HOSPITAL FIRE SAFETY: Southampton General Hospital Trust Board and Council of Governors Answer Andrew Pope's Questions on Sprinklers

Andrew Pope After Council of Governors Meeting
Photo: Southampton Independents (AP)

After the Hospital's Trust Board refused to let him speak (yes, really) at their meeting, Andrew attended the Hospital's Council of Governors meeting. He still was not allowed to speak (yes, really) at the meeting. 

At the meeting, Andrew's questions that he had to send in and put prior to the meeting in writing, were answered by the Trust Board and Council of Governors. These are two separate committees. The latter are elected to represent patients and staff.

None of the Governors spoke in support of Andrew's request for sprinklers. 

None of the Governors asked questions of the members of the Trust Board present to hold them to account on fire safety.

Only the official response was read out as below, seemingly on behalf of the governors too who are supposed to hold the Hospital's Trust Board to account.

What do you think of all of this?

Do you agree with their answers? 

Get in touch to tell us what you think. And if you want to get involved in the campaign, or our campaigning more widely, get in touch.

 

Andrew Pope's Question 1

    Sprinklers save lives and property. In just a few weeks, over a hundred people - hospital staff, patients, and the public - have signed my petition for sprinklers at the SGH, and to make it mandatory in law. I received no direct response to my emailed questions to the Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer about the lack of sprinklers in the part of the hospital where the devastating and highly disruptive Major Incident fire occurred that destroyed the endoscopy unit and which took firefighters hours to control and resulted in hundreds of patients being moved and huge disruption to the entire Region of the NHS. I asked Emily Hudson and Joe Campbell of BBC South to find out if there were sprinklers, and there were not. Instead, what amounted to excuses were made in writing to me by Corporate Affairs. I tried to ask at the recent Trust Board but the Chair prevented me from speaking - a member of the public at a public meeting of a public service, funded by public money. Will the Council of Governors ensure that I get a written answer from the Trust Board now please, instead of Corporate Affairs and public relations people?

Trust Board and Council of Governors Response

You have previously sent a number of questions to the Trust on this matter. The response you refer to in your question was provided from the Corporate Affairs email address, which is managed by the Company Secretary's office on behalf of the Trust Board. This response was provided on 13 February 2026.

As was explained by the Chair at the Board meeting held on 10 March 2026, the 'open' session of the Board meeting is a meeting 'in public' rather than a 'public meeting'. As such, members of the public attend as observers, not as participants in the meeting.

Andrew Pope's Question 2

 

Will the Council of Governors please commit now to ensure that sprinklers are installed in all buildings at the Southampton General Hospital, and give a deadline by which this will be done? This will protect patients, staff, firefighters, property and local residents. It will also save money and disruption, as confirmed to me directly by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service when I spoke with them after the recent incident at Shirley Towers,

Trust Board and Council of Governors Response

"The installation of sprinkler systems at Southampton General Hospital would not be viable. There are a number of reasons for this approach:

    Installation of sprinkler systems would go against technical guidance. Given the height of the hospital, guidance does not recommend the installation of sprinkler systems. In part this is because the fire service is able to tackle any fires below 32 metres.
    The hospital has a working passive alarm system. This proved highly effective during the fire on 1 February 2026, alerting the Trust and supporting the safe evacuation of 502 patients.
    Sprinkler systems cause extensive damage - whether through false activation or when in response to a fire. In the management of the fire on 1 February, there was extensive water damage, which has caused the Trust to have to take the ward below the site of the fire out of action for over six months to repair the water damage. Sprinkler systems do not solely address the seat of the fire and therefore the resultant water damage would likely have been more significant and widespread, which would have resulted in more beds and facilities being taken out of action.
    The cost of retrofitting a sprinkler system across the Trust's estate would be tens of millions. This is not an effective use of public funds.

 

With regard to the minutes from the Council of Governors’ meeting held on 22 April 2026, these will be included in the papers for the next Council of Governors’ meeting approximately five days before the meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday, 8 July."

Refused permission to speak at Hospital Trust Board about Major Incident Fire

 

Andrew Pope at Southampton General Hospital
Photo: Southampton Independents

Andrew Pope reports from University Hospitals Southampton (UHS) site Southampton General Hospital (SGH). He says: 

In 2010, my Masters dissertation was titled: "How Democratic Are NHS Foundation Trusts?". On what happened today, the answer was: "Not very!".

I tried to speak at the Trust Board meeting today.

It had been very difficult to get information about attending the meeting and speaking at it.

