Patients and Staff Could be at Risk if Fire Safety Rules are not Followed
Reports from a patient at a London hospital suggest that lives could be put at risk by staff ignoring fire alarms – and next time it could be a genuine emergency.
A visitor to a London hospital has raised concerns that fire safety procedures are not being taken seriously, placing some of the most vulnerable members of the community at risk in the event of an emergency.
The incident highlights the importance of ensuring adequate fire safety procedures, particularly in public places, and making sure that everybody is aware of what to do in the case of an emergency by providing suitable information and fire safety signs.
False alarm
The reported incident took place at Edgware Community Hospital in the Burnt Oak area of North London at around 3PM on Tuesday 22 November. Mr Andrew Howlett-Davis was visiting the outpatients department with his wife, when the alarm sounded throughout the building.
Mr Howlett-Davis, 60, is himself an experienced safety officer. He was surprised when staff failed to react to the alarm, neither initiating evacuation procedures nor reassuring visitors as to the cause of the alarm. On approaching the reception desk to ask what was happening, he noticed that the fire safety panel was not lighting up in reaction to the alarm as might have been expected.
Adrian Phelan, the interim communication manager at Barnet Clinical Commissioning Group, confirmed that the alarm was set off in error and denied that any safety procedures were breached. He confirmed that the alarm was set off by an unknown individual pressing the emergency button at an individual call point. He stated that a porter located the call point in question and reset the switch to silence the alarm, whereupon an electrician reset the control panel.
Mr Phelan went on to state that the matter was handled appropriately and that evacuation had not been necessary. However, Mr Howlett-Davis remained unconvinced, remarking “If it was a false alarm, why was action not taken to reassure patients? We deserve an explanation for what happened, otherwise lives are being put in danger by careless behaviour and sloppy training techniques at the hospital.”
Fire safety regulations
Mr Phelan confirmed that the hospital meets the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which provides a risk-based approach to fire safety in non-domestic premises.
Article 21 of the order specifically places the onus on employers to ensure that all employees are provided with adequate safety training, at the time when they are first employed and periodically thereafter. The training should include suitable instruction on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by employees in order to safeguard themselves and other relevant persons on the premises.
In a hospital environment these provisions are of course of particular importance, where visitors are likely to be unfamiliar with their surroundings and might be of limited mobility.
Great team
Mr Phelan’s comments are lent credence by one commentator, who remarked that he was in the urgent care centre at the same hospital in late October when the fire alarm sounded. He said “The staff immediately evacuated the whole department – I was unable to walk and they still managed to get me out quickly – I thought the whole team were great.”
The latest incident, along with the surrounding publicity, is certain to raise awareness of fire safety procedures in public places, and will encourage responsible parties to make certain that their training protocols are up to scratch. And that can only be good news for everyone.