Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Medway Maritime Hospital, has introduced a new digital system to manage fire safety information and better understand fire risks across the hospital estate
By pulling data from multiple sources, the system gives the Trust’s Fire Safety Group a new strategic tool to bring together and analyse fire risk assessment information centrally.
Neil McElduff, director of estates and facilities for the Trust, explained: “The new system is a significant step in our shift towards digital. It underpins the strategic direction of fire safety management and will help maintain a safe environment across our hospital.
“The work to date shows the system’s potential to drive similar insights for other critical areas of risk and compliance across the Trust.”
Making it easier to identify priority fire risks across the building
New insights from interactive dashboards will support fire safety review meetings and guide the Trust’s investment decisions by making it easier to identify priority risks, outstanding actions, and recurring themes across the estate, such as further fire risk assessments, fire door replacement, or new evacuation plans.
For example, using the tool to examine fire assessments collectively revealed how a single, estate-wide approach to cabling issues would be more cost-effective than several individual repairs.
The digital approach to fire safety management replaces outdated processes
Like many NHS estates, the Trust previously held fire safety information across numerous separate records and documents, making it difficult to analyse collectively.
“This digital solution has demonstrated how we can transform the way we manage fire safety information across our hospital estate,” stated Jason Brittin, capital projects/programme manager for the Trust, who led the project.
“The improved visibility of risk will help our fire safety and estates teams prioritise action, support regulatory compliance and make more efficient investment decisions.”
The digital approach follows key building control guidance
The new structured digital approach supports NHS guidance for managing fire safety, including HTM 05-03, which explains how NHS organisations should assess fire risk and HTM 05-01, which provides the wider framework for managing fire safety across healthcare buildings.
It also supports the ‘Golden thread’ principle of keeping accurate, accessible fire safety information available throughout a building’s life.
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