Written question asked by Andrew Snowden (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 January 2026 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Tuesday, 27 January 2026. A substantive answer was provided by Karin Smyth (Labour) on Thursday, 5 February 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.
Maternity Services: Alarms
- Question
-
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to NHS Trusts on the use of ward-wide audible alarm systems in maternity wards.
- Answer
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Guidance is provided to National Health Service trusts on alarms in Health Building Note (HBN) 09-02: Maternity care facilities, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HBN_09-02_Final.pdf
This document includes the requirement for all birthing rooms and maternity beds to have both a nurse call bell for patient use and a staff emergency call bell for staff use in the case of an emergency. Any new builds, large renovations or refurbishments are subject to adhering to HBN guidance. NHS England will be updating the HBN later this year.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 107492
- Session
- 2024-26
- Subjects
- Alarms Maternity services
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-02-05 09:54:15 +0000
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/107492
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