Cladding at Oxford's Churchill and Children's hospitals to be removed

Hourly fire safety checks will be carried out at the Children's Hospital

Cladding is to be removed from two hospitals after it was discovered the wrong materials were used.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it would remove sections of cladding at the Children's Hospital and the Churchill Hospital from September.

Hourly fire safety checks will also be carried out at the Children's Hospital until the work is done.

But Jason Dorsett, from the trust, said the buildings were safe to use.

"I would like to assure patients, visitors and staff... that current fire safety standards are being met at both hospitals," chief finance officer Mr Dorsett said.

Rob MacDougall, chief fire officer at Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We have been working closely with the trust and its private finance initiative providers to ensure that patients, staff and everyone else using these premises are safe while this work is carried out.

"A comprehensive range of fire safety measures at the Children's Hospital are in place and we are satisfied with the arrangements."

Work will also be carried out at the Cancer and Haematology Centre

The decision to carry out the work followed routine building surveys.

The facades of the Children's Hospital, based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, "were not built with the cladding specified", the trust discovered.

Sections of panelling in four areas of the building will be removed over a 12-week period and, where necessary, later replaced.

During this time "hourly fire safety walkabout checks" will be carried out to "enforce good practice and housekeeping measures", the trust said.

Meanwhile, cladding will also be examined, removed and replaced at the Cancer and Haematology Centre at the Churchill, over three months, with work at the front of the building due to continue into 2020.

In August 2017, two trauma wards at the John Radcliffe Hospital were relocated when safety concerns arose after the Grenfell Tower fire in London.