I walked from Shirley to the Hospital, and eventually managed to find the room. I had to ask several staff, some of whom sent me to the wrong floor.

When I got there, I asked the Chair to speak at the meeting about the lack of sprinklers. She refused to allow me to speak!

That's right, public money funds these people, but they don't want to listen to the public or answer questions about their failings to protect staff, patients, the public and firefighters.

I sat outside the meeting room, and then someone from PR (a.k.a. BS) turned up. She claimed that "everybody accepts" that the public cannot speak at these meetings. She also was not keen on being quoted saying this.

Incredible!

Please sign and share this petition.

We will make these people listen.

P.S. The photo was taken by two ladies that I spoke to outside the Hospital afterwards. They were very shocked with what I told them happened.

EXCLUSIVE: Will the SGH Get A New Endoscopy Unit? Yes... but where?

Southampton General Hospital
Photo: Southampton Independents

In the recent Major Incident fire at Southampton General Hospital, the Endoscopy Unit was completely destroyed. 

In an apology on the Hospital's Gastroenterology website, they have said this happend "unfortunately".

Huge Impact of Fire 

As reported widely, hundreds of patients had to be evacuated and over one hundred firefighters struggled to get the incident under control for several hours. 

Hospital staff have verified to Southampton Independents that vulnerable patients have suffered their health as a result of the incident. It is worth noting from huge bodies of clinical evidence, that it is a clinical fact that moving vulnerable people when ill, can negatively affect their health.

Southampton Independents is verifying with patients what impacts this might be, for example from smoke inhalation, and verifying with staff. 

The Incident has affected the entire Region of the NHS. It has also affected the City Council, according to the Local Democracy Reporter Jason Lewis. 

No Sprinklers and No Adequate Fire Safety Measures and No Major Incident Practice 

In the opinion of fire safety campaigner Andrew Pope, he says: 

"The fire could have been much less worse if they had had sprinklers, and possibly avoided completely if they had adequate fire safety measures in place. But they didn't. Today, I have discovered that they had not practiced for a Major Incident for some time. This is in the agenda and minutes of today's Trust Board. And it was identified at the November Trust Board to be "looked at". This is the language of dither and delay, not of safety critical action."

Will the SGH get a new endoscopy unit?

Yes, Southampton Independents can exclusively reveal. Andrew Pope has learned from sources close to the Hospital that a new endoscopy unit is being created. It is being installed using mobile units at the Hospital and at Adanac Park.

Andrew says:

Andrew Pope Pointing Out Fire Safety Breaches in Shirley Towers
Photo: Southampton Independents

"You will never guess where this endoscopy unit is being built! 

Where else have I been investigating the Park and Ride? At Adanac Park! 

A source told me, and I have verified onsite with staff and in documentary evidence, that a new endoscopy unit is being built on the land that I have suggested should be used for expanding the Park and Ride.

This land is right next to the existing Park and Ride facilities.

But because of the lack of fire safety in the destroyed unit, to add to the huge regional disruption caused by the fire, more public money is being spent on the new endoscopy unit!

If the SGH CEO and Trust Board had installed sprinklers, the impact would be nowhere near as bad as it has been.

I am continuing my campaign to get sprinklers installed, and to make it mandatory for hospitals by law in England."

 

Southampton Independents has given the right of reply to University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the SGH. They have still not made a statement, but have been asked again.

UPDATE: In a previous version of this article, the link to the apology was not implemented correctly. It has now been corrected. 

 

VICTORY: Andrew Pope's Pressure Forces Council To Fix Sprinklers At Shirley Towers

 

Andrew Pope Finding Fire Safety Breaches
Photo: Southampton Independents

Andrew Pope has today confirmed with residents, and has obtained photographic evidence, that the sprinklers in the bin area have been refitted.

This is a victory for Andrew's campaign to expose the Labour-run Council's failure to fix the sprinklers that have been out of action since December.

After Sunday's incident in the Towers, Andrew informed the Fire Service about the sprinklers on the ground floor being out of action. The Incident Commanders confirmed that the Council had not told them prior to attending the incident.

Andrew says:

Andrew Pope
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

"I am determined to protect Shirley Towers residents from the Labour-run Council's negligence. And I am determined to get residents' voices heard. 

It is abysmal that Labour Cabinet Member for Housing Councillor Andy Frampton did not want to respond to my questions on behalf of residents.

