AN UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE - HOSPITAL PASSENGER LIFTS AND THEIR SUITABILITY FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

Hospitals should be welcoming places, and disabled people should not e xpect difficulties when using a hospital's facilities. For some elderl y and disabled people the passenger lift may be the only means of vert ical movement within a building. We visited four hospitals and inspect ed their passenger lifts for use by disabled and elderly people. We co mpared our findings with those of an 'ideal lift' drawn from recommend ations by disabled support groups, National Health Services Estates De partment and building regulations. We found that most hospital passeng er lifts are inadequate for those with mobility, visual and hearing im pairments. Consequently, disabled and elderly people might have proble ms using hospital passenger lifts, with a subsequent loss of independe nce. The provision of well-designed and accessible passenger lifts is central to imaginative hospital building design.