HC Deb 01 August 1984 vol 65 cc366-71

12 noon

Mr. Michael Stern (Bristol, North-West)

On 10 April this year, a major fire broke out at the only hospital in Port Stanley, the King Edward Memorial Hospital. As a result of that fire, eight people died. The building was gutted and has since been totally unusable. In a brief debate the following day in this House, the Minister for Overseas Development undertook that there would be a full inquiry into the circumstances of the fire and that the report of the inquiry would be published. The report has now been published and has been available to the House for approximately a month.

First, I should like to congratulate the officers who worked on the report. It is a frequent joke in this place that inquiries are a device for wasting time. In this case, the inquiry worked with commendable speed, and the conclusions in the report—although I shall question one or two of them —show that the inquiry team fully considered all the available facts.

We must not forget, however, that perhaps the chief consequence of the fire is that the only civilian hospital in the Falklands is now a gutted shell and that the facilities are now entirely temporary and wholly inadequate. The matter is therefore urgent.

First, we should consider the fire itself and its causes. The committee of inquiry concludes that there is strong evidence that fire precautions in that public building were wholly inadequate. The fire hoses fixed to the walls of the building were not connected to a water supply but, even if they had been, the water pressure through those hoses would have been inadequate to deal with the spread of the fire. The wiring throughout the building has already been described in this House as woefully inadequate. It is accepted that, because of the climate in the Falklands, electrical wiring suffers from greater problems there than in this country. However, attention had previously been drawn to the poor state of the wiring in the hospital, and the context was that of an island where at least four electrical fires every year are caused by defective wiring.

Secondly, lack of fire doors was perhaps the principal and most obvious cause of the rapid spread of the fire, which was the reason why so many lives were lost. There had been many reports in the 1970s of the inadequate fire precautions in this and other public buildings in Port Stanley. In 1982, the fire officer, the civilian doctor and the military authorities together demanded the urgent installation of fire doors in the hospital—a wooden building—as the only way of stopping a fire should one break out. By the date of the fire, those doors had not even been ordered. As a result, whatever the cause of the fire—perhaps inevitably, the report was unclear about the exact cause—it spread rapidly and uncontrollably, and the deaths that occurred were to a large extent inevitable. Had fire doors been in situ, the deaths might have been avoided.

It is only proper that the House should now add its own tribute to the comments in the report about the activities of three people at the hospital who were instrumental, inside the hospital, in saving, at considerable risk to themselves, the lives of those patients who were able to get out. Those people undoubtedly acted with a bravery which the House should commend. They were Nurse Reed of the civilian staff, Lance-Corporal Shorter from the military staff, and my former constituent Nurse Barbara Chick, who died in the fire. Whatever the doubts about the exact sequence of events, it is clear that Nurse Chick died in an effort to save the lives of patients. That is the only possible explanation for the place where her body was found. As I said on 11 April, she deserves every praise.

Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)

Hear, hear.

Mr. Stern

I am only sorry that, so far, this country has done nothing to offer her memory any public recognition.

Present conditions are woefully inadequate. The hospital facilities have had to be moved into a temporary building, and we should consider the conditions in which the hospital is operating and in which the staff are having to work. There is no alternative civilian hospital. There is only the military hospital, which is itself overburdened, or the option of flying patients out for treatment in this country.

The present civilian hospital is separated from the military hospital by over four miles of very bad roads. It has no pathology laboratory or pathology equipment. It has no X-ray technician. If an X-ray has to be taken, the patient has to be transported to the military hospital. The operating theatre is sub-standard. Transport is inadequate. If materials for testing, or patients, have to be transported, the doctors frequently have to use their own cars.

Maternity, ear, nose and throat and gynaecological operations and medical conditions, and non-emergency surgery, cannot be handled on the island at all. The patients have to be flown out. No hospital in this country could tolerate such conditions. In the absence of any alternative, those conditions have been forced upon the island's administration, but they must be corrected as quickly as possible.

It has become clear that other public buildings in Stanley are subject to almost as great a risk of fire. I should like to quote from Penguin News —the only newspaper circulating on the island—of 9 May: To most of us, it is obvious that other buildings, such as the schools, the Town Hall and the Secretariat, are just as dangerous as was the Hospital. That is frightening, especially as we see from the report how inadequate were the fire precautions in the hospital and how quickly the fire spread once it took hold. Stanley house has no fire hydrants or hoses and its wiring suffers from advanced decay, yet it is being used every night as a dormitory by 30 schoolboys. Sullivan house, which has been and might still be considered for use as a dormitory for schoolgirls, is, I understand, in a similar condition.

