Hospitals and other healthcare premises are usually complex, and sometimes large buildings with lots of staff, visitors and patients to consider.
When looking after vulnerable people, it is important to have in place an up to date fire risk assessment and based on this, a well-managed evacuation strategy. This is vital for ensuring that all relevant people are catered for you, including those who cannot evacuate themselves or cannot be moved.
Fire Risk Assessment
If you employ five or more people, including any volunteers, you should keep a written record of your fire risk assessment and any significant findings. It should also be reviewed regularly, especially if any changes to the premises are made. This will identify what you need to do to reduce the risk of a fire occurring and keep you, your employees and your patients and visitors safe. You need to have an emergency plan for dealing with any fire situation, and it should be based on the outcome of your fire risk assessment. The purpose of an emergency plan is to ensure that people know what to do if there is a fire and that the premises can be evacuated safely. An evacuation drill should be carried out on a regular basis to ensure your emergency plan then works.
The guide below gives advice about completing a fire risk assessment. It is intended for non-domestic residential premises with staff in attendance at all times and where residents would not be able to make their way to a place of safety unaided. The Fire Risk Assessment Guide for Health Care Premises can be viewed here and contains further relevant information.
The pro formas here are intended to be used as guides for carrying out a fire risk assessment. Should you adopt one of these for your business premises, then it is important that the content captures any unique aspects of the premises’ design, as well as how the building is actually used.
If you want more information on fire risk assessments, fire extinguishers and risk information boxes click here.
Other Guidance
For further guidance on your responsibilities as an employer or owner, please see:
Further Advice
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