Public Sector : Healthcare News

Laing O’Rourke to Complete Royal Liverpool Hospital Project

The managing contract to complete the troubled Royal Liverpool hospital project has been handed to Laing O’Rourke. Following the collapse of the Carillion, the project stalled, and is now hoped to restart next month. However, the appointment of Laing O’Rourke has raised concerns among the UK construction union Unite. Unite

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Plans Have Been Unveiled for Two Hospitals in Leeds

The plans for Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) have been revealed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. While the plans include a dedicated Children’s Hospital on the Leeds General Infirmary site, proposals have also been submitted to Leeds City Council for discussion at a pre-planning application presentation. The first hospital building

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NHS Glasgow Approves Health Facilities Development

The Board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has fully approved plans for a number of new health facilities, worth some £50 million. The business cases approved include £11 million for Stobhill Mental Health Wards and £19 million for Clydebank Health and Care Centre. The next and final stage of

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Kier Selected for Hospital Transformation Programme

A £39.5 million hospital transformation programme for the Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals will be delivered by construction firm Kier. Secured through the Procure22 framework, the project is set to modernise hospital buildings to underpin service transformation and provide the next generation of care at the country’s two main

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Manchester Welcomes UK’s First NHS PBT Centre

The Christie in Manchester has seen the UK’s first NHS high-energy Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) Centre. The state of the art technology uses an advanced form of radiotherapy for the treatment of complex and hard-to-treat cancers in children and adults. Selected by the Department of Health as one of the

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New model of care delivers “natural environment for healing”

I would like to offer you an exciting case study on the £75m state-of-the-art Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex in County Tyrone, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.  Moulded by the latest healthcare research and initiatives, TODD Architects’ design creates a “natural environment for healing”, using expansive

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Aramark Supports Mental Health with TAKE15 Campaign

Aramark wants to remind people about the importance of minding their mental wellbeing through the TAKE15 campaign, part of World Mental Health Day. “When I played rugby for Munster and Ireland it was obvious to me how important physical activity is for your mental health. It’s good that we are

Read More »

Pick Everard Appointed for NHS SBS Consult 18 Framework

Pick Everard, the leading property, construction and infrastructure consultancy, has secured a four-year appointment to deliver a range of services to the healthcare and wider public sector through the NHS SBS Consult 18 framework. The NHS Shared Business Services framework provides business support services to the NHS and public sector

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Latest Issue
Issue 324 : Jan 2025

Public Sector : Healthcare News

Laing O’Rourke to Complete Royal Liverpool Hospital Project

The managing contract to complete the troubled Royal Liverpool hospital project has been handed to Laing O’Rourke. Following the collapse of the Carillion, the project stalled, and is now hoped to restart next month. However, the appointment of Laing O’Rourke has raised concerns among the UK construction union Unite. Unite will apply greater pressure to the client, the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University NHS Trust, to establish clear rules that will ensure proper union recognition and fair treatment of the workforce. “Unite is committed to ensuring that the Royal Liverpool hospital is completed as quickly as possible but that must not be at the expense of workers rights or to the detriment of their health and safety,” said Unite regional officer Colin Carr. Unite has already seeked guarantees from Adrian Kehoe, the trust’s chief executive, that the contractors will adhere to national industrial agreements that govern pay and conditions; will use local labour and suppliers; workers are directly employed; exploitative forms of employment, such as umbrella companies, are outlawed; and trade unions are recognised and are given proper access to the workforce. “Providing there is clear leadership from the Trust, Unite looks forward to working together with Laing O’Rourke to ensure that workers are properly treated and the mistakes made on previous hospital contracts in Liverpool are not repeated,” said Colin. “However, given the battle there has been to get the project restarted and for it to become a directly funded public sector project with the cancellation of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), Unite will not stand idly by and allow construction workers on the Royal Liverpool to be exploited or for unions to be denied access,” he added. The concerns raised by Unite will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday, the 13th of November, with the project being expected to be completed in 2020.

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Plans Have Been Unveiled for Two Hospitals in Leeds

The plans for Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) have been revealed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. While the plans include a dedicated Children’s Hospital on the Leeds General Infirmary site, proposals have also been submitted to Leeds City Council for discussion at a pre-planning application presentation. The first hospital building will be joined to the LGI’s Jubilee Wing, extending health services for adults. Among its facilities will be a new theatre suite dedicated to day case procedures, endoscopy and radiology services and a central Outpatients department supported by key services like pharmacy. In addition, the new building will offer more critical care capacity, allowing the LGI to expand its highly specialist services, such as major trauma or cardiac care, and to develop further specialist healthcare in the future. “This is a really exciting development for our hospitals that will be a huge step forward in the way we provide healthcare for patients in Leeds and the wider region,” said Julian Hartley, Chief Executive at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. “By designing hospital buildings from the ground up, we’ll be able to embrace new technologies and innovation to deliver modern, efficient health services that are tailored to our patients’ needs, not just now but in the future,” he added. The second hospital building will be solely dedicated to children. For the first time in Leeds, this will bring together staff and services from the current Children’s Hospital in the LGI’s Clarendon and Martin wings to deliver health services for children and young people in purpose-built facilities dedicated solely to their needs.

