CLADDING used on the new town centre NHS centre has been checked by fire safety experts.

NHS Property Services, which manages the multi-million pound Swindon NHS Health Centre on Carfax Street, confirmed that the cladding on the building had been reviewed.

It is not believed to be of the more dangerous aluminium-type that has been blamed for fuelling the recent Grenfell Tower fire.

A spokesman for NHS Property Services said: “Currently, Swindon Health Centre does not fall into the ‘at risk’ categories with respect to cladding on buildings.

“However, as a precautionary measure, the cladding systems on the building have been reviewed and we can confirm they are not made of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) and therefore do not need testing.”

NHS trusts and hospitals across the country have sent in cladding samples to be tested by fire experts BRE.

Healthcare chiefs are concerned about the impact of a potentially devastating fire.

In June, dozens of lives were lost after a blaze gutted Grenfell Tower in West London.

It is believed that the aluminium cladding used on the building contained a polyethylene core that was not fully fire-retardant.

Following the fire, the Adver reported that construction firm Rydon – who were the main contractor behind the Grenfell Tower refurbishment – had built the £10million health centre on Swindon’s Carfax Street.

Today’s news that the health centre is not faced with the potentially dangerous cladding will come as relief to its patients.

The NHS centre opened in early June, serving more than 22,000 registered and 36,000 unregistered patients.

The centre is operated by Carfax Health Enterprise, but the building is owned and managed by NHS Property Services.

A spokesman for the organisation said: “Safety in our buildings is always our first priority and we are reviewing our estate to identify buildings constructed, or refurbished, with any cladding system similar to that used on Grenfell Tower.

“The Swindon Health Centre has also been inspected by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service since it opened. in June”

This week Great Western Hospital revealed that samples of aluminium cladding had been sent for testing.

If the cladding samples fail fire tests, the trust may be forced to remove the panels – as well as put in place more rigorous fire safety plans to reduce the risk of any future fire.

At Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital, patients were this week being moved out of the building’s trauma unit after the building’s cladding failed safety checks.

It is expected that the trauma unit could be closed for up to a year.