New lighting in schools, refurbishing a local wellbeing centre, creating crisis packs and wellbeing bags, running education events and donating almost £60,000 to community causes are some of the ways that the construction company building the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) have delivered social value to the local area.
The construction of the 70-bed purpose-built rehabilitation centre near Loughborough is being carried out by Integrated Health Projects (IHP), a joint venture between Sir Robert McAlpine and VINCI Building, and investing in the local community has been high on their priorities since the beginning of the programme.
The NRC will be staffed and run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) when it opens to our first patients later this year and aims to transform rehabilitation in the UK.
Through their social value scheme, IHP contractors have volunteered 988 hours of their time within a 20-mile radius of the NRC and paid for the materials to deliver a variety of projects.
These included:
- Renovating the lighting system at a local school to reduce energy costs.
- Refurbishing the interior of the Loughborough Wellbeing Centre.
- Mentoring students at Nottingham Trent University.
- Running 50 education events, including interactive workshops and career fairs.
- Volunteering at local scout groups for activities, games, hikes and challenges.
- Providing lighting and sound support for local school Christmas shows.
- Donated 263 ‘crisis packs’ to the Emergency Department at NUH in partnership with Redthread charity, containing items such as clean underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash and soap for patients in urgent need.
- Donated 60 ‘wellbeing bags’ to Loughborough Wellbeing Centre to support their clients over the Christmas period.
In addition, IHP has supported the local area by employing more than 150 local employees and 8 apprentices, and running 41 weeks’ worth of work placements for people aspiring to work in the construction industry.
Miriam Duffy, NRC Director, said: “The commitment to social value was one of the key factors in our decision to select IHP and we’re delighted to see the impact they have had on our local communities.
“The NRC is about improving the lives of our patients through rehabilitation following a serious illness or injury. I’m pleased that the building of such an important centre has also had a positive impact locally.”
One key project has been refurbishing the lighting system at the nearby St Peters Church of England Primary School in Loughborough to help them to save 27% of their annual energy costs.
This project was especially fitting as the design of the NRC uses modern methods of construction and will be the first operational carbon neutral NHS building in the country.
T-Clarke, the company which has been completing Mechanical and Electrical installation, donated a total of 332 hours to replace all the faulty equipment with newer and more energy efficient lighting.
Anton Melia from T-Clarke said: “The school’s existing lighting system was an outdated fluorescent installation that was not energy efficient and had also been causing the school a few issues.
Following a report by an energy expert, we were approached under social value responsibility to see if we could aid with bringing this both up to date and reduce both energy usage and carbon dioxide production.
“Together with our partner Lightcraft Technology, we installed a point for point LED based solution – resulting in a 27% energy reduction and a significant improvement to the learning environment for the children.”
Another important project carried out by IHP as part of their social value commitments saw a refurbishment of the Loughborough Wellbeing Centre which provides a safe and supportive place for adults experiencing mental health problems.
The refurbishment included installing sustainable, energy-efficient lighting, reconfiguring the interior space, making acoustic enhancements to make the space more peaceful, and created a new café area. This project is still on going and will be finished in the coming months.
Numerous contractors from the project donated 70 hours and £3,267 to make the project possible.
Helen Carter, CEO at the Loughborough Wellness Centre, said: “Through the works provided so far, we have already seen a difference with new cost-effective lighting being installed and creating a new cafe space for our Wellbeing Cafe within our building.
“We are so grateful to have the support of IHP, Clear Engagement, T-Clarke, and Sherwood Interiors from the construction of the National Rehabilitation Centre to enable these improvements to be made. The works that you and your team have carried out have been greatly appreciated and have created a calmer space for our mental health charity beneficiaries which has been very well received by all.”
The £105million NRC programme will create a specialist facility combines NHS care with research and innovation, all on the same site as the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre and is part of the New Hospital Programme.
Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
