100%
Client Satisfaction Guarantee Terms & Conditions Apply
When a lift breaks down in a hospital or care home, it isn’t an inconvenience. Patients can’t reach wards, residents are stuck on the wrong floor, and staff end up moving people and equipment in ways that put everyone at risk.
Vertical Lift Services was set up in 2019 by Andy Verey, who had already spent 27 years working on lifts. Our engineers now look after hospital lifts, hospice lifts and care home lifts across the North West and Yorkshire, for clients including the NHS and St Mary’s Hospice, and we’re on call 24/7.
What Healthcare Lifts Have to Do
A hospital lift has a harder job than most. It carries patients in beds and wheelchairs, people attached to drips and monitors, and visitors who may be anxious or unwell. Between them, it moves meal trolleys, linen, medication, samples and equipment, often around the clock.
Care home lifts work differently but matter just as much. For residents who can’t manage stairs, the lift is the only way to the dining room, the lounge or their own bedroom. When it stops, care plans change and staff are left carrying the load.
We’ve seen how much that matters. One evening at a care home we work with, our engineer got the lift running again out of hours and then stayed on until every resident was upstairs in bed.
Hospital and Care Home Lifts We Work On
More on our passenger lifts, platform lifts, service and goods lifts and dumbwaiters.
HTM 08-02 and Healthcare Lift Maintenance
Health Technical Memorandum 08-02 is the NHS guidance on the planning, design, maintenance and operation of lifts in the health sector. Trusts use it to write lift specifications and maintenance contracts, and many private hospitals and hospices use it as a benchmark too.
If your organisation specifies HTM 08-02, send us the requirements with your enquiry and we’ll price our maintenance and reporting against them. Alongside that, every lift that carries people needs a LOLER thorough examination every six months, and care providers need to be able to show CQC inspectors that their premises and equipment are safe and properly maintained. We give you a written report after every examination, so the paperwork is ready when it’s asked for.
Lifts in Care Homes
In a care home, the lift is part of every resident’s day. We book visits around mealtimes, medication rounds, visiting hours and shift handovers, tell staff exactly how long the lift will be off, and where there are two lifts, we plan the work so one stays in service wherever we can.
If you’re fitting a new lift or refurbishing an old one, a few changes make the lift easier and calmer to use for residents living with dementia or sight loss:
Hospitals, Hospices and Clinics
Hospitals. We’ve worked with the NHS and plan maintenance with estates teams around ward rounds, clinics and deliveries, so lifts are only out of service when it’s least disruptive.
Hospices. We look after the lifts at St Mary’s Hospice. Moving patients between floors comfortably and with dignity matters, so visits are short and agreed with the team in advance.
GP surgeries and clinics. Smaller buildings often rely on a single lift. If it fails, patients who can’t use the stairs miss their appointment, so a fast repair matters as much as routine servicing.
Our Lift Services for Healthcare Buildings
Alongside planned lift maintenance, usually every three months, we carry out six-monthly LOLER examinations and attend breakdowns 24/7, with contract customers seen first. If an ageing lift keeps failing, refurbishment can often fix it for far less than a new lift: a cosmetic refresh usually takes one to three days, and a full overhaul of the controls, doors and drive one to three weeks, which we can phase to keep downtime low. We’ll also check whether the emergency phone still relies on an analogue line, as these are being switched off across the UK.
24/7 Call-Outs
If a lift fails with a patient or resident on the wrong floor, we're on call day and night.
Vetted Engineers
Full Disclosure clearance, plus NVQ, IOSH, CSCS and asbestos training.
Accredited
CHAS Elite, SafeContractor and EXOR approved.
Straight Answers
St Mary's Hospice describe us as honest with our pricing.
Every Lift Type
Passenger, platform, trolley and goods lifts and dumbwaiters.
Written Reports
LOLER reports ready for CQC inspectors and insurers.
Covering the North West and Yorkshire
Our engineers work out of offices in St Helens, Manchester and Leeds, covering hospitals, hospices, care homes and clinics in Liverpool, Manchester, St Helens, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Blackpool, Leeds and Bradford, plus the towns around them.
TESTIMONIALS
What Our Healthcare Clients Say
We’re rated 4.9 on Google and Trustpilot. Here’s what some of our healthcare clients have told us.
“We have been with Vertical Lift Services North West for some time now and we are very impressed with their service. They are responsive, honest with their pricing, friendly and helpful. We feel we are in good hands with them and highly recommend their services.”
St Mary's Hospice
“Ryan arrived within the allocated time out of normal working hours. He is knowledgeable & polite. He went the extra mile to ensure that when the lift was operational, all the residents within the care home had got upstairs to bed.”
Anthony
“John was great. He was very professional in his approach and worked in a clean and tidy way, taking into account our residents' welfare. He explained everything to us at Fleetwood Hall Care Home.”
Fleetwood Hall Care Home
“John is a very nice guy. He explained everything that he was doing and worked safely and professionally throughout his visit here at Telford Hall care home.”
Telford Hall Care Home
“Jamie Ryan has attended our home, Half Acre House, today to service our lifts for the first time. I feel fully informed in every aspect of this lift service. Brilliant service, thanks Jamie.”
Half Acre House
Read more reviews on Trustpilot.
Hospital and Care Home Lift FAQs
Most are serviced every three months, and busy hospital lifts may need more frequent visits. Separately, any lift that carries people needs a LOLER thorough examination every six months.
It’s the NHS guidance on the planning, design, maintenance and operation of lifts in healthcare buildings. NHS trusts use it in lift specifications and contracts, and other healthcare providers often use it as a benchmark.
Yes. We agree times with your team that avoid meals, medication rounds and visiting, tell you how long the lift will be off, and keep one lift running where there are two wherever we can.
Call us on 01744 555006 at any time and tell us someone is trapped. We’re on call 24/7, and contract customers are seen first.
It can be for smaller homes or short rises, but if residents need a carer, wheelchair or bed with them across several floors, a passenger lift is usually the better choice. We’ll look at your building before recommending anything.
CONTACT US
Arrange a Healthcare Lift Visit
"*" indicates required fields
We also look after lifts in hotels and leisure, apartment buildings, offices and commercial buildings, industrial buildings and warehouses, shops and retail and schools and colleges. See all the sectors we work in.
