A patient at UCL’s clinical psychology unit was left “shivering” in the cold because there was no heating in the building.
Building-wide heating problems in UCL’s Torrington Place saw the mercury plunge to 13°C at the Changing Unwanted Behaviour clinic, a specialist NHS mental health service.
However, one postgraduate source said students and staff working at the Clinic were told by UCL Estates that the fault was “not a priority” and that they should work from home where possible.
The PhD student said: “I’ve been here five years and this is the worst it’s been… the entire floor is sitting in coats because none of the heaters are working.”
Asked whether the University can provide portable heaters in the interim, Estates staff reportedly said: “We don’t have 3,000 heaters to offer to everyone.”
When a Cheese Grater reporter visited the Clinic in December, our thermostat read as low as 14.2°C, far lower than the 19-21°C range stipulated by UCL’s new Heating, Cooling and Ventilation Policy.
Aside from the “serious disruption” this has had on their work, our source raised concerns about the health risks posed by the lack of heating, particularly for those with chest problems or respiratory illnesses.
They also allege that this has negatively impacted the quality of care delivered by the Clinic, recounting how one clinical psychologist had to apologise to a patient who was left “shivering” because of the cold.
A UCL spokesperson has apologised for the “unacceptably low temperatures” in Torrington Place.
They said: “As part of refurbishment works to the upper floors, an air handling unit was taken out of service and that has unexpectedly impacted the rest of the building.
“We have been using radiators to provide additional heating, but where this has not been enough we are advising staff to work from home.
“There is also space available in another part of our campus should those staff be able to relocate.”
But the PhD student said: “Part of what I am paying for in tuition is having my desk in [Torrington Place].”
They said they tried working in the IOE but struggled to find a suitable study space due to the undergraduate exam season
They added: “To me, that’s quite scandalous… The Provost is getting paid half a million pounds a year and the Main Quad is undergoing all sorts of renovations, while students and people working here don’t even have adequate heating.
A UCL spokesperson said: “We are working on a better solution for the time they return to work in the new year and the new air handling unit will be in operation by the end of January.”
This article appeared in CG89
