Service signs formal agreement with hospitals to further improve fire safety

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has signed a pioneering agreement with local hospitals to enhance safety for patients, visitors and staff.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) NHS Group and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service have become one of the first hospital trusts and fire services in the country to sign a concordat, strengthening their joint commitment to fire safety.

The agreement sets out how both organisations will work together to improve fire safety, helping to protect patients, staff, visitors and buildings, while supporting compliance with national guidance.

The concordat is a voluntary arrangement that encourages early engagement between the two organisations, so they can share expertise and find practical, cost-effective solutions to fire safety.

Laura Churchward, Chief Executive Officer at UHN, said: “Keeping people safe is at the heart of everything both our organisations do. Patient safety and fire safety go hand in hand, which makes our partnership with Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service so important.

“This agreement will help us work more closely together, share best practice and continue building on the strong relationship we already have for the future.”

The partnership will support closer working on prevention, risk assessment and continuous improvement, including sharing data, learning from incidents and reducing the number of false fire alarms.

Both organisations will meet regularly to review progress, share learning and maintain high standards of fire safety.

Chief Fire Officer Nikki Watson, who visited the hospital on Monday June 1 (pictured above) said: “One of our most important objectives is to make sure that we improve fire safety in places where people work and live.

“We have worked closely with our local hospitals over many years, carrying out training exercises to ensure we have robust procedures in place to respond to any incidents.

“Now that this working partnership has been formally recognised, we look forward to continuing to work with UHN to ensure their premises have the highest fire safety standards and that both patients and staff can feel safe and secure.”

This is one of the first agreements of its kind outside London and reflects the importance of strong partnerships in keeping patients, staff and communities safe.