Work yet to begin on improving cladding safety at John Radcliffe Trauma Unit

More than 50 trauma patients were moved to the hospital’s main building when the Trauma Unit’s external cladding was found to pose a serious safety risk in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

At the time it was believed that improvements to the Trauma Unit would take up to a year to carry out.

However, this week Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) Trust has admitted that planning work is still in its early stages, while costs remain largely unknown.

Executive director Peter Knight said: “The trust has received an initial report on correcting trauma unit fire engineering issues, which are related to fire compartmentalisation, patient egress, and façade cladding.

“We have now commissioned architects to develop detailed engineering design work.

“This will then give us a clearer idea of the costs and deliverability of any work.

“This work will take place over the next four months, with a review in August.

“Once the design is finalised, the board will then consider if the works are affordable and achievable.”

The county's health watchdog board Healthwatch Oxfordshire said it was concerned over the timescales for moving trauma patients back into the unit.

Executive director Rosalind Pearce added: "This must be increasing the pressures on bed availability in the hospital.

“However, patient safety is of paramount importance, and given the reasons for the trauma unit wards’ closure, it is vitally important that OUH take all steps necessary to ensure that the facility is safe and fit for purpose when it is brought back into use.

“We have already pressed the trust on the amount of time being taken on this and we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that this arrangement is not in place any longer than is necessary.”

Although the fire safety report last year deemed the unit was not suitable for inpatients, the ground floor outpatient clinic remained open and the upper floors are still in use as office and storage space.