Fire Safety In The Health And Care Sector Following Grenfell

• Published date: 07 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Government, Public Sector, Real Estate and Construction, Government Contracts, Procurement & PPP, Construction & Planning
• Law Firm: Mills & Reeve
• Author: Mr Matt Bromilow

Following the Grenfell disaster in June 2017, many of those with an interest in multi-storey, multi-occupied, residential buildings over 18 metres in height have been carrying out investigations on their buildings to ascertain if, from a fire safety perspective, they were built in accordance with the Building Regulations in force at the time of construction. Anyone who has been following the Grenfell inquiry in any detail will be unsurprised to hear that they have discovered that many of these buildings were not built in accordance with the Building Regulations in force at the time of construction.

The Government has issued advice regarding multi-occupied, multi-storey residential buildings. It has made it clear that its advice covers overnight patient accommodation, for example, hospitals. The advice states that where a building has cladding similar to Grenfell (ACM cladding (and other metal composite cladding) with an unmodified polyethylene filler (cat 3 in screening tests)), it presents a significant fire hazard at any height with any form of insulation and action to remove such cladding should be taken as soon as possible. It says it has advice that such buildings would not have met Building Regulations.

The Government has also advised that in any other multi-storey, multi occupied residential building (or overnight patient accommodation), over 18 metres in height, or at any height where residents would need significant assistance to evacuate, which therefore includes care homes, the cladding and/or external wall systems should be checked and, if necessary remediation works should be undertaken, in some cases as soon as possible. Following the discovery of such fire safety defects, many have been seeking legal redress from those responsible for designing and constructing the building (in most cases the design and build contractor), and in this article we set out some of the key considerations for those involved in such claims.

So far as hospitals are concerned, it has been reported that there were 8 hospitals with Grenfell style cladding and 6 of these, in late 2020, had no plans for remediation.

In relation to care homes, the Public Account Committee reported in September 2020 that the government had said it was confident there were no high-rise care homes (above 18 metres in height) with dangerous cladding.

However, while the government estimates there are around 40,000 care homes, sheltered homes and hospitals below 18 metres in height'of which...