No Locks On Hospital Bathroom Doors

Locked egress doors trapping occupants in a building.

No locks on hospital bathroom doors.

A core component of the nfpa 101. Section 5 of the hospital licensing act was amended to include the following under section 11 6 for those who might wish to track down the original source. Life safety code is free egress which means occupants must be able to exit a building without the use of any keys tools special knowledge or effort. Taking the time to learn how to lock a door without a lock can help you improvise emergency locking solutions in dire times like active shooter situations and it can be the very thing that helps save your life.

Public bathrooms in other areas of the hospital also have locks and the engineering department and nursing supervisors nights and weekends have keys. This act was signed into law in 2010 by the governor of illinois and became a statewide requirement as of january 1 2011. Learning how to lock a door without a lock will help you deal with damaged locks or doors that do not have locks installed on them. Section 5 of the hospital licensing act was amended to include the following under section 11 6 for those who might wish to track down the original source.

Hospitals shall have policies and procedures for readily gaining access to a locked bathroom in a patient s room. If the door is locked and hospital personnel need access turning the t turn clockwise unlocks the locking mechanism permitting access. The same situation has unfolded countless times. Some bathroom doors are equipped with mortise locks with an indicator and a turn knob on the exterior.

The spring loaded t turn is normally horizontal whether the door lock is locked or unlocked. Hospitals shall have policies and procedures for readily gaining access to a locked bathroom in a patient s room. Historical fires like the triangle shirtwaist factory which occurred in new york city on march 25 1911. Policy and procedure for patient bathroom door locks.