Torbay Hospital must make changes immediately to make sure people can escape during a fire, after warnings from both fire and health regulators.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust with an enforcement notice to make the necessary improvements by Friday 6 November.
The notice, issued under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, relates to floors four to eight of the Tower Block at Torbay Hospital.
Following concerns raised to the Service, Fire Safety Inspectors carried out an inspection in July 2026.
They found that changes were necessary to provide sufficient escape routes for people in the event of a fire.
The trust must also have robust evacuation strategies in place to ensure that everyone can be evacuated from the upper floors of the tower.
The enforcement notice asks for the trust to put actions in place to reduce the numbers of patients on each floor, increase the number of staff capable of completing an evacuation, and to assess any dependencies patients may have and relocate those who would be difficult to evacuate to a more appropriate location.
Alongside the fire and rescue enforcement, the Care Quality Commission has also inspected the building and issued a warning notice.
Both notices are subject to appeal.
Gerald Taylor, Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said:
“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.
“As a regulator of the Fire Safety Order, we have a duty to ensure that public buildings have precautions in place to protect people if there is a fire.
“Torbay Hospital must address these issues and make sure that the people under their care have every chance of escape should a fire occur in the building.
“We will continue to work with the trust to make sure the breaches in fire safety are rectified as soon as possible."
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