Bosses at an East Lancashire hospital have moved to reassure patients the building is safe after it was identified as containing concrete that poses a risk of collapse.
Royal Blackburn Hospital was named as one of the buildings that had been constructed using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), alongside hundreds of schools throughout the UK, and also a number of court buildings.
RAAC is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but is now assessed to be at risk of collapse at the end of its 30-year lifespan.
On Thursday, the Department for Education said it had contacted 104 more schools after 52 of the 156 educational settings containing the concrete took protective steps so far this year.
Two Lancashire high schools were forced to remain closed as the new term started this week while inspections were carried out on the safety of their buildings.
READ MORE: Two schools in Lancashire have closed due to RAAC fears
It is now reported Royal Blackburn Hospital, as well as Blackpool Victoria Hospital, contain RAAC, with worries over structural safety.
However, bosses at Royal Blackburn have said the majority of RAAC has been removed from the main area of the roof where it was identified, and further inspections are being carried out in a different part of the building.
Tony McDonald, executive director of integrated care, partnerships and resilience at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Following extensive work, the majority of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has now been safely removed from the main area of Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital roof.
"A further area has been identified, above an administration block, and these panels have also been assessed.
“A qualified surveyor has confirmed there are no current defects, and we have a full inspection and monitoring process in place to check there is no deterioration in the structure to ensure the team, patients and visitors are safe.”
Almost £700 million has already been allocated for NHS hospitals in England with RAAC issues, but courts, police stations and prisons could also be affected, with the government ordering safety checks on all court buildings built in the 1990s.
Nearby Airedale General Hospital, in Steeton, West Yorkshire, which serves parts of East Lancashire, is to be torn down and rebuilt after being almost entirely built of RAAC in the 1960s, with the hospital building crumbling.
Preston Crown Court was built in 1996 and the Ministry of Justice said today (September 5) it had “already carried out extensive surveys on all court buildings erected within this time and were satisfied they were all safe”.
Burnley Combined Court, built in 1981, is also believed to be safe.
The only court building identified as being at risk was Harrow Crown Court.
Downing Street said there were no plans to publish a list of public buildings that contain RAAC.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “The advice we’ve had across the piece is the way to manage RAAC will vary depending on the circumstances in which it’s found.
“We have mitigations in place across the NHS estate, equally, they also have estate managers who monitor the conditions of buildings and that’s not the case in education settings, as you might expect in a small primary.
“And that’s why the approach is differing, depending on settings.
“There is work being led by Jeremy Quin, Minister for the Cabinet Office. on bringing together all the information we have about RAAC in public buildings and the Prime Minister led a meeting on that just yesterday, and he and Mr Quin will continue to lead the cross-government work on that.
“But on the NHS estate and in courts, the understanding of that is well-advanced and mitigations are being put in place.”
The Ministry of Justice began work “some months ago” on examining the impact on prisons, the spokesperson said.
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