Although we should draw lessons from the report, it makes it clear that urgent action is necessary to improve fire precautions and medical provision in Port Stanley. The most urgent requirement is a new hospital. I understand that an architect has visited the Falklands to draw up plans. Despite the commendable speed of the inquiry, the architect's visit is all that the Falkland islanders know about the new hospital. Moreover, that visit is all that the civilian hospital staff know about the new hospital. I invite my hon. Friend the Minister to tell us when it will be built and when the plans will be published. When will the civilian hospital staff have an opportunity to comment on them? We all know that existing hospital facilities are inadequate. My hon. Friend should recommend to the Falkland Islands Government that they come out into the open and tell the Falkland islanders what is happening and when.

I have mentioned the problem of fire precautions in some public buildings in Port Stanley. The same might be true for others. The report stresses the lack of water pressure to service fire hoses and hydrants. Until that serious problem is corrected, no fire precautions in any public building can be effective. The Government have said that they do not intend formally to respond to the inquiry report but will offer advice and assistance to the Falkland Islands Government in regard to fire precautions. The Government should be advising the Falkland Islands Government that they can no longer risk neglecting fire precautions. Public buildings in all countries should have proper fire precautions. It is clear that the water pressure in Port Stanley must be raised.

Climatic conditions in the Falklands mean that wiring has a much shorter life span than we expect in Britain. However, that fact can no longer be ignored. The Falkland Islands Government will have to take that into account in their provision of acceptable wiring standards in public buildings. Those standards are woefully worse than in private buildings. My hon. Friend should urge the Falkland Islands Government to act on the many reports that they have received from British electrical engineers who have gone to the Falklands and from their own public works department. Defective wiring must be renewed. There is still lead-cased wiring in the Falklands, which is especially susceptible to climatic conditions there. The Port Stanley administration cannot ignore the fact that wiring deteriorates more quickly there.

One of the report's main criticisms was of the work of the public works department in the Falklands. We should remember that it is a one-man operation, with some assistance. The criticism is justified, because even such a public works department which has no system for determining its day-to-day priorities is sadly lacking. I criticise the report because it does not go far enough. The public works department was not operating alone. It was in regular consultation with more senior Government officials. They should not escape their share of the blame for the deficiencies of the Government. I understand that there were twice-daily conferences between the manager of the public works department and the officials to whom he reported. However, on 9 April—the day before the fire—the officer in charge of the public works department was unaware that the fire doors that had been requested in 1982 had not been ordered, even though he had forwarded that request. There was a sad lack in the flow of information between the public works department and the Falkland Islands Government. I hope that remedying that will be included in the Government's advice.

Although the public works department must accept some of the blame, the managerial system in public works and buildings should be examined. I hope that, if a request is made, the Government will offer the benefit of management expertise to the Falkland Islands Government to revise and update their reporting and management systems.

One of the report's entirely justified conclusions says: We believe that it is the generally held wish of the Islanders that they should put this tragedy behind them as soon as possible and look towards the future. I am sure that we, the Government and the Falkland Islands Government share that wish.

With the assistance of the Falkland Islands Government, the Government have acted with commendable speed and produced a report which details areas in which the Falkland Islands Government can improve facilities in public buildings. The Government have offered advice and assistance to that end. I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will report to the House on the extent to which additional facilities have been made available and how much they owe to the Government's advice and assistance. Britain retains a moral responsibility for conditions in the Falklands. That derives from history rather than just the past three years. The report has been made with speed and I hope that action will follow with equal speed.

I have sought to show that major deficiencies still exist which must be put right. In Port Stanley, there is still a huge risk of another fire or major tragedy. If, heaven forbid, there were a similar tragedy in the future, the Government should not expect to escape with only an offer of help and assistance.

12.20 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Ray Whitney)

I recognise the detailed interest which my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-West (Mr. Stern) has taken in this investigation into the causes of the fire, and on behalf of the House I thank him for this opportunity to debate the report of the commission of inquiry. I also endorse and repeat the condolences and tributes to those who lost their lives in that tragic event, which my right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development paid when making his statement on 11 April, the day after the fire.

As my hon. Friend recognises, the commission of inquiry was set up by the Civil Commissioner in Port Stanley, and it was to the Falkland Islands Government that the commission submitted its report. None the less, I place on record the Government's appreciation of the speed and diligence with which the commission, under the most able chairmanship of Mr. David Calcutt QC, conducted that inquiry.

The Commission's terms of reference were announced on 18 May and it began its public hearings in Port Stanley on 24 May. It received statements from 128 people, and in three days heard evidence, most of it oral, from 47 witnesses. It produced its report to the Civil Commissioner on 5 June, and announcement of publication was made simultaneously in London and Port Stanley on 12 July. This was a most valuable report on a most difficult situation. We all recognise the value of its conclusions, and endorse the main conclusions.

The introduction to the report states: Heroic efforts by many people saved many lives, but even so eight died. Not only were the Islanders substantially deprived of their only hospital, but the small Islands community was made yet smaller. The loss was grievous and felt keenly throughout the Islands. We certainly endorse that statement.

