Major turnkey refurbishment project at Weston General Hospital

Medical Air Technology (MAT) is midway through a major turnkey refurbishment project at Weston General Hospital, part of the Weston Area Health NHS Trust.  The upgraded theatres will help the hospital to meet new targets for infection control, and expand and improve surgical capabilities.  MAT won the project through competitive tender, as it offered a significantly shorter programme of theatre shutdowns, due in part to having a thorough knowledge of the Weston site after holding the Service and Maintenance contract for the hospital’s theatres for the past six years, and its proposal to prefabricate sections of the plant room, cutting down on on-site installation time.

MAT was brought in to refurbish four existing theatres, three ultra clean and one conventional, upgrading medical and electrical installations, ultra clean ventilation (UCV) systems, theatres finishes, and fixtures and fittings.  Two of the theatres were to receive MAT’s ECO-flow UCV Canopies, replacing existing MAT canopies that have served the hospital well for many years.  The clean corridor serving all four theatres would also be refurbished.  In order to keep theatre downtime to an absolute minimum, only seven weeks have been allowed for the shutdown of each theatre, a total of 28 weeks for the entire project.

Working in a live environment has also necessitated keeping dust, noise and all the general disturbance associated with a major building project, under control at all times.  The issue of how to access the theatres without disrupting the day-to-day running of a busy hospital environment was overcome by erecting a temporary external staircase and electric materials hoist, breaking in through the existing building façade to the dirty corridor behind the theatres; in other words, accessing the theatres from outside rather than inside.  Airtight hygienic screening has been installed around each theatre while work is underway, ensuring dust from the building works does not get into the live area of the hospital.

Karen Croker, Director of Operations at Weston Area Health NHS Trust, said: “We had no hesitation in choosing MAT to refurbish our operating theatres.  We needed a partner that fully understood the requirements of a busy hospital and how to minimise the impact of the refurbishment. We were confident that MAT’s expertise in medical technology and experience within the sector made it the ideal partner for this major project.

“MAT has been able to upgrade our theatres to a high standard, while minimising theatre shutdowns. Its workforce also kept dust and noise levels under control at all times, which is essential when working in a medical environment. That’s a huge credit to them, and I’d recommend MAT to any organisation planning a building project.”