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<p>The National Health Service estate encompasses a huge, varied and complex set of
buildings and facilities. Currently annual running costs of the NHS estates are over
£8 billion, and NHS providers also spend some £3 billion annually on capital investment,
in particular on maintaining and improving their estates and infrastructure. The use
of resources to find and remedy fire safety issues remains an absolute priority.</p><p>As
part of the response to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, actions have been implemented
across the NHS to assess the risks of similar issues and ensure that the NHS estate
is safe.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>NHS Improvement has identified 38 organisations
requiring support to carry out urgent checks to ascertain if they had cladding similar
to that used on the Grenfell Tower. All 38 of these ‘priority 1’ trusts have started
24-hour fire warden patrols. As of 6 July, of those trusts and foundation trusts:</p><p>-
19 have had fire safety inspections and a review of additional technical information
supplied to NHS Improvement and no further action is necessary at this stage;</p><p>-
16 are not required to take further action at this stage as the building material
sampled is not aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding;</p><p>- samples of ACM
cladding taken from three providers have failed combustibility tests;</p><p>- The
three providers that have failed ACM tests are taking all necessary steps to ensure
the safety of those buildings and occupants, in line with updated fire safety guidance
issued by NHS Improvement. Of these three providers:</p><p>- a test sample taken from
an office building at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust failed an ACM fire
safety test. The Trust has already removed the cladding as a precautionary measure.
This was not a building used by patients;</p><p>- Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation
Trust is taking steps to remove cladding from one of its buildings following a failed
ACM test result. The building is not used for inpatient accommodation and measures
are being put in place to ensure the safety of the building while the ACM is removed;
and</p><p>- samples from a building at North Middlesex University Hospitals NHS Trust
have also failed the ACM combustibility test. The cladded areas do not house any inpatients.</p><p>NHS
Improvement have confirmed that patient safety is paramount, and that there will be
no disruptions to patient services or continuity of care.</p>
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