Building firm to pay £5m over ‘defects’ at major cancer centre

A construction firm has been ordered to pay £5m after fire and electrical safety defects were found at one of the NHS’s largest cancer centres.

Lendlease was responsible for the design and build of the Bexley Wing at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds, under a private finance initiative deal nearly 20 years ago.

The building houses Leeds Cancer Centre, one of the largest in the country, and some other services. It is run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.

Concerns were later raised over fire and electrical safety in the plant room, where the building’s power supply is situated, according to a ruling published by the technology and construction court.

This included a lack of fire separation between the primary and secondary source of power, which risked a single incident disabling them both.

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Source: HSJ, 16 January 2023