WORK to fix 'serious' fire safety risks at the John Radcliffe Hospital have still not started - almost 18 months after part of it closed in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

And hospital chiefs say a timetable and costs to set right dangerous cladding and other problems at the Trauma Unit won't be known until August.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had thought that wards on the upper floors would be closed for about 12 months after a report revealed the type of cladding used was similar to Grenfell Tower.

However, this week the trust revealed it had still not worked out what needs to be done to improve fire safety - though OUH chief finance officer Jason Dorsett admitted the cost would be ‘substantial’.

He said: "It is likely to be the summer before we are clearer on the chosen options, the prospects for financing the project and the timescale for delivering it.”

The building has capacity for 52 beds and had been used to house some of the most seriously ill patients at the hospital before uppers floors were shut to patients in August 2017.

All inpatients were moved from the three-storey building into other areas of the hospital after a report by fire safety experts Trenton Fire found the building had been putting patients at risk for 15 years.

Read again: All hands on deck as 52 inpatients moved from Trauma Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital

Commissioned in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy in which 72 people died, the report revealed serious concerns over the building’s cladding, as well as further concerns over the alarm system and evacuation lifts at the building.

In May last year executive director at OUH, Peter Knight, said the trust had received an initial report on correcting trauma unit fire engineering issues, and had commissioned architects to develop ‘detailed engineering design work’ with a review of the proposals set to take place in August 2017.

Speaking this week, however, Mr Dorsett, said: “We have been doing some very detailed options work on what is needed to bring the trauma building fully back into use.

“This work is nearly complete and will then need to be considered by the trust board.

“Once we have made a decision about what option to pursue, we will then need to find the funding to complete the works, which is likely to be substantial and to require borrowing, which will also take time."

Read again: Work yet to begin on improving cladding safety at John Radcliffe Trauma Unit - May 2018

In 2012 the John Radcliffe Hospital became a Major Trauma Centre for the Thames Valley region providing treatment to the most seriously injured and complex patients.

In total 52 patients were moved from the Trauma Unit in a major operation to two refurbished wards in the main John Radcliffe building.

OUH would not confirm how or if the inpatient service has been affected by the move with Mr Dorsett saying only: “It is good value for money to bring this existing building back into full use and so we are seeking ways of doing that.”

Read also: Major Trauma Centre like the John Radcliffe Hospital have saved hundreds of lives

Although the fire safety report in 2017 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.

The trust has also previously confirmed that, while concerns had been raised, the cladding of one building at the Churchill Hospital does meet the ‘functional requirements of Building Regulations’.

A spokesman for OUH added: “However the trust, like other public bodies, is continuing to review this in light of the Grenfell Tower fire and updated regulations.”