In January 2018, MTX were successfully awarded the contract to provide a new modular Twin Theatre project to Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales.
Founded in 1826, Wrexham Maelor Hospital houses 981 beds and has a catchment area of over half a million citizens. Before the amalgamation of North Wales Trusts in 2010, it was home to the North East Wales NHS Trust.
The Requirements
Betsi Cadwaladwr University Healthboard required additional theatre capacity to Wrexham Maelor Hospital. The old theatre facility was in urgent need of modernisation. Further to the new theatre facility the Trust also identified that an additional Endoscope Procedure Room was required.
The Solution
Our Design Team, working in collaboration with the Trust, produced a new modular 2 storey scheme linked to the main hospital street corridor.
The bespoke external building is positioned on pad foundations designed to suit the ground conditions. The new construction has two floor types, timber and concrete floors complying with Health Technical Memoranda.
The ground floor is made up of 31 modules providing 751m² of space. It comprises of two Operating Theatres, Endoscope Procedure Room with Admission Room, 2nr Recovery Wards, Anaesthetic Room, Nurse Base, Staff Room, Scrub Up, Prep Room, Staff Shower Rooms, Toilets, Waiting Area, Changing Rooms and Endoscope Cleaning and Drying Rooms. The top floor is dedicated to house the 2 plantrooms; 1 serving the Endoscope and Recovery areas and the other serving the Operating Theatres.
The internal design and colour scheme was chosen based on previous MTX Endoscopy projects and the hospital’s current decor. The Trust were impressed with the fresh and modern finish on the MTX projects, however were keen to keep in line with their existing trend, therefore a mixture of the two was decided. The Surgeon Panels, IPS and UPS are all provided by Bender UK and Dextra provided the eco-friendly LED lighting, used throughout the whole project.
Main Considerations
Whilst putting this project out to tender, the Trust had to hire mobile Operating Theatres in the interim in order to pacify the ongoing patient demand. These were in place since winter 2017 and consequently MTX were working to a strict programme timescale to ensure that the mobile units were onsite for as little time as possible.
Capital cost was also a key consideration for this scheme. Following a number of value engineering options, ranging from external finishes to mechanical engineering solutions, offered by our team and accepted by the Trust, we were able to meet their budget.
The design and procurement process was critical with a challenging onsite construction period ahead. During the site survey, it was realised that the route included a weak bridge which the wagons were unable to cross. Therefore the team had to determine alternative temporary access which involved removing part of metal fencing bordering an adjacent supermarket car park and closing this area off to the public. The wagons were then able to access the site via the supermarket car park and through the opened fencing. Once the modules were all successfully installed, the fencing was reinstated and the car park reopened.
What they said
“MTX were appointed in early 2018 to deliver a modular building consisting of two operating theatres, Endoscopy procedure room and ancillary accommodation, including a 7 space recovery unit. The building was delivered in just over 7 months on site and within the allocated budget. We feel this was an extremely successful contract which delivered a modern facility to the standards set at the inception of the project. MTX were extremely flexible in their approach and worked collaboratively with the Health Board team. MTX’s site based team were easy to work with and maintained good communication with the hospital representatives during the contract. We would have no hesitation in using MTX again for any future projects.”
Graham Alexander
Project Director for Betsi Cadwaladwr University Healthboard
