Review of five London hospital fires and their management

January 2008-February 2009:

London’s experiences during 2008/09 demonstrate the critical importance of being prepared for emergencies - and making hospitals safe from disaster. This report shares the National Health Service London's lessons learned to support colleagues in the wider NHS when developing local plans. It emphasises the importance of incorporating information obtained from analysed cases into overarching guidance from the Department of Health, feeding into the WHO campaign for safer hospitals and the Global Disaster Risk Reduction campaign for safer hospitals by 2015.

The lessons identified from the five events detailed in this report are clearly laid out in Appendix 2 to provide an easy checklist for planners and managers across the health service (see page 40). This report will help to inform the ongoing development of the Department of Health guidance – planning for the evacuation and shelter of people in healthcare settings.