Never forget that his predecessor in that role Warwick Payne lied to me in 2017, after the Redbridge Towers fire, that residents did not want sprinklers, and that the Tory Leader of Kensington said the same about residents of Grenfell. Labour or Tory, same old story.

Now residents know that Labour does not care about the fire safety of residents, nor the safety of firefighters attending Shirley Towers. It is not just negligence. It is wilful ignorance.

And Labour need to be voted out from the Council.

I very much hope Shirley residents will vote for me in the by-election and for Independent Network candidates in May."

 

The Shirley by-election is on Thursday 26th February and the Council elections are in May 2026.

 

Sprinkler in Shirley Towers
Photo: Andrew Pope

Sprinklers Refitted in Bin Area 
Photo: Andrew Pope

Other side of Bin Area with Sprinklers
Photo: Andrew Pope

INVESTIGATION: 2 of 3 Partners in Park and Ride Partnership Blame Southampton City Council for Being "Not Good Enough"

When given the right of reply, both Bluestar bus company and University Hospitals Southampton, have passed the buck to Southampton City Council for the failings of the Park and Ride service. 

Andrew Pope wrote to all three partners in the Park and Ride, offering a Right of Reply to his criticisms following his very long campaign to deliver a Park and Ride for Southampton.

Corporate Affairs at University Hospitals Southampton (UHS) has written to Andrew Pope:

"With regards to the Park & Ride:

The Park & Ride operates for the use of UHS staff from Monday to Friday. Southampton City Council promotes the use of the service at weekends for the public so we would direct you to the Council for any questions you have about that."

The General Manager of Bluestar replied:

"We operate the P&R under contract to the city council.  A such, it is the council that have designed and procured the service and pay for it.

You will need to speak to the council for the finer details, but I understand they have an agreement with the hospital to use their car park at weekends.

It is of course a trial, so perhaps more permanent signage will come if it becomes a permanent park and ride.  I have seen various adverts around the city and online for the service, and I also heard a radio advert for it recently too."

Andrew, who is a member of the Independent Network, says:

 

Andrew Pope
Photo: Southampton Independents

"I campaigned for over a decade for a Park and Ride here in Southampton, and we now have one for hospital staff during Monday to Friday. 

I repeatedly pressured the Council, bus companies and hospital for aspirations in strategy documents to be turned into reality.

Over the weekend we have the PR1 service for the public to the City Centre and on Saints home games, PR2 for football fans to St Mary's Stadium.

I am pleased to have initiated this campaign when I chaired the Council's Inquiry into hospital transport. But it was a long and hard fight, which ended after I spoke up about the Park and Ride at the Planning Meeting in 2025 where I spoke up for residents who live near the hospital.

So I was disappointed to see that it was not good enough. And I gave the right of reply to all three partners to my criticisms, in the spirit of partnership and to try to improve it.

So I am now further disappointed to get buck-passing and blaming of the Council. 

That is not in the spirit of partnership. I want these partners to work together to deliver what is needed to keep cars out of Southampton and reduce traffic, not to blame each other.

It echoes the previous disasters of the Capita contract that was scrapped in 2018 the Tory councillors wanted to keep it - and the Balfour Beatty road contract which I would like to scrap but Labour and Tory councils have continued to carry on, despite its many failings and constant complaints from residents, which I totally agree with."

Independent Network emblem

 

Andrew Pope investigated the new Park and Ride that he had campaigned on for many years. He published his findings on the Southampton Independents website, and wrote a letter to the Daily Echo, saying that what has been done is "not good enough", which was published.

Andrew also wrote to the three "partners" in the "partnership" for the Park and Ride:

1. Bluestar bus company
2. University Hospitals Southampton, which runs Southampton General Hospital
3. Southampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, Labour Councillor Christie Lambert

Bluestar responded very quickly, claiming that the Park and Ride was a "trial". This was not clear in the Council's communications about the service.

Councillor Christie Lambert took two months to reply, and provided a rather feeble response, failing to answer the many points that Andrew had pointed out. She then quit as Cabinet Member for Transport.

The UHS Chief Executive Officer David French did not provide a reponse, neither did the officer understood to be his PA. Andrew had previously corresponded with Mr French over the Park and Ride.

HOSPITAL MAJOR INCIDENT FIRE: SGH Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer Fail To Answer Urgent Questions on Fire Safety

 

Paul Grundy Chief Medical Officer UHS NHS Foundation Trust
Photo: UHS

UPDATE: A response from Corporate Affairs has now been received, but it is not very helpful and no response to each individual and direct question has been received from either the CEO or CMO, nor Corporate Affairs. 

