Medical Air Technology takes to the skies at the George Eliot hospital NHS trust

On January 29^th, Medical Air Technology (MAT) handed over two newly refurbished operating theatres at the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Nuneaton, completed on time and within budget. The project was carried out within a tight schedule of only four months, and necessitated the MAT team, hospital staff, and visitors to the hospital working together to ensure everything went smoothly.

The installation included an extremely challenging crane lift, carried out over two consecutive weeks. The 250 ton crane lifted ventilation plant and support steelwork for the new theatres onto a flat roof, a distance of nearly 100 meters, involving some 30 individual lifting operations. As the live lift would go over the hospital’s A&E department, the department had to be temporarily relocated, roads closed and traffic rerouted. The lift was carried out without incident, despite the wind and rain that raged on the days either side of it.

“The refurbishment of the two theatres has improved flexibility due to 4 out of 5 theatres here at GEH now providing ultra clean ventilation which in turn has increased patient flow rates.”

Kirstie Webb, Capital Projects Manager, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust.

In order to meet the deadline, work was carried out in a phased program. The busy theatres were only shut down for four weeks for the refurbishment to be carried out, remaining in use for the rest of the installation, while the other surrounding theatres remained live throughout. Theatre 1 now has an ultraclean ventilation canopy from MAT’s healthcare award-nominated ECO-flow™ range, which offers exceptional energy efficiency without any reduction in performance. Both theatres were fitted with ventilation and air conditioning plants, mechanical and electrical services, operating lights, IPS/UPS electrical systems, touchscreen surgeons’ panels, PACS systems, and new flooring and decorations.

Source: Medical Air Technology