Replacing hospital cladding to cost £6m

‘Among the safest in the UK’

REPLACING wall cladding on two Scottish hospitals will cost taxpayers £6million, it emerged yesterday.

It will be removed from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow as a precautionary measure, NHS bosses said.

The Scottish Government will meet the cost of the project, which is expected to be carried out this year. Aluminium composite cladding is thought to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire which engulfed Grenfell Tower in London last June, killing 71 people.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said an inspection later revealed similar panels had been used on sections of the two hospitals.

The board said the current cladding posed minimal danger to the public.

A spokesman said: ‘The board has been given assurances from the National Fire Officer that the hospitals are among the safest buildings in the UK in terms of fire engineering.

‘However, the decision was taken to replace panels to give extra reassurance to the public, our patients and our staff.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have agreed to fund these costs.’ The announcement came after North Lanarkshire Council unveiled plans to install sprinkler systems in its high-rise flats to improve safety for tenants.

The £10million scheme will apply to older buildings not originally fitted with the firesafety devices.