After their existing wooden doorsets came to the end of their service life, St Michael's hospital required upgraded replacements that met their performance, compliance and access control needs. Metador expertly manufactured and supplied their exact specifications with the Defender Fireshield steel doorsets.
Background
Located in the heart of Bristol, St Michael’s Hospital is a specialist centre renowned for its maternity, neonatal, and gynaecological care. As part of the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, the site provides around-the-clock services. It requires a secure, compliant, and durable environment to support its vital operations.
Challenge
The hospital’s existing internal wooden doorsets had reached the end of their service life. They were no longer meeting the site’s demanding requirements for fire protection, security, and long-term performance.
In particular, there was a growing need for controlled access to certain staff-only areas, to ensure only authorised personnel could enter restricted spaces. The hospital sought a door solution that could integrate seamlessly with their electronic access control system while delivering reliable fire protection and enhanced durability.
Solution: Fire-Rated Internal Steel Doors
Metador manufactured and supplied a series of fire rated internal steel doors, purpose-built to replace the existing timber installations.
Each Metador doorset was factory-prepped for Salto XS4 access-controlled hardware, allowing for straightaway on-site integration into the hospital’s wider security system. This provided a modern, efficient way to manage staff access while maintaining compliance with hospital fire and safety regulations.
Several key factors drove the decision to switch from timber to steel doors:
- Durability: Steel doors offer a much longer lifespan and greater resistance to wear, impact, and misuse than wooden doors, making them ideal for a high-traffic hospital environment.
- Fire Safety: Fire-rated steel doorsets meet stringent fire protection standards, providing critical resistance and helping safeguard patients, staff and infrastructure.
- Security Integration: The ability to factory-prepare advanced electronic hardware, such as the Salto XS4 system, ensured a professional finish and reduced on-site installation time.
Outcome
The new Metador fire rated steel doorsets delivered an immediate improvement in both security control and operational reliability. Access to sensitive areas is now effectively managed with electronic credentials, while the doors’ durable construction requires minimal maintenance and provides long-term performance.
The installation reflects St Michael’s ongoing commitment to safety, security, and modernisation and establishes ongoing protection and compliance for the critical care environment well into the future.
