The first ever NHS Estates Fire Safety Forum took place on 16 January 2025 to discuss how NHS Trusts can improve the future safety and regulatory compliance of all doorsets in their buildings
Hosted by Specialist Door Solutions (SDS), the inaugural forum welcomed more than 100 fire safety professionals from NHS Trusts across the country to discuss some of the challenges they were facing to ensure compliance with updated regulations.
Representing the various sectors linked to healthcare and fire safety, panellists included Inspecting Officer & Healthcare Coordinator at the London Fire Brigade (LFB), Marc Wimble; Head of Fire Safety at NHS England, Mazin Daoud; Director of Golden Thread Fire Delay, Alan Oliver; and Associate Director at P+HS Architects, Stephen Hatcher.
Addressing the different requirements for testing, installing, and maintaining doorsets in hospitals, the panel discussed the challenges in ensuring compliance in line with recently updated regulations, including changes to Approved Document B as set out by the government and the implications of the revised HTM 05-03 part K, which covers complex healthcare premises, and sees a need for primary and secondary risk assessments.
Noting that fire safety in the healthcare sphere was a “constantly moving field” in terms of regulatory changes in recent years, there was a consensus for the need for continued collaboration across the board to ensure the safety of patients.
Referring to HTM 05-03 part K (Guidance on Fire Risk Assessments in Complex Healthcare Premises, which was updated in 2024, Mazin noted: “People need to understand that non-compliant doorsets are a business continuity concern, and in the NHS business continuity is treatment continuity; potentially a life safety issue. You simply can’t treat patients if an area has been badly affected or destroyed by fire.”
Maintenance protocols should also be appropriate to the risk, Mazin added, reflecting the dependency of the patients, the frequency of use, and the likelihood of suffering impact damage.
Answering a delegate question about the requirement for primary and secondary risk assessments and the issue of hospitals having to play “catch up” to ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment was in place, Mazin explained that primary risk assessments covered aspects common to the whole building, such as the fire alarm system, the external wall system and whether that required a further assessment, and the common parts.
Addressing concerns over enforcement, Marc Wimble added: “While we do make assessments in line with the current regulations, we understand the challenges for estates teams, and we will work with NHS colleagues to ensure they know the right actions to take to maintain compliance for the long term.”
The discussion also touched on healthcare buildings increasingly moving away from traditional construction methods, and whether more testing of fire doors was needed for modular, stacked building structures.
Stephen said: "We were delighted to be invited to speak at this important event. Ensuring we all stay at the forefront of safe design and innovation is crucial for the continued development of our industry. By sharing insights and exploring new ideas together, we can create environments that not only meet but exceed the safety standards expected. We look forward to the positive impact events like this will have on future projects."
Commenting on the success of the forum event, Strategic Partnership Director for SDS, Russell James said: “Seeing so many at our first NHS Estates Fire Safety Forum event has highlighted just how important it is to be clear about the requirements for NHS Trusts to ensure their doorsets are specified, installed, and maintained correctly.
“Doorsets are one item on a long list of elements that must be well managed to maintain safe hospital operations and it’s vitally important for us to facilitate these conversations to share information, expertise, and advice. We look forward to holding more events like this in the near future.”
You can watch the full panel discussion here.