Case Study: Birmingham Community Health Care NHS Trust (BCHC)
Over the past 12 years Midland Fire Security Services (Midland Fire) are proud to have worked on fire and life safety projects with Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust (BCHC). Our reliable design, installation and maintenance service has helped the trust comply with legal requirements on time and within budget.
BCHC NHS trust operates a portfolio with 22 sites, predominately health centre clinics, however the portfolio includes 4 residential hospital buildings across Birmingham and the West Midlands region.
We conducted comprehensive site surveys at each location. We also worked with the existing fire and life safety systems to ensure they are fit for purpose and meet the latest legal requirements.
2007 – Present
- Access control systems
- BT Redcare centralised monitoring services
- Electrical installations in line with site refurbishments
- Fire alarm system Installation
- Planned and reactive maintenance services
- Remedial works and electrical safety testing
Working in a live hospital/care environment
BCHC NHS Trust operates primary care facilities for the elderly including patients with high dependant needs with conditions such as dementia. When working in this environment, extra care was taken to ensure patients were not disturbed.
Dan Sillito, Director at Midland Fire explains: “Midland Fire safety engineers are experienced in working in busy public spaces. All engineers have up to date DBS checks and we took extra care to ensure that patients were not disturbed and planned our work around the hospital’s day to day routine. A detailed risk assessment was completed and agreed with the BCHC NHS Trust prior to any work taking place.
Asbestos is a big concern in older facilities. Our engineer’s due diligence was crucial in checking the Asbestos Registers prior to carrying out work and their awareness throughout each project. Commissioning works were performed by our fully trained fire system technicians, who are qualified to Gent24 standards and competent in many system protocols.”
Planned maintenance and emergency callouts
Midland Fire has been awarded a planned maintenance contracts for fire alarm systems across the region. Projects include working with fire alarm equipment from multiple suppliers including Gent Vigilon, Ziton & Notifier multi panel network systems.
Our maintenance service includes regular site visits for maintaining the fire alarm systems, planning and liaising with site contacts, testing of control panels and standby batteries, input device testing (MCP’s, Sensors), Cause & Effect testing & reporting defects / recommendations for compliance to BS5839-1 2017. As part of this contract we also provide full customer support, callout facilities and access to our qualified technicians 24hrs a day, 365 days a year.
BT Redcare secure 24 hour alarm monitoring
Midland Fire has recently been awarded the BCHC BT Redcare manned centre monitoring contract. Monitoring is an important part of any life safety system. All monitoring is undertaken by our partner company EMCS monitoring who provide comprehensive monitoring solutions for a wide variety of fire alarm equipment. Midland Fire worked closely with EMCS to ensure a seamless transition to our services.
Helping the NHS stay within budget
Working with EMCS Midland Fire secured a significant discount (and in some cases free) on BT Redcare monitoring equipment. We are pleased to have been able to add value to the contract. The new equipment comes with a full manufacturer’s warranty, reducing the risk of expensive maintenance should equipment need replacing in the near future.
Access control and Fire alarm refurbishment at Moseley Hall Hospital
As part of a major building security improvement project, new door access equipment was installed and interfaced to the main fire alarm system. Midland Fire was responsible for conducting initial site surveys and worked closely with NHS project management and security contractors to ensure the system was adequate for the trust’s needs.
All fire safety system design work is completed in house at Midland Fire to ensure that legislative and technical requirements are met. The system meets or exceeds the requirements of the Fire Risk Assessment, Fire Safety Order Regulatory Reform (2005) and British Standards in Fire Alarms BS5839-1 2017.
We look forward to working with BHCH NHS Trust on future projects.
