Hospital Evacuation Lift Case Study Lessons

A hospital lift can become a critical part of an emergency response in seconds. When a ward includes patients in beds, people using wheelchairs, visitors with limited mobility and clinical teams moving essential equipment, an evacuation strategy that assumes everyone can use stairs is not credible.

This hospital evacuation lift case study examines a typical acute hospital refurbishment where the estates team needed to improve evacuation provision without disrupting clinical services. The project shows why an evacuation lift is not simply a passenger lift with a backup power supply, and why lift specification must be coordinated with the wider fire strategy from the outset.

The challenge: protecting patients and maintaining clinical flow

The hospital was refurbishing an inpatient wing over several phases. The building had two main passenger lift groups, both serving wards, diagnostic departments and outpatient areas. One group also handled frequent bed and trolley movements throughout the day.

The existing lifts were dependable for normal passenger traffic but had not been designed or designated for evacuation use. During a fire alarm, they returned to the evacuation floor and were taken out of public service. This was appropriate for the original building strategy, but it left ward managers reliant on phased horizontal evacuation and, where necessary, manual movement through protected areas.

That approach may remain suitable in some healthcare buildings. It depends on the compartmentation, the patient dependency profile, staffing levels, the availability of evacuation equipment and the likely duration of an incident. However, the hospital’s fire risk assessment identified that moving certain patients between floors could become difficult if a fire affected a larger area or if an incident required prolonged relocation.

The estates team therefore asked whether one lift in each core could be modernised and incorporated into the emergency plan as an evacuation lift. The objective was not to replace progressive horizontal evacuation, which remained central to the hospital’s procedure. It was to provide a managed, resilient vertical evacuation option for people who could not safely negotiate stairs.

What the lift assessment revealed

A detailed site survey showed that the physical lift car alone was only one part of the question. The existing installation had limitations in its landing protection, electrical resilience, fire-service interfaces and control arrangements. Retaining the shaft and much of the structural arrangement would reduce programme disruption, but meaningful modernisation was still required.

The project team reviewed the proposed work against the building fire strategy, relevant British Standards and the requirements for evacuation lifts, including BS EN 81-76. The lift consultant, fire engineer, principal contractor and hospital representatives needed to agree precisely how the lift would operate during an incident, who could use it and who would take control.

This was especially significant in a live healthcare environment. A lift intended for evacuation must be accessible when needed, but it must not encourage untrained passengers to enter a lift during a fire alarm. Clear operational control is as important as technical capability.

The key specification decisions

The selected lift was a traction passenger lift with a suitably sized car for a wheelchair user, accompanying person and clinical support where required. Car size and rated load were assessed against the hospital’s anticipated evacuation groups rather than standard office passenger flows. A lift that can carry a wheelchair but cannot accommodate the person assisting them may offer limited practical value.

The modernisation scope included protected landing arrangements, lift well protections, fire-resisting electrical systems and a secondary power arrangement appropriate to the agreed strategy. The controls were configured to support evacuation operation under the direction of trained staff. Communication equipment was also upgraded so the lift could be used with confidence when normal building systems were under pressure.

The team considered whether a larger bed-capable lift should be designated instead. That option had advantages for patient movement, but it would have created greater disruption to clinical logistics during the works and required more extensive alterations. The final decision was to establish an evacuation lift in each core while retaining separate bed and service lift capacity for normal operational needs.

This illustrates an important trade-off. The largest lift is not automatically the right evacuation lift. The appropriate choice depends on the people being evacuated, the available refuge spaces, the likely travel route, the building’s fire compartments and how the hospital will maintain day-to-day services during an incident.

Hospital evacuation lift case study: delivery in a live environment

The works were delivered in planned phases to keep ward access available. Before each phase, the contractor and estates team agreed temporary routes for patients, supplies and staff, along with periods when alternative lifts would carry increased traffic.

Lift shutdowns were scheduled around clinical priorities rather than solely around engineering convenience. This required close communication with ward teams, portering services, infection prevention staff and security. Noise, dust control and access management were carefully planned because lift landings were located close to occupied clinical areas.

The engineering programme included replacement of critical control equipment, upgrades to shaft wiring and safety circuits, new landing controls and communication interfaces, and verification of the emergency power and fire alarm signals. The lift doors, landing entrances and surrounding construction were reviewed to ensure that the evacuation lift arrangement was supported by the protected route, not undermined by it.

Testing was not treated as a final box-ticking exercise. The hospital ran scenario-based sessions with estates personnel, fire wardens and relevant clinical staff. These sessions considered questions that written specifications can miss: how a wheelchair user would be transferred from a refuge to the lift, where staff would wait, how communications would work if mobile coverage was poor, and how lift priority would be managed when multiple departments requested assistance.

The operational lessons

The completed installation gave the hospital a controlled vertical evacuation option, but the greatest value came from clarifying responsibilities. The lift was incorporated into the emergency plan with nominated trained operators, defined decision points and a documented maintenance regime.

Several lessons were particularly relevant for healthcare estates teams.

First, evacuation lift planning should start with the fire strategy, not the lift catalogue. A capable lift cannot compensate for an unsuitable evacuation route, inadequate compartmentation or unclear command arrangements. Early coordination avoids expensive changes to shafts, lobbies and electrical infrastructure later in the project.

Second, capacity must be assessed in terms of people and care needs. A passenger lift car dimension that works well in a commercial office may be inadequate for a hospital patient, a wheelchair, an escort and essential clinical equipment. Conversely, specifying a very large car can affect shaft alterations, structural loading, cost and project programme.

Third, backup power needs careful interpretation. The requirement is not simply to provide a generator. The supply, cabling, changeover arrangements and protected systems must support the agreed emergency operation. The team also needs to understand how long the lift can operate, what other building systems are drawing on the standby supply, and how testing will be carried out without compromising hospital services.

Finally, maintenance and familiarisation are ongoing duties. An evacuation lift is only useful if its designated features remain operational and staff understand the procedure. Planned maintenance should include checks of emergency controls, communications, interfaces and any associated protective measures. Changes in ward use, patient profile or fire strategy should trigger a review of the evacuation plan.

Specifying an evacuation lift with confidence

For hospitals, the decision to install or modernise an evacuation lift should be based on a site-specific assessment. New-build projects may be able to incorporate compliant shafts, lobbies, power systems and control arrangements from the design stage. Existing hospitals often need a more selective approach, balancing clinical continuity, structural constraints and the benefits of upgrading particular lift cores.

Swallow Lifts can support this process through commercial lift surveys, modernisation planning and the installation and maintenance of lift systems suited to healthcare environments. The strongest outcomes come from bringing lift engineering input into discussions with the fire engineer and estates team early, before technical assumptions become fixed.

A well-specified evacuation lift does not remove the need for trained staff, clear procedures or progressive horizontal evacuation. It gives the hospital another carefully managed route when patients and visitors need it most.