More than one in five false calls in Bolton borough come from the Royal Bolton Hospital site.

The site clocked up 117 false calls which crews responded to in the year 2010-2011, out of 555 calls for the whole of Bolton. 29 of the false calls are said to have come from the mental health units on the site, which are not under the control of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

Ian Bailey, Bolton ‘s borough commander at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), told the Bolton News:

“The hospital’s incidents are the biggest contributor to unwanted fire signals in the borough. But hospitals are like mini villages, they are big sites, with a lot of people and have a lot of detectors.”

Responding to the figures, a spokesperson for Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said it had reduced unwanted fire signals by 30% over the last seven years, and only 91 of the unwanted calls related to buildings under the trust's control.

“Bolton NHS Foundation Trust takes very seriously all false alarms relating to fire incidents on trust premises. These are rigorously followed up by our fire safety team and the reason for the activation of the fire alarm is reported to the trust’s fire safety committee, which includes senior managers and key advisory staff from the trust and...the watch manager, fire safety enforcing officer, for GMFRS."

The trust says it has carried out significant work to reduce unwanted fire signals including replacing fire alarm systems during refurbishment, mandatory fire awareness training for staff, better control of contractors on site, and improvements in kitchen equipment to reduce fire risks. It is also working with the fire service to provide early information following a call to help ascertain appropriate response.