Raising safety standards in hospital construction

The Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 was a pivotal moment that reshaped how the UK construction sector approaches building safety, says Mandeep Bansal, Technical Advocacy director at Knauf. He says that for healthcare estate professionals, hospital managers, engineers, architects, surveyors, and contractors, the lessons are clear: safety and performance cannot be compromised. Delivering resilient, safe healthcare environments requires a knowledgeable, fully competent, and accountable supply chain working seamlessly at every stage.

The introduction of the Building Safety Act (BSA), alongside the new Code for Construction Product Information, has raised the bar on competency, quality assurance, traceability, and transparency throughout a building’s lifecycle.

The Act’s primary focus is on residential buildings. However, certain provisions apply to healthcare facilities by virtue of secondary legislation (Higher-Risk Buildings — Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions Regulations 2023) which is now in force.

A ‘higher-risk building’ is defined as a building at least 18 metres in height, or one that has at least seven storeys and contains at least two residential units. These buildings need to comply with the new stringent higher-risk buildings regime during the design and construction phase of the project.

Although healthcare facilities do not need to comply with the occupational phase duties imposed by the BSA, they are subject to the new approval process which includes a three-stage gateway approval system.

For architects specialising in designing practical and comfortable healthcare centres, this requires confidence in specifying and managing the installation of construction materials that meet stringent fire safety standards.

Building Safety Act

The Building Safety Act introduces a rigorous framework to ensure higher-risk buildings including healthcare facilities are designed, built, and managed to uncompromising safety and quality standards.

A defining element of the Act is the requirement on all those in the construction industry to be competent to do their job properly.

Every individual involved, from specifiers to installers, must be demonstrably trained and assessed as fully competent to execute their responsibilities safely.

The accompanying Code for Construction Product Information strengthens transparency and traceability, requiring clear, verifiable data on how construction products are marketed, tested, specified, supplied, and installed. This ensures the supply chain not only delivers compliant products but is accountable for their safe application.

For healthcare estates professionals, this transforms how projects are planned and managed — raising confidence that buildings will protect patients, staff, and visitors by meeting consistently high standards, supported by a competent supply chain.

One of the most critical challenges under the new framework is specifying materials that comply with rigorous fire safety regulations, especially during Gateway 2 — the detailed design approval phase by the Building Safety Regulator.

Healthcare estates professionals must ensure that every product and system specified has clear, complete supporting documentation, including fire resistance test data, to prove compliance with performance standards. This avoids costly delays and supports smoother planning approvals.

Construction product test data is crucial in assessing performance, safety, and compliance, but so too is understanding how the system performs as a whole.

These technical documents confirm how products perform under fire when combined in assemblies but require specialist understanding to evaluate nuances such as interface testing between wall systems and fire doors, or fire resistance duration implications.

Interpreting reports

In 2025, Knauf conducted a study that highlights a significant number of construction professionals face challenges in interpreting Fire Test reports, a critical step in meeting the requirements necessary to progress through Gateway 2 without delays.

These supporting documents objectively confirm product performance, when installed correctly, and provide detailed, verifiable data, enabling confident decisions that meet regulatory demands but understanding the report is key.

Knauf has developed its ‘5As guide’ to help professionals navigate this process.

Classification guide

This guide walks practitioners through fire classification reports and fire resistance test reports, clarifying key sections and how to apply findings to material specifications. It is part of our wider commitment to knowledge sharing and elevating sector-wide competency.

The 5As guide, created through close collaboration between Jimmy Collins, head of Technical, and Liam Poole, head of Marketing at Knauf, provides a clear and structured approach to understanding and interpreting test reports, to support compliance and informed decision-making. The guide covers:

• Authenticity — Where was the product tested?
• Age — When was the system test?
• Accuracy — What standard was the system tested to?
• Applicability — How applicable is the data to the project?
• Availability — Where to access the information?

