§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the advice he has given to mental hospitals on safety provisions since the fire at Shelton Hospital in 1968.
§ Mr. CrossmanMy Department wrote to all hospital authorities in April, 1968, asking them to re-examine their fire precautions in the light of the Department's standing guidance. This guidance, in the form of a Technical Memorandum, is applicable to hospitals of all types (including psychiatric hospitals) and has been prepared taking account of the fact that many of the people who would be at risk would be physically or mentally handicapped. It contains comprehensive guidance on good practice in hospital fire precautions and includes technical data, information on fire safety, equipment, means of escape, organisation of fire precautions and staff training.
Advance copies of a new edition of this document were issued to all hospital authorities in January this year pending 16W publication in the near future. It reinforces previous guidance, including those aspects of fire precautions which were the subject of adverse comment by the Committee which inquired into the fire at Shelton Hospital.