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Seven key considerations for choosing a system

Ian Hill, Emergency Lighting Business manager at leading life safety system and equipment manufacturer, Hochiki Europe, highlights what he dubs ‘seven key considerations’ for choosing a hospital emergency lighting system.

Emergency situations in hospitals or healthcare sites, where an evacuation of immobile and high dependency patients is required, come with huge complexities, especially as evacuation must happen as quickly and safely as possible. As recommended in BS5266-1:2016 Code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises, and as per the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Healthcare Premises guide, ‘People in your premises must be able to find their way to a place of total safety if there is a fire by using escape routes that have enough lighting.’ In hospital buildings it is important to remember that it must also be possible to see and use escape routes that may not normally be illuminated, such as external escape routes or long internal corridors using emergency lighting. There is also a legal responsibility for hospitals and NHS Trusts to ensure that emergency lighting systems are maintained in accordance with the statutory requirements they are subject to.

Elements you may not have considered

There are many things to consider when choosing an emergency lighting system, and some that you may not even have considered. For example, is it possible to meet your hospital’s ‘green’ targets while simultaneously running an efficient implementation project alongside maintaining patient care and privacy? What about the ongoing maintenance costs of the fire safety system, and of course the need to choose a system which provides safe and swift evacuation. In this article I will look to cover some of the key considerations when selecting an emergency lighting system for a hospital.

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Upcoming Events

The Fire Safety Event 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
30th April - 2 May 2024

Wales regional conference, exhibition and awards dinner 2024

International Conference Centre (ICC) Newport
28th - 29th May 2024

NAHFO National Conference 2024

Crowne Plaza Newcastle Upon Tyne
3rd - 5th June 2024

Design in Mental Health 2024

Manchester Central
4th - 5th June 2024

InstallerSHOW 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
25th - 27th June

Healthcare Estates 2024

Manchester Central
8th-9th October 2024

Access the latest issue of Health Estate Journal on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Health Estate Journal app from your device's App store

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