Watford General Hospital
New Acute Admissions Unit
"The development of the Acute Admissions Unit will play a crucial part in securing the very best hospital services for the 21st Century."
The Requirement
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is undertaking a £34m reorganisation and modernisation of acute services in the area. A new model of care is being employed to improve the patient experience with rapid, consultant-led diagnosis for emergency cases and treatment closer to home.
The Solution
The £25m ProCure21 contract at Watford General Hospital has now been completed by Medicinq Osborne. The project includes a new Acute Admissions Unit (AAU), which has been constructed off site by Yorkon in a £12m contract - believed to be the UK's largest modular building contract in the healthcare sector.
The scheme for West Hertfordshire NHS Trust is believed to be the largest AAU in the country.
Designed by Murphy Philipps Architects, the three-storey building has provided 120 beds for emergency admissions, two cardiac catheterisation laboratories, diagnostics including x-ray, ultrasound and CT scanner, pharmacy manufacture and robotics, library and a roof-top plant room.
The building was manufactured off site in York. 150 steel-framed modules were delivered to site and craned into position, complete with partitions, electrics, plumbing, sanitary ware and finishes already in place.
The new AAU is linked to the existing hospital, and has been finished in wedgewood blue with contrasting white render and aluminium cladding for a contemporary appearance.
Comments from the Project Team
Graham Ramsay, Medical Director, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust:
"We were delighted to work in partnership with Medicinq Osborne and Yorkon on this exciting project. 2009 will see a major improvement in hospital care in West Hertfordshire and the development of the Acute Admissions Unit will play a crucial part in securing the very best hospital services for the 21st Century."
"We are particularly pleased that we chose an off-site modular method of construction for the new building as it significantly reduced disruption to our patients, staff and the local community."
Stephen Cottrell, Operations Manager of Medicinq Osborne:
"From the inception of this project the ethos of ProCure21 of partnership and openness has been prevalent - working alongside the Trust, hospital user groups, design consultants and specialist subcontractors to achieve a guaranteed maximum price for the project."
"We were delighted to be involved with this project - no doubt our experience of working in the hospital over the past three years on other P21 schemes was a major factor in reaching this milestone."
David Johnson, Director and General Manager of Yorkon:
"We were very pleased to work with Medicinq Osborne on this project for West Herts. Off-site construction offers many advantages to contractors as well as to building end users."
"We were able to start manufacture and fitting out of the new AAU before demolition work had been carried out on site. This parallel working saved around six months on the programme time, allowing the hospital site to remain in use for longer and the new building to be open and treating patients much earlier, and with no compromise on quality."