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NHS Glasgow Approves Health Facilities Development

The Board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has fully approved plans for a number of new health facilities, worth some £50 million. The business cases approved include £11 million for Stobhill Mental Health Wards and £19 million for Clydebank Health and Care Centre. The next and final stage of the process of developing each facility involves the submission of a full business case to the Scottish Government Capital Investment Group for consideration in November. “I am delighted the full business case has been approved. This is another major milestone for plans to build modern, state-of-the-art facilities for our Mental Health in-patients at Stobhill,” said David Williams, chief officer, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), about the Stobhill development. “The HSCP’s commitment to providing high standards of effective care in appropriate settings is clearly demonstrated by NHSGGC’s decision today. This will see our patients staying in modern wards that are at the very forefront of modern Mental Health in-patient accommodation,” added David. Speaking about the Clydebank Health and Care Centre, Beth Culshaw, chief officer, West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), said: “I am delighted that the full business case has been approved. This is another major milestone for plans to rebuild a modern, state-of-the-art health and care centre for the people of Clydebank. The HSCP’s commitment to tackling health inequalities in areas of high deprivation and promoting social regeneration is clearly demonstrated by NHSGGC’s decision today.” “The national transformation of primary care means that this project is not about a simple replacement of an existing facility. It is about taking the opportunity to create a centre where the people of Clydebank can expect to be supported by a wide range of professionals, closer to their home, and enabled to live healthier, more independent lives,” Beth concluded.

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Kier Selected for Hospital Transformation Programme

A £39.5 million hospital transformation programme for the Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals will be delivered by construction firm Kier. Secured through the Procure22 framework, the project is set to modernise hospital buildings to underpin service transformation and provide the next generation of care at the country’s two main acute hospitals. “Kier is delighted to have been chosen by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation to deliver such an important healthcare development programme for the region, under the P22 framework,” said Ben Ramsay, operations director at Kier. “We understand this programme of building modernisation is vital to underpin important service transformation at both Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals. We’re looking forward to working with the Gloucestershire supply chain and local community to provide many employment opportunities and create a number of new jobs in the upcoming years. It also presents a great opportunity to support Shaping Your World™, an industry-wide campaign to inspire 11-15 year-olds to pursue careers in the built environment,” Ben added. The plans for both sites are being developed collaboratively by Kier and the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, expecting funding that will be focused on theatre provision at Cheltenham General and acute care pathways at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. “We are delighted to be working with Kier on this exciting project; they have considerable experience of working with public sector partners to deliver innovative solutions and I am confident that with their help this investment will ensure both our hospitals are increasingly well placed to deliver the very best care for our patients and support our developing vision for Centres of Excellence,” said Deborah Lee, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  

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Manchester Welcomes UK’s First NHS PBT Centre

The Christie in Manchester has seen the UK’s first NHS high-energy Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) Centre. The state of the art technology uses an advanced form of radiotherapy for the treatment of complex and hard-to-treat cancers in children and adults. Selected by the Department of Health as one of the two providers of the service, together with University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Christie chose to deliver the construction phase through the Procure 21 framework. It worked in partnership with Interserve. “We are delighted to be able to offer this life changing treatment to patients. The delivery of this facility has been one of the most complex and precise projects within the NHS. We identified very early in the project that we needed a construction partner that could work alongside our team. The partnership approach integrated with Interserve’s technical expertise and energy to solve problems is one of the key reasons we completed on time,” said Jason Dawson, Director of Capital, Estates and Facilities of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Providing 4 treatment rooms, a patient reception, consultation rooms and public space, the five storey building is designed to be future proof with additional space for the Trust to grow into. As PBT uses a high-energy beam of protons rather than high-energy X-rays to deliver a dose of radiotherapy, the building’s concrete walls had to be up to six metres thick. The building incorporates 20,000 m³ of concrete and 1,700 tonnes of reinforcement, including steel bars up to 100mm diameter. Through this, 10 km of services pipework has been carefully threaded. The concrete itself weighs 48,000 tonnes, the equivalent of two aircraft carriers. In order to meet the building’s demanding energy needs, a new substation has been built, providing an equivalent amount of power to that needed to run the nearby Trafford Industrial Park. Starting with this autumn, the building will begin treating patients and, once fully operational, it will treat around 750 people a year.

