Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals have been found to have poor (a) fire detection systems and (b) fire separation provision by the Care Quality Commission in each of the last five years.

The quality of fire detection and alarm systems or information relating to fire compartmentation in National Health Service premises in England, are not areas inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), nor is this information collected by the Department.

The CQC is concerned with the safety and quality of treatment for patients and the fundamental standards are based around Person Centred care; treating the patients with dignity and respect, the need for consent to treatment, and the meeting the nutritional needs of patients. The CQC does check premises and (medical) equipment but this is around making sure the premises are clean, secure, and suitable for the purpose for which they are being used rather than looking into any evacuation processes.

Fire detection and alarm systems and fire compartmentation are matters enforced by local fire and rescue services under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The CQC is not the enforcing authority for these regulations.