The latest news on the healthcare built environment and estates and facilities management sectors
Funding for new hospital is approved
CAPITAL funding for the new Ongar War Memorial Medical Centre has been secured. The project to redevelop the site of the Ongar and District War Memorial Hospital with the multi-million-pound medical centre remains on schedule, with building work expected to start in the autumn. Leigh Fleming, director of corporate services with NHS West Essex, said: “This is great news and means the new medical centre that is so desperately needed in Ongar has come another step closer. We remain on schedule to have the new centre open by Christmas 2011.” NHS West Essex is waiting to receive tender bids from five companies and it is anticipated the contract to build the medical centre will be awarded next month. Fleming said: “These are exciting times for healthcare in Ongar and the surrounding villages. The medical centre will be a landmark building from which a wide range of health services, some of which are not currently provided in Ongar, will be available.”
Modern renal unit opens in Exeter
The new haemodialysis unit has 24 stations
A £2.2m haemodialysis unit has opened at Heavitree Hospital in Exeter. The Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust commissioned the facility to provide more up-to-date facilities for renal patients. It boasts 24 new dialysis stations, with six single rooms, a waiting area, better parking facilities and a new self-care suite for those patients who prefer to control their own treatment regime. Up to 150 renal patients a year will benefit from the services. Trust chairwoman, Angela Ballatti, said: “It is 40 years since Exeter Kidney Unit was set up and what we see now reflects the progress achieved in the specialist care of our renal patients. Staff and patient representatives were involved in the design and planning of this unit. Provision of these specialist units in the heart of the community is bringing care closer to the home of patients.”
New centre will focus on diabetes care
“We know already that many benefits are reaped from having a health research activity close to where healthcare services are delivered”
THE Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry has been awarded £4.75m capital funding by the Wellcome-Wolfson Capital Awards initiative towards the development of a world-class Centre for Translational Medicine in Exeter. The centre forms part of the strategic expansion of the college and will be built with considerable additional financial support from the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and £13.5m from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and the University of Exeter. The service will focus on research aimed at improving understanding of the origin and causes of diabetes and related conditions. It will bring together, in one building, clinical and biomedical scientists working in human genetics, cell biology, human physiology and interventional studies, consolidating a wide range of research which currently takes place at various locations. The Centre for Translational Medicine will be based on the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital campus next to the existing Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry building and the MacLeod Diabetes and Endocrine Centre. NHS trust chief executive, Angela Pedder OBE, said: “We know already that many benefits are reaped from having a health research activity close to where healthcare services are delivered. Patients will benefit from this best practice and knowledge.” The centre will be a two-storey building covering 2943sq m, including biomedical laboratories and computing facilities, a clinical research area, office accommodation, meeting rooms and support areas. Construction is expected to begin in early spring 2012, with completion in summer 2013.
Cancer centre exhibits healing garden
An artist's impression of the garden, which includes environmentally-friendly installations and plants which have medicinal or therapeutic properties
FOR the eighth year running, The Christie Hospital in Manchester has exhibited at the RHS Tatton Flower Show. The leading cancer centre takes part in the show every year to raise awareness about its world-class expertise and to encourage public donations. The theme of its garden this year is ‘embracing tranquility,’ which sets out to represent the ethos of The Christie, focusing on elements of healing and restoration. The garden was designed exclusively by Elizabeth Daley who wanted to reflect the importance of a place of relaxation and rejuvenation for cancer patients. She said; “I took inspiration from a Carthusian monastic garden and designed a place that would recreate that atmosphere - a hidden refuge in a busy world. The stone is locally-sourced, the wood environmentally-friendly and all the plants have some medical or therapeutic qualities, such as lavender which is often made into essential oils and used in palliative care, and yew which contains taxins used in cancer treatment.”
Restaurant to be given a facelift
The refurbishment will include new furniture, state-of-the-art kitchen equipment, redecoration and new counters
AS PART of a partnership agreement between Serco and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, the Greenbank Restaurant at Plymouth Hospital is to undergo a major refurbishment. Following a competitive process, IFSE Shopfitter has been chosen to carry out works based on an innovative design by award-winning Cornwall-based firm, Absolute Design. The refurbishment will include contemporary new furniture, state-of-the-art kitchen equipment, redecoration and new counters designed to enhance the facilities and services available to visitors, patients and staff. The restaurant will be open from 7am-8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am-8pm at weekends and will serve locally-sourced, healthy and nutritious food. The revamp work started last week and will take place in two phases, with an anticipated completion date of 16 August.
GPs from surgeries in Peterborough and the surrounding areas have been treated to a special preview of the new City Hospital ahead of its opening in November. A group of 20 doctors representing GP surgeries in the city, as well as in Stamford, Rutland and the Deepings, were taken on a tour of the £335m building on the Edith Cavell Campus at Bretton. During the trip they were able to see for themselves the hospital’s new state-of-the-art equipment, as well as preview diagnostic imaging technologies. The trust’s project director, Angela Broekhuizen, said: “It was a great opportunity to show our local GPs just how the new hospital will help us improve our patients’ experience and treatment.” Representatives from developer, Brookfield Construction, were on hand to talk about the new building, while equipment provider, Asteral, gave demonstrations. Broekhuizen said: “It was a very successful event and one that we will be looking to repeat later on in the year to give other GPs the chance to see how hospital care in the city is changing.”