Closing knowledge gaps

Could bridging the knowledge gaps in the process help accelerate professionals through Gateway 2? We think so. This knowledge gap can cause uncertainty, delays, and requests for further information during the Gateway 2 process, hindering timely approvals and costing at least 12 weeks delay and adding millions to the project delivery.

Empowering professionals to confidently read and interpret fire classification and fire test reports is fundamental for efficient Gateway 2 approval. Better know-how will certainly reduce bottlenecks, speed up decision-making, and ultimately support safer healthcare building outcomes.

Knauf also provides other practical guidance on interpreting these often-complex documents with CPD workshops, technical literature, and one-to-one consultations, reducing uncertainty and enabling confident, compliant material choices.

These digital tools help ensure specification choices align seamlessly with the Golden Thread’s principles of transparency and traceability throughout the project lifecycle.

Continuous development

Knauf has embedded continuous learning into its corporate culture for years. More recently, our transition to a competency model has been relatively smooth.

This ensures employees and customer-facing teams are consistently upskilled with the critical knowledge and standards required.

We will be launching our own CPD on how to read fire classification and fire resistance test reports for drywall systems in 2026. In the meantime, we provide hands-on training courses at our UK Learning Zones in Sittingbourne and Immingham, which focus on installation best practices, fire safety awareness, and competency to support quality assurance across their supply chain. Trainer competency is also monitored.

Driving competency and transparency requires continuous collaboration, knowledge sharing and improvement. This needs to be coupled with:

• Investment in training infrastructure and expert delivery teams.
• Providing transparent accessible product performance data to help professionals make informed decisions.
• Development of schemes to enable manufacturers, contractors, architects, and estates managers to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration that will improve standards and consistency in safety delivery across the sector.

Healthcare challenges

Healthcare environments must adapt quickly to shifting patient needs, technological advances, and unexpected surges in demand (such as those seen during the last pandemic).

In addition, because complete evacuation of healthcare sites is often not feasible because many occupants may have reduced mobility, hospitals rely on compartmentalisation, where fire doors and compartment lines contain fire and smoke, buying time for progressive horizontal and vertical evacuation.

Given the wide variations in wall composition and fire resistance, accredited testing is essential to validate performance.

Therefore, early and close collaboration between designers, contractors and wall system manufacturers, are essential to ensure openings are correctly specified and tested to maintain vital fire compartmentation.

This proactive coordination is essential not only for new builds but also crucially for refurbishment 
projects to meet evolving fire safety standards and 
protect lives.

Healthcare estates managers and facilities professionals should:

• Demand transparency: Seek supporting test documentation, from the manufacturer, including examples of fire classification and fire test reports for products and systems conducted at UKAS-accredited laboratories or equivalent recognised facilities under the ILAC MRA.
• Evidence competency: Gather clear records of supplier and contractor training, assessments, and ongoing skill verification.
• Engage early and collaborate: Work closely with manufacturers and contractors from project inception to confirm tested product performance and compatibility.
• Leverage manufacturer training: Partner with trusted suppliers who provide validated training programmes for contractors before site engagement.
• Maintain continuous oversight: Adopt consistent review procedures to monitor competency and installation quality throughout the project and into building maintenance.
• Promote a culture of improvement: Encourage open feedback loops and knowledge sharing among all stakeholders to continually raise standards both digitally and on-site.

Collaboration is essential

The legacy of Grenfell has ushered in a new era where competency and transparency are foundational to building safety. For healthcare estates, this progression represents a valuable opportunity to deliver safer, more reliable buildings that protect staff, patients, and visitors alike.

Knauf is aiding this change by investing in robust testing of their products making information clear and easy to access via NBS and Knauf Systemfinder, through investment in workforce competency and providing supportive training partnerships and CPDs to support professionals at every stage.

This collective commitment to knowledge, transparency, and proactive collaboration will not only safeguard the healthcare estates of tomorrow but allow key professionals to confidently meet the challenges of Gateway 2, and accelerate the process.