Late night hike for hospital staff and visitors as lifts switched off

Staff, visitors and patients at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee face climbing up to eight flights of stairs because operators have switched off the lifts.

A number of complaints have been made by users of the car park who have had to climb the steps after 10pm because the lifts are being stopped.

Indigo, the company responsible for managing the site – one of only three in the country still charging users – said they do not staff the building after 10pm, meaning that the devices are switched off.

It is understood the changes came into effect last week.

Shelagh Wilson, a theatre nurse in the hospital’s anaesthetic department, was faced with an eight-floor climb after finishing a 12-hour shift.

She said she attempted to get in a lift at 9.50pm, having had to park on the uppermost floor earlier in the day because of limited available space, to be told by employees they had been turned off for the night.

“It can take as long as half an hour some days to find a space, so very often those of us whose shifts start at lunchtime can only find space on the upper floors.

“It’s a safety and an accessibility issue, staff who work very hard or are on call will now face having to climb a lot of stairs late at night.

“Also, some visitors might be seeing relatives in hospital later in the evening and may not be all that mobile themselves.

“It’s completely unfair and not right. It is entirely unacceptable.”

An Indigo spokesperson did not comment on the complaint, but confirmed that the lifts are switched off after 10pm because of the unmanned car park.