joystick, button or toggle control. Continuing to hold the control will not restore power and may make troubleshooting more difficult.
• Stay in the seat with the belt fastened. Do not stand up, lean towards the stairs or attempt to step over the lift.
• Call someone nearby. Ask them to assist from a safe position, without pulling or pushing the stairlift or trying to lift you from the seat.
• Contact Independent Stairlifts or your service provider. Explain where the stairlift has stopped, whether it is making a sound, and whether the home has also lost power.

Do not try to reach the stairs by climbing around the stairlift. Even if the lift has stopped close to a landing, the remaining gap, the stair angle and the position of the seat can make getting off unsafe. A person assisting you should not manually move the stairlift unless they have been specifically trained to do so for that model.

If the stairlift has stopped at a landing and the seat is positioned correctly, a trained person may be able to help you leave it safely. This depends on the model and the exact position of the lift. Do not assume that being near the top or bottom of the stairs makes it safe to dismount. If the lift has stopped part-way up the staircase, wait for professional advice wherever possible.

Some stairlifts have battery backup and may continue to operate during a mains power cut, while others may stop if the batteries are low or the system has detected a fault. Do not repeatedly switch the lift on and off, remove covers, disconnect batteries or attempt to bypass a safety feature. These actions can create additional risks and may damage the equipment.

If you can do so without leaving the seat or reaching into the mechanism, tell the adviser whether:

• the rest of the property has power;
• the stairlift was beeping, displaying a warning or showing a fault light;
• the lift stopped suddenly or slowed before stopping;
• there was an object, pet or person near the stairs;
• the stairlift had recently been left away from its charging point; and
• the problem has happened before.

Do not move an obstruction while you are stranded on the stairs. If someone else can safely check the staircase, they should keep clear of the lift and avoid touching the carriage, track, seat or safety sensors unless instructed by a qualified adviser. Pets and other people should also be kept away until the lift has been checked.

If there is an immediate medical danger, such as serious illness, injury or an inability to remain safely seated, call 999. Explain that you are on a stairlift and give your exact location. Do not put yourself or another person at risk by attempting an improvised rescue on the stairs.

Once you have been safely assisted off the stairlift, do not continue using it if the power loss was unexplained, if it stopped more than once, or if it will not charge normally. Leave it in a safe position if possible, keep others away from it and arrange an inspection. If the issue was an obvious mains power cut and the stairlift later appears to work, it should still be monitored; recurring stops, warning sounds or poor battery performance require professional attention.

After the incident, make a note of the stairlift’s position, any lights or sounds, how long it had been in use and whether it had been charging correctly. This information can help identify whether the cause was a household power interruption, charging fault, battery problem, obstruction or another issue. A reset may be appropriate in some circumstances, but it should only be attempted once you are safely off the stairs and in accordance with advice for your specific stairlift model.