I also endorse my hon. Friend's references to one of his own constituents, Miss Barbara Chick, the state-enrolled nurse on night duty in the hospital on the night in question, who lost her life while seeking to assist patients to escape from the burning building. Nurse Chick, along with others to whom my hon. Friend referred, displayed bravery and self-sacrifice which all of us commend. I am sure that my hon. Friend's remarks about a commendation will not go unnoticed.

Mr. Dalyell

Give her a posthumous honour.

Mr. Whitney

Indeed, those concerned should obviously consider what has been said in the House today.

The commission of inquiry found no evidence to confirm allegations that faulty electric wiring was to blame. The report eliminated arson, the electrical heater in the bathroom, an electrical fault, spontaneous combustion of the mattresses stored in the rooms, and an external source of fire as the cause of the fire". It added: We are left with the probability that the fire must have been due to an accidental internal source of fire, inadvertently caused by either a patient, member of staff or an intruder. The evidence before us does not enable us to draw any more precise conclusion". Not surprisingly, given the nature of things, the report identified areas which were less than perfect. It contained some criticisms relating to the failure to connect the internal hose reels to the water supply, and the lack of fire doors. It was clear that the performance of the public works department, small as it is, was not up to standard.

It would be improper for me to comment in any detail on a matter which is the responsibility of the Falkland Islands Government. However, the evidence of the director of the public works department to the commission of inquiry makes clear the very heavy pressure of work and conflicting demands to which the PWD has been subjected since the Argentine invasion and occupation. Additional expatriate manpower has been recruited to assist the department, especially at middle-management level, but it must be recognised that a shortage of labour at lower levels persists.

In the short time available I should like to nail one allegation which has been shown to be untrue—the alleged priority given to the installation of central heating in 8 Ross Road West, a Government house later offered to the services. Certain evidence refuted any suggestion that this had been given any sort of priority over the connection of fire hoses to the water supply. No installation of contral heating in that house took place before the fire.

In response to the inquiry and its recommendations, the Falkland Islands Government have already set in hand a number of steps to implement those recommendations. The system for operating the fire siren has been improved. Plans for the renewal of Stanley's water supply will, as the report recommended, contain provision for adequate water pressure to meet the needs of the fire services. Authority has been given for the purchase of five trailer pumps with hoses and accessories to replace and supplement the two pumps which failed at the time of the fire. Clear fire instructions have been provided for patients as well as for hospital staff. A number of the report's other recommendations will be followed up actively, and, independent of them, additional fire fighting equipment has been purchased. I am sure that those areas of activity will meet a number of my hon. Friend's points.

As to the condition of other buildings owned by the Falkland Islands Government, I am sure that that Government will note my hon. Friend's comments, but I can tell him that, in relation to the school hostel, Stanley house was rewired in 1981 and, in accordance with the standard procedure of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, it would not be due for a complete inspection for five years.

However, the kitchen, which was rewired in 1983 when new equipment was installed, is subject to regular examination of the wiring. While no fire hydrants are in or immediately adjacent to the building, there are hydrants in streets bordering the plot. There are fire extinguishers in Stanley house itself and in every mobile home in the hostel grounds, as well as automatic smoke detectors. These significant improvements are being carried out, and there is a clear recognition of the sorts of dangers which rightly and justifiably concern my hon. Friend.

Mr. Dalyell

The report says in section 6(9) that Dr. Alison Bleaney gave repeated warnings, for which she is commended. Why were those warnings not heeded?

Mr. Whitney

Everyone concerned with the administration of the hospital, and everyone in all sections of the public works department, were concerned that many areas were less than perfect. That is in the nature of things. However, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman accepts, the inquiry's findings are clear. The fire was not caused by any deficiency in that respect. We do not live in a perfect world, and by its very nature the situation in the Falklands means that things could always fall short of perfect. That must be the case in the nature of the circumstances of isolated communities.

Hospital provision can never be quite at the standard that one might expect in fully advanced areas, but the arrangements for the temporary hospital are working well. We have arranged for four nurses to be seconded from Westminster hospital for about six months to assist in running the hospital. Military requirements have been met by the establishment of a medical reception station on board the coastal vessel Pursuivant and a temporary military hospital in a series of linked Portakabins on the Canache. Some surgical facilities mentioned by my hon. Friend—X-rays and so on—are available through the military facilities on the Canache.

As for the future of the hospital, the draft report of the DHSS hospital architect, who visited the island at the end of April, is under consideration. The Falkland Islands Government will be consulted about the recommendations before a firm decision is reached.

My hon. Friend raised a number of other points which time does not permit me to answer. I shall write to him about any matters that I have not covered. I reassure him and the House that——

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Harold Walker)

Order. Mr. David Lambie, for the next debate.

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