Hospitals: Insulation

(asked on 11th July 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the presence of flammable cladding on hospitals; what the timetable is for assessing all hospital buildings for the presence of such cladding; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Philip Dunne Portrait
Philip Dunne
This question was answered on 17th July 2017

As part of the response to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, actions have been implemented across the National Health Service to assess the risks of similar issues and ensure that the NHS estate is safe. The process of checking and testing the NHS’s estate is continuing.

Fire safety checks of NHS facilities are regularly undertaken in line with legislation and guidance. Hospitals are well prepared – each one has a tailored fire safety plan, which includes assessment of the provision of fire safety precautions including alarms and evacuation plans. But nothing is more important than the safety of patients and staff, so on a precautionary basis we asked all hospitals to conduct additional checks. Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement instigated inspections by local fire and rescue services on 24 June 2017. All NHS trusts and foundation trusts were asked to carry out urgent fire safety checks following the Grenfell Tower fire. All NHS trusts have provided assurance that they have undertaken a fire risk assessment in the past 12 months.

As of 7 July, six trusts had been identified with buildings with aluminium composite material cladding, and they have therefore initiated additional fire safety precautions.

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