Inquiry over asbestos scare in hospital

Published on Sun 29 Jun 2008

Isebrook Hospital, Wellingborough, was forced to shut part of its site after contractors installing a burglar alarm disturbed asbestos contained in ceiling tiles. The closure affected as many as 3000 patients and staff and some areas are expected to be closed until July.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Primary Care trust said:

"The trust reported the incident immediately to the Health and Safety Executive and are now seeking advice from the experts to quickly resolve the situation. Affected areas will be cleaned and reopened as soon as possible.

"The trust will commission a review to learn all that it can from the incident and reduce the likelihood of this type of incident occurring in the future."

The presence of asbestos in public buildings such as hospitals and schools is a source of controversy. Some unions call for the asbestos to be removed while the Health and Safety Executive promotes a policy of management in situ, where it deems the risk of contamination to be low or the cost of removing asbestos to be prohibitively disruptive or expensive.