CLADDING on York Hospital has been checked by engineers as part of a fire safety review after the Grenfell Tower disaster.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the city’s hospital, Malton Community Hospital and Scarborough Hospital, was told to review the cladding on its buildings by NHS Improvement - the body set up to oversee the running of foundation trusts.

A number of inquiries are underway to investigate the fire at Grenfell Tower on June 14.

The inferno is believed to have killed at least 80 people after cladding installed on the exterior of the building as part of a project to refurbish the block, in Kensington, West London, caught fire after the blaze initially started in one of the building’s 127 flats.

Over the weekend, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt instructed every hospital with inpatients to undergo safety checks within 36 hours and a check of York Hospital’s cladding was carried out.

A spokeswoman for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “These checks have involved identifying which buildings have cladding, what type of cladding it is, and whether or not we have up-to-date fire risk assessments for all of our buildings (we do).

“We have completed these checks, and are awaiting further guidance from NHS Improvement.”

The spokeswoman told The Press the cladding has not been removed and fire safety checks have not been carried out because this is only being done to buildings higher than 18 metres at the moment.

The spokeswoman added: “We’ve not removed and tested the cladding, as this is being prioritised to high rise properties and none of our buildings are in this category.”

A spokesperson from NHS Improvement said: “Fire safety should be an absolute priority for the NHS.

“That’s why we are checking with all NHS providers of care in England that they have identified any risks and are taking any action necessary – both in terms of cladding specifically, but also on fire risks more broadly.”