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New model of care delivers “natural environment for healing”

I would like to offer you an exciting case study on the £75m state-of-the-art Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex in County Tyrone, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.  Moulded by the latest healthcare research and initiatives, TODD Architects’ design creates a “natural environment for healing”, using expansive lines of sight and a user-friendly interior layout to maximise the patients’ connection with nature and promote positive, relaxed social interactions.  Officially opened in April 2018, and garnering a host of awards since, the 27,000 m² building consists of a series of interlinked pavilions that bring together acute and primary care on a single shared campus. Grouping the departments together helps reduce patient waiting times and the need for a referral and return visit, delivering what a clinician described as ‘a one-stop shop’.  Within an overall linear form with a single spine-like “street”, each department is housed in a distinct but connected pavilion, arranged around landscaped courtyards.  The design maximises the views – and connections – between the patients, staff and visitors and the stunning County Tyrone landscape, as well as with the richly planted internal courtyards and on-site planting.  Internally, the departments dissolve the traditional clinical barriers between staff and patients with break-out areas that offer informal space for relaxed patient-staff conservations.  External architecture is a key part in the delivery of this holistic therapeutic environment, from the external design that sits proudly but not overwhelmingly within its context, to the carefully coded colour-based wayfinding and expansive use of glazing to maximise natural light as well as views out of and through the areas.  The Campus also goes beyond traditional hospital services, providing community meeting places and group facilities to support out-reach services and engage with patient groups.  In addition to award recognition, including best acute healthcare project in Europe in the 2018 EHD awards and Building of the Year – Public at the recent Building and Architect of the Year awards, the post occupancy feedback has been most positive from patients, staff and visitors alike. As the case study hasn’t yet been written, we can focus the article exclusively for your specific interests.

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Aramark Supports Mental Health with TAKE15 Campaign

Aramark wants to remind people about the importance of minding their mental wellbeing through the TAKE15 campaign, part of World Mental Health Day. “When I played rugby for Munster and Ireland it was obvious to me how important physical activity is for your mental health. It’s good that we are now being more open about our mental health but, there is still a long way to go. That’s why I’m delighted to be part of Aramark’s Health and Wellness month again this year and I hope that everyone will join in the #TAKE15 campaign,” said Alan Quinlan, Aramark’s Health and Wellness Ambassador. In the workplace, one in six people will experience mental health issues and TAKE15 is Aramark’s annual month-long campaign that aims to address this by encouraging both employers and employees across the UK and Ireland to take short breaks during their working day. “Aramark are encouraging all their clients and customers to take part in their TAKE15 campaign. The goal is to take time out to reconnect with people and look after your own mental health. We are dedicated to helping our teams and customers to make positive changes to their lifestyle so that they improve their wellbeing,” said Frank Gleeson, President Aramark Northern Europe. “Our mission is to enrich and nourish lives and we understand that a healthy workforce is a happier and more productive workforce. When employees take breaks at work, they become less fatigued and have more energy. Short breaks also increase our ability to focus and problem solve, reducing stress levels so it makes sense for everyone to Take 15 minutes to relax and clear their head during the day. We’re thrilled with the level of support from our clients for Take15 – our annual campaign has been growing every year as health and wellbeing becomes embedded in the workplace,” Frank added. Aramark Northern Europe employs over 18,000 people directly and provides food services to hundreds of workplaces across Northern Europe. The company is encouraging employees, clients and customers to take part in a month long TAKE15 campaign. The goal is to get people to take time out away from computers, phones and emails, and to reconnect with their colleagues.  

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INTERSERVE COMPLETES THE UK’S FIRST NHS HIGH-ENERGY PROTON BEAM THERAPY CENTRE

