Torbay Hospital ordered to fix fire safety breaches
Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 16:03 · Archive
Torbay Hospital must make immediate changes to improve fire escape routes on its upper floors following a fire service inspection.
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has been issued an enforcement notice by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service requiring immediate changes to ensure people can escape during a fire. The notice relates to floors four to eight of Torbay Hospital's Tower Block and was issued following an inspection in July that identified insufficient escape routes.
The trust must implement measures to reduce the number of patients on each floor, increase the number of staff capable of completing an evacuation, assess patient dependencies, and relocate those who would be difficult to evacuate to more appropriate locations. All changes must be completed by 6 November.
The Care Quality Commission has also inspected the building and issued a warning notice. A hospital trust spokesperson said it is 'fully committed to meeting the requirements of the notice' and is working on a plan to temporarily relocate some services to other locations within Torbay Hospital and community trust sites to reduce the number of inpatients in the Tower Block and ensure safe evacuation in the event of fire. Both notices are subject to appeal.
How it is being reported
- Torbay Hospital ordered to fix fire safety breaches amid escape concernsA hospital has been ordered to make urgent fire safety changes after inspectors found patients needed better escape routes from its tower block.Exmouth Journal · 14 Oct, 16:57
- Hospital must make immediate fire safety changesThe necessary changes must be made to the top five floors of Torbay Hospital's Tower Block.BBC Devon · 14 Oct, 15:50
- Torbay Hospital told to make urgent changes after fire safety breachesThe changes must be made immediatelyDevonLive · 14 Oct, 15:45
In this story: Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust · Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service · Care Quality Commission · Torbay Hospital
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem
Comments (0)