Experts Call For Review Of Material’s Presence In Public Buildings

By Rob Dixon

Asbestos lawyers have welcomed the decision to close the Heanor Memorial Hospital in Derbyshire while work is undertaken to remove the deadly material from the building.

Derby Telegraph reports that brown asbestos material was discovered during an inspection by staff and patients have now been moved predominantly to Ilkeston Community Hospital as work to remove it gets underway.

The director of operations for Derbyshire Community Health Services has stressed that the findings pose no risks to the health and safety of patients or visitors to the site.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist asbestos-related disease team have vast expertise in representing both victims and the families of those who have passed away after battles with mesothelioma, the cancer of the lining of the lung related to exposure to asbestos.

Adrian Budgen, a Partner and national head of the team of experts at Irwin Mitchell, said: “It is very welcome to see precautionary measures and clear steps taken to tackle the presence of asbestos in this public building.

“While the material remains commonly associated with industrial environments, we are contacted regularly by people who have developed illnesses as a result of exposure to asbestos in buildings such as hospitals or schools.

“This latest case only serves to strengthen the calls for some comprehensive action by the Government to address the presence of asbestos in schools and hospitals, including identification of the steps which can be taken to better manage it or even remove the material from such sites.

“The dangers of asbestos are so widely known that inaction is simply not an option.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in relation to Asbestos Compensation