Remedial works now underway
Skanska is having to carry out remedial work to a hospital it built a decade ago because of fears it may have been constructed without adequate fire protection.
University Hospital Coventry at Walsgrave was completed back in 2006 under a PFI contract costing 拢334m.
But a hospital safety review has revealed that its fire protection measures are inadequate.
David Eltringham, chief operating officer at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, said it had 鈥渓earned of some potential issues with the infrastructure鈥� which prompted the internal investigation.
The investigation found that 鈥渋n the unlikely event of a fire, the structures to prevent it spreading were not as robust as those specified in the original plan for the building鈥�, Eltringham added.
He said: 鈥淲e have worked with our PFI provider to develop a programme of remedial works, which are now underway.
鈥淯ntil they are completed, we have taken steps to strengthen our already robust fire safety procedures.鈥�
West Midlands Fire Service said it was working with the hospital and had an action plan to upgrade fire standards.
Skanska said it had no further comment to add beyond what the trust had said.
Work on the 1,200 bed hospital started in 2002, which at the time construction began was the largest PFI hospital in the country.
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