Hospitals in the Philippines must balance two critical responsibilities: ensuring security of patients, staff, and sensitive areas, and enabling rapid, safe access and evacuation during emergencies—fire, natural calamities, medical crises, or other urgent threats. Well-designed emergency access protocols are essential to meet these goals. Below are the key regulations, best practices, and considerations that PH hospitals need to incorporate into their access control systems to ensure that privacy meets security—and safety.
Key Laws & Regulations That Govern Emergency Access
1. Fire Code of the Philippines (RA 9514) and Its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR)
- Hospitals are explicitly designated as occupancies requiring automatic fire department notification.
- Emergency access and egress measures are mandated:
• Doors, hold-open devices, smoke control, and unlocking of doors must be part of the fire alarm system’s automatic functions.
• Panic hardware: Doors required to be so equipped must have panic bars (hardware that releases latch with ≤ 7 kilo-force pressure) and bars must extend at least two-thirds of the door width, installed at heights between 76 cm and 112 cm above the floor. - For wards and health care sleeping rooms:
• Doors in patient sleeping rooms shall lead to corridors that lead to exits; travel distances are regulated
• Locks are generally not permitted on patient sleeping room doors (unless staff side only or for special clinical/safety reasons), but these must still allow egress without special tools
2. Department of Health (DOH) Hospital Licensing & Facilities Guidelines
- Hospital planning/design guidelines require multiple exits, sufficient corridors, ramps, and unimpeded circulation routes for patient movement (e.g., stretchers, wheelchairs).
- The safety and security protocols for hospitals include patrols, visitor controls, and a security plan including emergency operations (evacuations, crowd control).
What Emergency Access Protocols Should Include in Practice
Drawing from the legal requirements and safety best practices, hospitals should ensure their access control and emergency protocols include the following components:
Protocol Component | What Must Be Done / Features | Why It Matters |
Unobstructed Egress (Exit Paths) | Corridors ≥ 2.44 meters wide for hospitals; exits must terminate directly to open space; doors swing in direction of exit travel. | Ensures patients, staff, and equipment can evacuate quickly without crowding. |
Panic Hardware / Exit Devices | Doors in required locations must have panic bars compliant with hardware specs (≤ 7 kg-f force, 2/3 door width, height 76-112 cm). Panic hardware must not be locked or obstructed. | Hardware that is usable under stress, even for non-staff or patients. |
Emergency Unlock / Door Release | Fire alarms should trigger automatic unlocking or release of hold-open devices. Exit doors must unlock or release during alarm. | In emergencies, locked doors can trap people; automatic unlocking ensures egress. |
Locking Rules in Wards | Patient sleeping rooms generally must not have locking devices; exceptions allowed only under staff control and ensuring easy egress. | Balances patient safety and privacy with emergency access needs. |
Emergency Lighting & Signage | Required in hospitals: durable, illuminated “EXIT” signs, directional exit markers, emergency lighting that lasts specified duration. Doors, stairs, corridors must remain visible under power failure or fire conditions. | Without lighting and signs, evacuation becomes chaotic and dangerous. |
Evacuation and Access Plans | Written emergency evacuation plans; coordination with fire department; security personnel trained; clear protocols for staff ID and visitor access during emergencies. | Ensures orderly exit, maintenance of privacy/security when needed, and effective response. |
Example Protocols / Practices Hospitals Should (or Do) Use
Though public information on specific hospital systems is limited, here are observable protocols or practices in Philippine hospitals aligned with emergency access law:
- Security plans include visitor access control and staff badge/ID requirement, especially in sensitive areas like ICU, operating rooms, maternity wards. These help control who enters wards, but protocols usually ensure that ward exit doors have non-locking exit paths.
- In many hospital facility safety manuals, some doors are kept locked during normal hours but must conform to RA 9514 panic hardware rules, and unlock in alarm conditions. For example, DOH’s procurement for “panic-bar exit device” shows governmental recognition of needing compliant hardware.
- Risk assessment procedures include checking that all exit doors are accessible, exits are clearly marked, and doors in wards permit emergency egress without special tools.
Key Challenges & How To Overcome Them
Challenge | Solution / Best Practice |
Locked doors for privacy or safety (e.g., psychiatric wards, isolation wards) | Use staff-side key or badge access, but ensure that egress (from inside or via emergency push/panic hardware) is always possible without tools. |
Maintaining hardware compliance | Schedule regular inspection and maintenance; ensure panic bars are not painted over or blocked; test emergency release and alarm unlocks periodically. |
Power failures or alarm system malfunctions | Use fail-safe or mechanical override features; maintain backup power (generators, UPS); ensure alarms / fire-alarm linkage with access control. |
Balancing security with patient privacy | Define role-based access; visitor registration; ensure authorized access only, but ensure exits cannot be blocked or locked in emergencies. |
How Access Control Systems Should Be Designed for Compliance
To align with PH regulations and to ensure safety in wards and similar areas, access control installations should include:
- Panic bars or exit hardware as required by RA 9514 for required doors.
- Request-to-exit (REX) push buttons or motion sensors in areas where doors are locked from corridor side, but ensure that internal egress is always free.
- Fire alarm system integration so that locks / hold-open devices release automatically during fire events.
- Doors with self-closing mechanisms but which release under emergency conditions.
- Doors wide enough (≥ 1.12 m for many hospital or nursing home doors to exits) when required.
Final Thoughts
Emergency access protocols in hospitals are not optional—they’re legal mandates under Philippine law, and ethical necessities for patient safety and dignity. From panic hardware to automatic unlocks during alarm, emergency lighting, exit signage, and staff and visitor controls, these measures matter.
VastResult / AccessControlPH can help hospitals design, audit, and deploy access control systems that meet RA 9514, DOH guidelines, and international best practices—so that when emergencies happen, hospitals are ready, safe, compliant, and resilient.
Get Expert Help Today
Need to review or upgrade your hospital’s emergency access protocols? Ensure your facility protects lives through compliance and careful design.
📞 Contact VastResult at (02) 8404 0740
✉️ Email us at sales@vastresult.com