Inside the new £6m facility at The Royal Oldham Hospital
A £6m specialist facility for patients with leukemia, lymphomas and a range of other tumours and blood disorders has opened at The Royal Oldham Hospital. The new Clinical Haematology Unit, known as ward F11, is based on the first floor of a new building at the hospital and is now one of the largest haematology units in the region, comprising 22 inpatient beds, 11 individual en-suite side rooms, and a dedicated day case unit. Dr Vivek Sen, consultant haematologist at The Pennine Acute Trust, said: “We can’t overstate how important this new facility will be for patients with haematological disorders. It will allow them to receive their care in a much more co-ordinated way within a state-of-the-art facility that provides a level of service previously found only in bigger teaching hospitals.” As a result of the opening of the facility, the trust, which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital, is making changes to the way clinical haematology services are delivered to patients. All inpatient clinical services will now be delivered at the new facility, while day case patients will continue to be treated at both North Manchester General Hospital and at The Royal Oldham Hospital. Len Fielding, the trust’s directorate manager for pathology, said: “Bringing all our inpatients to The Royal Oldham Hospital will ensure our clinical haematology services are provided in a high-quality patient-focused unit. As the new unit is based at Oldham, where the central pathology laboratory is also situated, it will enable our haematology doctors to interact more easily with the laboratory staff.”
Minister opens facility for disabled children
A £3.95m facility has opened in Iveagh in Northern Ireland as part of a plan to improve health and well-being services for children with learning disabilities. Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, last week officially launched the new eight-bed treatment and assessment centre situated close to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. It will provide a full range of nursing, social work, speech and language therapy, occupation therapy and physiotherapy, as well as medical and dental treatment and staff are also providing a schools service to ensure children’s well-being is maintained when they are in the community. McGimpsey said: “This unique facility was planned in consultation with young people in care and provides the latest in treatment and care in a safe, homely environment. It ensures that children with learning disabilities are assessed and treated in the community. This is a key step towards our ultimate goal of ensuring that anyone with a learning disability is promptly and suitably treated in the community and no one remains unnecessarily in hospital.” The investment is part of ongoing plans to improve primary and community care services across Northern Ireland. Commenting on the design of the centre, McGimpsey said: “I have been impressed by the beautifully-landscaped garden areas, which no doubt provide quiet, therapeutic outdoor spaces for children to enjoy. The calm, child-friendly living areas within the centre offer a welcoming atmosphere for both children and their families.”
Mobile theatre reduces waiting times
“By increasing theatre capacity we will be able to treat patients more quickly and reduce waiting times”
A TEMPORARY mobile theatre has been installed at Conquest Hospital in east Sussex to help reduce waiting times for patients. The Vanguard unit is now up and running and will be used mainly for orthopaedic and maxillofacial procedures. It comprises of an operating theatre with a laminar flow system, which blows sterile air onto the operation site to help reduce the risk of infection. It also has recovery and anaesthetic rooms and comes fully staffed with theatre nurses, although the procedures will be carried out by surgeons from the East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust. As well as enabling the trust to treat more patients, the addition of a laminar flow system will also provide an opportunity to improve the existing theatres at both Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne District General, where managers are looking to install similar technology. Deborah Pook, senior general manager in surgery and anaesthetics at the hospital, said: “The unit is a fully-functioning theatre with air flows and new equipment and is the sort that is used extensively around the country. Our waiting times are currently on par with the rest of the country, but we want to get them down to lower than the national average. By increasing theatre capacity we will be able to treat patients more quickly and reduce waiting times. The extra space will also allow us to carry out improvement work on the theatres at Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH without us having to lose any capacity.”
A TOTAL of 41 energy-efficient lifts have been purchased from Kone for the new Southmead Hospital in Bristol. The contract was awarded by Carillion, the main contractor for the €500m PPP scheme and covers lifts featuring Kone’s regenerative drive systems, which can recover up to 20% of total energy consumption, reducing the trust’s carbon footprint and providing cost savings. The technology will also help the hospital trust reach a BREEAM energy rating of ‘excellent’ for the completed site. “We are delighted to have been chosen by Carillion for this exciting development,” said Noud Veeger, Kone’s executive vice president and area director for Central and North Europe. “The award strengthens our good relationship and we are looking forward to working together to deliver an outstanding hospital for the people of Bristol.” The new 800-bed super hospital will concentrate on acute services, currently provided at Southmead and Frenchay hospitals, and will provide world-class healthcare to more than 500,000 people in the area. Advanced construction work started in August last year and the hospital is due to open in early 2014.
“The garden is a major improvement to the site and will do a lot to improve the experience of patients and visitors”
A NEW garden has been unveiled as part of improvements to Shotley Bridge Community Hospital in County Durham. The garden in the heart of the hospital grounds includes professional planting, artworks and a water feature and was designed in partnership with the Shotley Bridge Community Hospital Support Group, the hospital’s League of Friends and local councillors. The work was part of a wider refurbishment programme across the hospital. Debbie Edwards, spokeswoman for NHS County Durham and Darlington, said: “The garden is a major improvement to the site and will do a lot to improve the experience of patients and visitors. The hospital redevelopment is part of a plan to improve health services for people from Derwentside and beyond and allows us to bring valuable services closer to local people.” The garden is situated next to the main waiting area for outpatients and is accessed through large patio doors. Artist-designed seating, concealed lighting and a range of interesting plants aim to make it a valuable community resource.
ALSO IN THE NEWS: Patients and visitors living in Gosport and Fareham can now make use of a new shuttle bus to get to Queen Alexandra Hospital. The service been launched by Community Action Fareham in partnership with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and NHS Hampshire and starts at Gosport War Memorial Hospital….
