FIREFIGHTERS are being called to false alarms almost once a fortnight on average at the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, new figures show.

Figures from NHS Digital show the fire and rescue service were called out to false alarms 22 times in the 12 months to March.

According to the National Fire Chiefs Council, false alarms are a growing problem and are a "considerable drain" on fire and rescue service resources.

They could pose a risk to safety by diverting firefighters away from genuine emergencies or by causing complacency towards what could be real alarms, it said.

Paul McCourt, from the NFCC, said: "False fire alarm activations cause huge problems for the NHS and the Fire and Rescue Service.

"Every year thousands of staff hours are lost due to false alarms and Unwanted Fire Signals.

"This affects both fire and health service delivery, business continuity and patient care."

In addition to the 22 incidents firefighters attended, there were a further 130 false alarms that did not receive an emergency response.

Fires broke out on 2 occasions over the course of the year, but nobody was injured.

Across England, the number of call-outs to NHS trusts rose by 8% last year from 6,533 in 2016-17 to 7,065 in 2017-18.

The majority of false alarms are caused by automatic systems, which may summon the fire service as soon as they activate.

Most are caused by faulty, damaged or badly maintained systems, or things such as burnt toast, steam or dust.

A spokeswoman for NHS Improvement said: “All NHS hospitals take fire safety seriously.

"This includes following national fire safety regulations which require them to maintain their automatic fire detection systems.

“We would expect all NHS trusts to put measures in place to minimise the number of false fire alarms, while ensuring the safety of patients and staff.”