NHS England’s Operations Hard FM Team has held its first Fire Safety Forum, attended in-person and online by more than 100 fire safety professionals from NHS Trusts across the country.
As well as speakers from NHS England (NHSE), this hybrid event saw presentations from Golden Thread Fire Delay (GTFD), London Fire Brigade (LFB) and P+HS Architects, who discussed how NHS Trusts can improve the future safety and regulatory compliance of all doorsets in their buildings. This included the different requirements for testing, installing and maintaining doorsets in hospitals and the challenges in ensuring compliance in line with recently updated regulations.
During the discussions, many people highlighted the challenges for NHS Trusts in maintaining compliance for hundreds or thousands of doorsets across different sites. There was a particular focus on recent changes to Approved Document B, along with the implications of HTM 05-03 part K – including the requirements of primary and secondary risk assessments.
Mazin Daoud, Head of Fire Safety at NHS England, says: “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.”
During the event, Mazin described the approach taken in the revised HTM 05-03 part K (Guidance on Fire Risk Assessments in Complex Healthcare Premises updated in 2024), including the responsibility of persons completing the fire risk assessment and the assessment of older fire doors, which may have no appropriate test evidence. He also stated that maintenance protocols must be appropriate to the risk which would include the dependency of patients, the frequency of use and the likelihood to suffer impact damage, as well as the potential impact on business continuity.
Marc Wimble, Inspecting Officer & Healthcare Coordinator for LFB adds: “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.”
As well as discussing current regulatory requirements, the group also talked about the different considerations for doorsets in traditional hospital buildings and new builds, as well as the upcoming regulatory changes in Approved Document B taking effect from September 2029 and how this will impact doorset testing, design and specification.
The in-person stream of this event was hosted by Specialist Door Solutions at The SDS Hub, the company’s collaboration and event space in London.
The NHSE Operations Hard FM team intends to hold more Fire Safety Forums in the future alongside broader hard FM operational subjects.
Pictured, l-r: Guest speakers at the NHS Estates Fire Safety Forum, Stephen Hatcher, Associate Director from P+HS Architects; Marc Wimble, Inspecting Officer & Healthcare Coordinator from London Fire Brigade; Mazin Daoud, Head of Fire Safety from NHS England; Alan Oliver, Director from Golden Thread Fire Delay; Russell James, Strategic Partnership Director from Specialist Door Solutions.