Interserve, the international support services and construction group, has delivered the UK’s first NHS high-energy Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) Centre in the North West in collaboration with their supply chain partners Mace, Arup & HKS on time and under budget. The state of the art technology uses an advanced form of radiotherapy for the treatment of complex and hard-to-treat cancers in children and adults. The Christie, who worked in partnership with Interserve, was selected by the Department of Health as one of two providers of the service, together with University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Although procured at the same time, The Christie chose to deliver the construction phase through the Procure 21 framework. This speed to site procurement route means that from 2018, patients will benefit from local access to this advanced treatment at The Christie. The state of the art 15,000 m2 five storey building will provide: 4 treatment rooms; a patient reception; consultation rooms and public space. The building is designed to be future proof with additional space for the Trust to grow into. The building will begin treating patients in the autumn and, once fully operational, will treat around 750 people a year. This life-changing facility will not only save lives, but also prevent families from enduring expensive and stressful travel abroad for treatment. PBT uses a high-energy beam of protons rather than high-energy X-rays to deliver a dose of radiotherapy. It directs the radiation treatment to precisely where it is needed with minimal damage to surrounding tissue. As this unique project was the first being built in the UK, Interserve had no blueprint to follow so they travelled extensively around the globe to bring the benefit of international expertise and learning to the UK, overcoming many challenges to deliver this world class facility and become experts in delivering this type of facility. The building’s list of technical features is almost as extraordinary as proton beam treatment itself: To contain the radiation, the concrete walls are up to six metres thick. The building incorporates 20,000m³ of concrete & 1,700 tonnes of reinforcement, including steel bars up to 100mm diameter. Through this, 10km of services pipework has been carefully threaded. The concrete itself weighs 48,000 tonnes, the equivalent of two aircraft carriers. To meet the building’s demanding energy needs, a new sub-station has been built, which provides an equivalent amount of power to that needed to run the nearby Trafford Industrial Park. The building is the first PBT Centre to target BREEAM excellent. Reclaiming heat from the Proton Beam equipment will make a significant contribution to the BREEAM scoring. Jason Dawson, Director of Capital, Estates and Facilities of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this life changing treatment to patients. The delivery of this facility has been one of the most complex and precise projects within the NHS. “We identified very early in the project that we needed a construction partner that could work alongside our team. The partnership approach integrated with Interserve’s technical expertise and energy to solve problems is one of the key reasons we completed on time. George Franks, Managing Director of Interserve Construction said: “We are proud to have delivered this life-changing facility which built on our long-term relationship with The Christie with whom we have been construction partners for more than 10 years.  The Interserve team’s knowledge, experience, innovation and expertise as well as the extensive field research undertaken at the start of the project has contributed to delivery on time and on budget.  The completion of this project is another substantial milestone in our long-term relationship with The Christie and one that we hope continues long in to the future with many more successes along the way.”

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PROGRESS ON NEW HOSPITAL BUILD IS CELEBRATED AT ‘TOPPING OUT’ EVENT

More than 100 guests donned their hard hats and gathered on site at the new £33.5m Circle Birmingham Hospital in Edgbaston for a ceremony to mark the project’s progress. Guests of honour attending the event at the former Pebble Mill site included the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Yvonne Mosquito and Councillor Dierdre Alden.  The ceremony included the unveiling of a plaque to mark the ‘topping out’ stage of the build. The hospital, which is being built by Simons Group, will be complete in Summer 2019 and will be the second largest private hospital in the UK. It will be an addition to Circle Health’s other hospitals in Bath, Nottingham and Reading. Guests including surgeons and other health professionals, along with all site workers who were invited to down tools especially for the event, watched the ceremonial unveiling.

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Pick Everard Appointed for NHS SBS Consult 18 Framework

Pick Everard, the leading property, construction and infrastructure consultancy, has secured a four-year appointment to deliver a range of services to the healthcare and wider public sector through the NHS SBS Consult 18 framework. The NHS Shared Business Services framework provides business support services to the NHS and public sector across the country and it will see Pick Everard building on its expertise in the management consultancy market, providing advisory and consultancy services. “The NHS is a treasured British institution celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and we’re extremely proud and excited to have been appointed to its new Shared Business Services framework. Under the NHS banner, clients in the healthcare and public sectors can be assured of a robust procurement solution from trusted suppliers,” said Dr Nicola Thompson, national director at Pick Everard. Valued at between £20 million and £50 million, the Consult 18 framework has been divided into 10 lots that cover a range of consultancy services to support healthcare and public sector organisations, from GP practices to major public authorities. Pick Everard will be delivering a number of services for three different lots, with services such as strategy development, management support, capital asset delivery, complex projects and change management. “The rapid, sustainable growth Pick Everard has experienced over the past five years – along with our focus on quality, high levels of service and technical excellence – has been delivered on the back of major appointments such as this one,” said Rod Burton, partner at Pick Everard. “Being a multi-disciplinary consultancy allows us to deliver a wide variety of services across a range of different sectors and I’m looking forward to seeing our management consultancy services offering growing over the next four years and beyond. The Pick Everard team has worked hard to develop tailor-made delivery approaches for each contract, which has put us in the best position possible to meet the complex needs of different organisations,” he continued. Pick Everard employs more than 450 staff across its 11 UK offices, providing a range of project, cost and design consultancy services.

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