Means of escape for health care premises

Health care premises including hospitals and residential health care buildings are quite diverse and can be used by a variety of patients, often requiring different types of care to suit their specific needs. The choice of fire safety strategy is dependent upon the way a building is designed, furnished, staffed and managed and the level of dependency of the patients. In parts of health care premises designed to be used by patients, where there are people who are bedridden or who have very restricted mobility, the principle of total evacuation in the event of a fire may be inappropriate. It is also unrealistic to suppose that all patients will leave without assistance. In this and other ways the specialised nature of some health care premises demands a different approach to the provision of means of escape, from much of that embodied in the guidance given in Section 2.