Please sign Andrew Pope's petition for sprinklers here. 

Andrew Pope says:

"When I contact people directly that I have been in touch with before, including David French about Park and Ride, I expect a direct response from them directly.

And not a feeble response from PR people trying to gaslight patients, staff, local residents and firefighters. I will be going back and asking for a direct response - and not for the first time.

Despite the non-response, it seems that Mr Grundy is now away. So others have been asked to respond in his stead.

I have sympathy that they have been dealing with a Major Incident, but this is somewhat self-inflicted when insufficient fire safety was in place before the Major Incident. The cost of the Major Incident could have been much reduced with better fire safety in place.

I heard similar excuses that these PR people at the Hospital have given now, as compared with the Labour-run Southampton City Council 8 years ago when I put them under pressure after the Redbridge Towers fire. And the Tory Leader of Kensington Council at Grenfell.

The PR response totally justifies the petition that I have created, because the Hospital seem to think it is acceptable to not do it because they are not required to by law or regulation.

Local people think otherwise - the petition has received good response in its first week, both online and offline. Please sign it, if you have not already, and share it."

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Co-Founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope has been asking questions of the senior executives of the Trust Board at the Southampton General Hospital (SGH), also known as University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Andrew's follow-up letter to the CEO David French and Chief Medical Officer Paul Grundy, is below:

Dear David and Paul,

Please answer urgently the questions that were sent to you before, and followed up on 2nd February. I have repeated them below.

I asked Joe Campbell, via Emily Hudson of the BBC, to ask about sprinklers and the response on the BBC South Today Monday before last seemed to be that patients might get wet, equipment might get wet and the building(s) are old. 

 

Where did those rather flippant and unhelpful answers come from please? PR people or from the Trust Board?

1. Were there sprinklers where the fire broke out? The BBC broadcast to say there were not. Please provide more information.

2. If there were sprinklers, did they contain the fire? No, see 1.

3. If there were sprinklers, why didn't they put the fire out? No, see 1 and 2.

4. Will the hospital review fire safety in this building and across the hospital estate, and install sprinklers? If so, where, by when?

5. If there were electrical, medical or other reasons why sprinklers were not appropriate for that location, please provide those.

I have asked to speak at the next Trust Board, but have not received any response. And the same at the Council of Governors."

 

On sending the follow-up letter, an auto-reply email suggested that Mr Grundy is on significant leave. To be clear, the CEO was also asked and no reply was received.

 

The letter also mentions Andrew Pope's credentials on the topic, and record in Southampton on campaigning on fire safety. 

 

Andrew Pope chaired the Southampton City Council Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee when he led an inquiry into hospital transport, the report of which mentioned a Park and Ride as well as other recommendations that Andrew followed up on. He also wrote his Masters degree thesis on "How Democratic Are NHS Foundation Trusts?" where he interviewed 60 people on their views on the topic. 

 

Andrew also led the campaign for sprinklers to be installed in all Southampton City Council tower blocks, months before the Grenfell Tower disaster in London and after the fatal Shirley Towers fire in 2010 and the near-miss Redbridge Towers fire in 2017, where thankfully nobody died. As documented elsewhere on this website, both Southampton Labour and Kensington and Chelsea Conservatives claimed that residents did not want sprinklers. Labour or Tory, same old story, residents said.

 

In 2018, six months after Grenfell, Andrew brought BBC Radio 5 Live's investigative journalist Adrian Goldberg to Southampton, showing Adrian major fire safety failures in Council tower blocks. These failings were described as "disgraceful" by fire safety expert Dr Stephen Battersby in the radio programme. A short video is here on the BBC website. 

 

As reported by the BBC in 2017, after the Grenfell disaster, "Sprinklers would have saved tower".

"A fire safety expert previously contracted to work on Grenfell Tower has said sprinklers would have stopped the fatal fire from spreading.

Paul Atkins said sprinklers give people a "99% chance of survival" and would have stopped flames taking hold."

Sprinklers are not mandatory in all hospitals and care homes in England. So as with his successful campaigns in and around Southampton, Andrew Pope has started a petition. You can sign it here.

 

 

Redbridge Towers Fire in 2017
Photo: Southampton Independents

Andrew Pope quoted in Daily Echo Redbridge Towers 2017
Photo: Southampton Independents

Front page Daily Echo after Redbridge Towers Fire 2017
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

 

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Andrew Pope when Southampton Independents Councillor for Redbridge
Photo: Southampton Independents