Fire Safety Enforcement Issued for Torbay Hospital Tower Block

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has been ordered to make urgent fire safety enhancements to the Tower Block at Torbay Hospital due to serious concerns surrounding evacuation protocols.

The Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) issued an enforcement notice under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 on 14 October 2026. The notice targets floors four through eight of the building and sets a strict compliance deadline of 6 November 2026.

The enforcement follows a July inspection triggered by safety concerns. Inspectors concluded that immediate changes are required to guarantee sufficient escape routes. DSFRS emphasised that the trust must establish robust evacuation strategies for the upper floors, reduce patient capacity per floor, increase trained evacuation staff, and relocate high-dependency patients who are difficult to move to safer areas.

According to BBC News, affected areas include the Emergency Assessment Unit, medical and surgical wards, and specialist gastroenterology day units and outpatient services.

Gerald Taylor, Deputy Chief Fire Officer at DSFRS, highlighted the urgency:

"In the event of a fire, seconds count. People being treated within the Tower Block are often in circumstances that make it difficult for them to evacuate, and the building itself would make this harder... We will continue to work with the trust to make sure the breaches in fire safety are rectified as soon as possible."

Trust Response and Relocation Plans

In response, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust stated it is "fully committed" to meeting the requirements. The trust acknowledged that the Tower Block is an aging facility with known structural and fire safety risks that have historically been managed through maintenance, staff training, and ongoing investment—including £1.8 million in recent government funding.

To comply with the notice, the trust is collaborating with DSFRS, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and NHS England to temporarily relocate certain services to other parts of the hospital or community sites. This move aims to reduce patient density, bolster evacuation capabilities, and allow safety work to proceed.

Separately, the CQC inspected surgical services within the Tower Block in October and proposed regulatory action regarding fire safety oversight. The trust stated it is engaging constructively with the CQC and exploring options regarding staffing and patient placement.

Reassuring the public, the trust stated:

"It is important to be clear that we are not closing the Tower Block, the Heatherington Unit, or Torbay Hospital. We are not reducing access to services for our communities, and we are not sending patients out of area because of these fire safety arrangements."

Further updates will be released once finalised plans are agreed upon with DSFRS. Keep up to date as this story develops.

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