Fire service 'called out 160 times to hospitals'

The fire service has been called out more than one hundred times to automatic fire alarms at two Shrewsbury hospitals between April 1 last year and March 11 this year, it was revealed today.

Crews were called out 160 times to the Copthorne, Bowbrook and Radbrook area with 90 per cent of calls to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Shelton Mental Health Hospital.

The figures were revealed by Steve Cox, from Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service at a Local Joint Committee meeting for the Radbrook, Bowbrook and Copthorne areas.

Mr Cox said: "Of the 160 incidents we attended in just under one year 137 were to the hospitals for automatic fire alarms. There were eight call outs to primary fires which are fires in properties and cars and eight secondary fires which are grass and bin fires.

"There were also six special service calls to road traffic collisions or flooding."

But Andy Rogers, spokesman for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said only 37 unwanted fire signals had been reported in the past 12 months.

He said: "We have the highest possible national rating as part of the Department of Health's fire code for reducing unwanted fire signals in healthcare premises.

"The trust places paramount importance on the safety of patients, visitors and staff and ensures the most robust fire safety policies and safeguards are in place at all times."

Nobody from South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Shelton Mental Health Hospital, was available for comment.