A miscommunication between the Estates department and The Hunterian Museum left a disabled student locked in their lecture hall after hours, The Glasgow Guardian can reveal. The social policy student, who wishes to remain anonymous, uses a walking aide and was left trapped in the Kelvin Gallery 413 room last November after the accessible entrance was locked behind them at the beginning of their lecture. The student was not able to attract the attention of anyone as it was after 5pm, and eventually resorted to calling campus security. A member of staff ultimately came to their aide, but offered no apology for the ordeal at that time.
This marked one in a string of access-related faux-pas from the University, with this event occurring in the same week in which slow repairs to broken lifts and an absence of retimetabling efforts left the same student unable to attend their final lecture before the exam period last year. In an email response to the student, the relevant facilities manager said that “the situation with lifts has given everyone trouble”.
Events surrounding the lecture lock-in were made more distressing by the student’s knowledge that they would have to exit via the Hunterian lift, which is taken out of operation every evening at 5pm. This can be extended when requested on a case by case basis, The Glasgow Guardian understands.
The Hunterian lift’s operating times are consistent with the museum’s opening hours. However the lift comprises parts of key accessible routes on campus, where many buildings remain open late into the evening.
1st year student and wheelchair-user Ciara McCarthy voiced concerns over the limits to the Hunterian lift’s operating hours, saying it being “shut off affects so many students”, in particular because it forms a route to accessible toilets: “I’m here on campus […] until way past five, which means if I need the toilet I have to wait until I’m near my flat or a shop”.
In a statement to The Glasgow Guardian, Director of The Hunterian Professor Steph Scholten said:
“The Hunterian closes at 5.00pm, which is the time when our doors are normally secured. We regularly extend this to allow out-of-hours lift access to the Kelvin Gallery or Bute Hall. This usually works well, but on this occasion, we fell short in ensuring the student had the access they needed.”
The student filed a complaint with the SRC advice centre at the time and received a written apology from Facilities immediately following events, and from The Hunterian in response to their complaint, although Facilities maintained problems with the Hunterian lift were the responsibility of The Hunterian themselves.
In the student’s official complaint they called for the development of an “action plan on how this incident will be avoided in the future by improving communication between teams”. The Glasgow Guardian asked The Hunterian if any changes had been made to the communications process as a result of a review, and if any changes had been made to the operating hours of The Hunterian lift since the event. Professor Scholten responded with the following:
“Whenever a concern or complaint is raised, we investigate to understand what went wrong and how we can improve. Following this incident, we revisited training on our locking-up procedures and reviewed with individuals to help ensure this does not happen again.
“We also reviewed our communications with University Estates and relevant departments to ensure we are included in communications about access requests and are made aware of any access requirements in advance. Access requirements are added to the venue calendar and communicated to our Visitor Experience Team, so staff on duty are aware of them.
“The regular operating hours of the museum lift remain unchanged (9.00am–5.00pm) as including The Hunterian in access request communications has worked well since. The lift is opened at 8.30am to allow access to the Kelvin Gallery well in advance.
The Hunterian is dedicated to fostering an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued and inspired. We remain committed to providing access and ensuring inclusion for all visitors, students, staff and partners.”
Image credit: Steve Davis