No Locks On Hospital Bathroom Doors

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.

No locks on hospital bathroom doors.

Hospitals shall have policies and procedures for readily gaining access to a locked bathroom in a patient s room. Yes we have locks on patient bathrooms in patient rooms and keep a key above the door in case staff need to get in. 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.

The same situation has unfolded countless times. 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. The spring loaded t turn is normally horizontal whether the door lock is locked or unlocked. Public bathrooms in other areas of the hospital also have locks and the engineering department and nursing supervisors nights and weekends have keys.

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. 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. If the door is locked and hospital personnel need access turning the t turn clockwise unlocks the locking mechanism permitting access.

Policy and procedure for patient bathroom door locks. Some bathroom doors are equipped with mortise locks with an indicator and a turn knob on the exterior. This act was signed into law in 2010 by the governor of illinois and became a statewide requirement as of january 1 2011. A core component of the nfpa 101.