Fire engines were called out to false alarms at Kingston Hospital once a week last year.

Automatic fire alarms at the hospital were attended 58 times between April 2012 and March 2013, official figures have revealed.

Kingston University and Tolworth Hospital were among the top five most automatic false alarms in the borough.

The Kingston University Seething Wells halls of residence logged 50 call-outs from automatic alarms in the same period.

A spokeswoman for Kingston Hospital said: “We are aware of the need to reduce the number of automatic fire alarm call outs and have been working in consultation with fire officers from the London Fire Brigade on ways to reduce them. 

"We have enhanced the trust’s fire response team and they have received additional training, which will help to reduce the number of call outs.”

The UK economy loses about £1billion a year from false call-outs, the London Fire Brigade said.

Automatic fire alarms and fire detection systems account for a third of all incidents for London fire crews.

Plans to recoup costs from false alarm calls could see building owners being charged at least £290 for every engine that attends.

The number of calls from Kingston University has already prompted talks on how to improve the service.

A new system was put in place in September 2012, which allows four minutes for a situation to be assessed before the fire brigade is called out.

A spokeswoman for the university said: “The system is working well and the university is pleased to be able to report that the number of unnecessary call-outs has significantly reduced as a result.”

As part of a draft London safety plan, the fire brigade could soon be able to fine venues with more than 10 false alarms a year.

Since September 2012, there have been seven call-outs to the Seething Wells halls.