PREMIER MODULAR AWARDED £9.8M PROJECT FOR NEW UNIT AT ST PETER’S HOSPITAL

Premier Modular, one of the UK’s leading offsite construction specialists, has been awarded a £9.8m project for Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to build a 62-bed Priority Assessment Unit at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey.

Main contractor Premier will be supported by strategic delivery partner Claritas Group. Due for completion by summer 2021, this fast-track building project will reduce the programme by up to nine months compared to in-situ construction. The speed of offsite manufacturing and fitting out will allow earlier occupation to support the increased demand for emergency care.

Designed by BDP and delivery architects P+HS, the two-storey scheme will provide a new Priority Assessment Unit. It will be linked to the Emergency Department and will accommodate 62 patient bays, nurse stations, staff rooms, seminar rooms, laundry, clean utilities, and kitchenettes. The new unit will be fitted with medical gases, datacomms, security systems, CCTV, nurse call systems, and fully integrated with the main hospital.

Andrew Grimes, Assistant Director of Property and Capital Development, said, “This project forms part of the Trust’s emergency pathway redevelopment programme, which is now underway, and responds to the urgent national need to increase capacity in emergency care.”

“Offsite construction means less time on site and therefore much less disruption to patient care, which is a priority for the Trust. The Premier solution met the technical constraints of this site, particularly to provide seamless connections at two levels to maintain patient flows between the existing Emergency Department. Premier has demonstrated the flexibility and design capabilities to engineer a bespoke solution for this challenging site, with all the speed, quality and value benefits of offsite construction. We look forward to the successful delivery of this much needed new unit.”

Akshay Khera, Architecture Director at BDP, said, “This project is an example of how striking and unique architectural design, that is also in keeping with its surroundings, can be successfully married with delivery via offsite construction, bringing many benefits including speed, quality and efficiency.”

Dan Allison, Director of Premier Modular, said, “This scheme is ideally suited to offsite construction. It allows the Trust to meet an urgent need to expand capacity for emergency care and the development of a very constrained site. The new building will be located in a courtyard and close to the Emergency Department which will require careful logistical planning. We will be maximising construction and fitout work offsite to radically reduce disruption to patient care. This means we will only be on-site for just over six months.”

The offsite solution has been engineered to maintain patient flows between the existing facilities and the new unit, with continuous level floors throughout. Externally, the assessment unit will be finished in vertical rain-screen cladding in shades of grey and brickwork to complement adjacent buildings.

The building envelope has been designed to be highly thermally efficient to reduce running costs and carbon emissions, and the picture windows will have solar control glass and integral brise soleil sunshading. A building energy management system (BeMS) will optimise energy use.

The project was procured through the Crown Commercial Service framework.

Premier develops bespoke building solutions for highly constrained hospital sites which may be completely inaccessible for in-situ construction. Existing facilities can also be expanded rapidly and cost effectively, both vertically and horizontally. Its specialist healthcare teams have the expertise to provide purpose-designed facilities for primary care, acute services, and mental healthcare.

Premier uses advanced offsite technology to construct fast-track healthcare schemes of the highest quality, with less disruption to staff and patients, improved quality, shorter build programmes, and greater assurance of completion on time and on budget.