Rotunda Hospital set to replace delivery goods lift over safety concerns

A delivery goods lift at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin has been “condemned” by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and will be replaced this year, according to the hospital.
Health and safety concerns affecting staff at the catering department in the Rotunda were discussed by its board late last year.

The findings from a walkaround of the catering department were outlined at a meeting in September, where the department was described as offering an “excellent service” that was “well managed by the Catering Manager and staff”.

However, the minutes added: “Infrastructure, safety and risk concerns were outlined, eg, the main kitchen is located on fourth floor with the goods lift constantly out of action and deemed unsafe for use. Significant risks and health and safety concerns to staff carrying food were outlined.”

A board meeting in October further heard that a tender had been received to replace the delivery goods lift at a cost of €320,000-€400,000. “The delivery goods lift has been condemned by the HSA. The purchase order will be submitted towards year-end,” according to the minutes.

A spokesperson for the Rotunda told the Medical Independent “the lift is ‘condemned’ by HSA and currently [its] only allowable use is as a goods lift only”. They added that the target date to replace the lift is May 2019. “There have been no incidents or injuries from lifts being decommissioned,” said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the Rotunda has established an appointment scheduling “call centre”.

“The purpose of this proposal is to improve the telephony infrastructure to create a consolidated and fully-resourced ‘Appointments Scheduling Call Centre’, which will support improving both the patient and staff experience and enable staff to engage directly with patients on a more consistent, informed and humane way. Cost is €37k,” said the hospital’s spokesperson. It may be contacted at Tel: 01-8730596 and 01-8730632.