What happens when there is a fire in a hospital full of staff and patients? What happens if there are operations going on and the fire is spreading? How do you manage to evacuate the patients and staff safely and quickly? These are all questions one must ask if you are about to be admitted to hospital for surgery or treatment.
Such questions arose in 2008, when the world famous Royal Marsden Hospital, in Chelsea, West London, had a fire erupt near a construction zone. Much of the roof and several operating theatres were badly damaged and it took up to 125 fire fighters to take control of the fire. Over 800 staff and close to 100 patients had to be evacuated with three persons taken to other hospitals for treatment. All in all, the staff did a great job and no life was lost in the fire.
The key to the success in this particular fire was having a plan, a fire plan. And it had to be practised quite often. Delicate patients and the elderly are not mobile to remove themselves, patients who are under the anaesthetic waiting for surgery, and the young children awaiting treatment cannot evacuate on their own. Each wing and each sector has to have a plan in the readiness for evacuation, a signal over the intercom and a fire bell rung to be heard in every section of the hospital.
Ambulances have to be waiting to take the weakest of the patients to the local hospitals, blankets wrapped around the others as they leave the building to avoid the cold of the winter weather, and mattresses available to allow the ill to lie down. Wheelchairs must be available to take the non-ambulatory and stretchers for those who must lie down to rest, are also a necessity.
Inside the hospital on every floor and in every wing, there should be a fire alarm with a set of hoses nearby. Fire exit signs must be placed in plain view to allow the patients to know which way to go. Fire doors should be kept closed to keep the fire from spreading to other wings and stair wells. A floor plan should be in plain view for every patient to know which floor they are on and which exit to take.
Adequate numbers of staff are necessary to ensure that all patients receive assistance while evacuating, and all staff must be accounted for during this procedure. All rooms and toilets must be checked before the floor can be cleared.
Accurate records must be kept of all patients and staff for each floor. Above all else, a fire escape plan must be practised every fortnight at the least to ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities. A hospital is only as safe as its employees and management teams!
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