Cladding to be removed from city hospital

Cladding similar to that found on Grenfell Tower is to be removed from one of the UK’S largest acute hospitals as a precautionary measure.

A type of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) was found on parts of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospi- tal (QEUH) in Glasgow during checks following the Grenfell fire in London in June which claimed around 80 lives.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said it has been assured the hospital is an extremely safe building by Health Facilities Scotland and their National Fire Advisor.

However the health board plans to remove the cladding “at the earliest possible opportunity” as a “purely precautionary measure.”

It said: “The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is one of the most fire safe buildings in the country having been designed and engineered to meet building and fire safety regulations. Last month we brought in external technical advisers to give the Board fur- ther assurance on fire safety following concerns arising about external cladding as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire. As part of these further forensic checks we have identified a type of Aluminium Composite Material on parts of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital of a similar type to, but not the same as, Grenfell.”