by Ray Dunne BBC News Online health staff

London's Royal Free Hospital does not fully meet fire safety rules

The situation is so bad that fire chiefs could consider closing some hospitals down.

There were more than 6,000 fires in NHS hospitals in England last year.

While many of these were minor, some caused millions of pounds of damage and resulted in patients and medical staff being evacuated.

Figures from NHS Estates, the government agency in charge of hospitals, show that just 50% of hospitals are fully compliant with fire safety regulations.

The remainder are struggling to tackle a backlog of maintenance work to bring them up to scratch.

NHS Estates refused to name the hospitals that are failing to meet fire safety rules.

But a spokeswoman suggested none was putting patients at risk.

"Over 50% of hospitals have declared zero fire safety backlog costs, meaning that they are in full statutory and firecode compliance.

"However, this is not a final figure as we are in the process of collecting and validating the data," she said.

"The majority of non-compliance is generally low-risk and is not of serious concern to the enforcement bodies'

Worst areas 1. Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcester 2. South West London 3. Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 4. Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5. Surrey and Sussex Source: Department of Health

Figures from the Department of Health suggest that hospitals across the country are failing to comply with fire safety regulations.

They also show that the areas with the biggest problems are the West Midlands, London and the South-East.

In London, fire chiefs are believed to be in negotiations with a number of hospitals in an effort to try to tackle the problem.

They have the power to shut hospitals down if they fail to comply.

Acceptable standards

Managers at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, are among those in emergency talks.

They were ordered to meet fire safety regulations 10 years ago. However, a recent report found that 82% of the hospital is still not up to acceptable standard.

"Our big problem is smoke," Colin Rickard, the trust's project manager told BBC News Online.

"Ours is a tower block building and we have a problem stopping smoke transmission around the building.

"We have spent a lot of money trying to improve the situation."

The hospital had been given until August to make improvements. However, it is now seeking to extend that deadline.

The majority of non-compliance is generally low risk NHS Estates spokeswoman

Fire chiefs in the West Midlands ordered a review of safety standards in NHS hospitals last year after a major fire at the Sandwells Hospital in Birmingham.

Its A&E department was destroyed in what was believed to have been an arson attack. It will now be rebuilt at a cost of �20m.

Steve Birch of the West Midlands Fire Service, said the hospital building did not meet acceptable safety standards.

"Hospitals have become a major concern for us since that fire," he told BBC News Online.

However, he suggested the service was unable to ensure all hospitals were up to scratch.

"There are 241 hospital buildings in this area. We are legally responsible for inspecting over 100,000 buildings and we have only 70 people carrying out inspections. We get to hospitals when we can."

While many hospitals are failing to comply with safety rules, few are actually punished or forced to make improvements.

Last year, in one of the few cases of its kind, Pinderfields and Pontefract Hospital was fined �2,000 for failing to have proper alarms, fire detectors or escape routes.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Dr Evan Harris said the NHS needed to spend �3.4bn to ensure hospitals met fire safety regulations.

"Our hospitals are so cash-strapped they are in a very sorry state and getting worse.

"This has seriously implications for the safety of patients and staff.