‘Modernisation and future proof’ project working with Laing O’Rourke for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board as part of a 90-phase £89.9 million redevelopment programme of facilities at the North Wales Hospital.
In July 2011 MTX Contracts Ltd were successfully awarded a contract to redevelop a suite of five ‘modern and future-proofed’ operating theatres and recovery area at the Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire. This project was the first phase of a 90-phase, £89.9 million redevelopment of facilities at the North Wales hospital being undertaken by Laing O’Rourke for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
The five new operating theatres, three equipped for general surgery, and the other two were fitted with Ultra Clean Canopies for operations including orthopaedic procedures. Located on the first floor of the sizeable 1970s-built district general hospital, alongside a new eight-bed recovery bay, patient waiting area, staff changing facilities and expanded clinical storage facilities.
As part of this turnkey project MTX completed the full design and build for Laing O’Rourke. Our team worked from a design brief originally developed by the LOR project team, the Trust – including clinical and medical staff – and the architects. Our first task, critical to the programme, was to strip out the existing plant room. The plant room was situated on the third floor, a single storey above the new theatres. The existing plant room served both the new first floor operating suite, and two existing theatres on the ground floor below. The plant room re-fit entailed not only structural alterations to the existing plant space, but also raising the ceiling by 1500 mm to accommodate new equipment including electrical, IPS, UPS, HVAC, BEMS and AGSS pumps.
One of the most challenging aspects of the scheme was that while we undertook the construction work, existing theatres 9 and 10 remained on the same floor. They had to remain fully operational, as did theatres 7 and 8 on the ground floor directly below. This meant extremely meticulous planning and scheduling, with Theatres 7 & 8 being emergency theatres which need to be available 24-hours-a-day. This in conjunction with connecting a new plant on the third floor plant room to the new first floor theatres was a difficult process which meant passing various mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services infrastructure through ductwork and existing voids on the second floor.
The original 6 theatres were stripped out by LOR prior to MTX commencing. LORs team handed over a bare first floor shell, 1500m², for our team to commence with the full turnkey fit out. This included; levelling the floor slab, creating service penetrations to the existing structure, live public health adaptations and amendments, partitioning and lining, M&E services, high quality finishes through to commissioning.
The new theatre and recovery suite was completed in April 2012, within budget and 4 weeks earlier than programmed.
The new theatre facilities enable surgeons to undertake a wide range of surgical procedures, equipped with the most modern technology, in an environment that is not only lighter, brighter, and better laid out than the six previous theatres, but also improves patient flow, aids infection control, and greatly enhances the overall working efficiencies.
Working closely with LOR, clinicians, nursing, and estates and facilities personnel at the Health Board, the MTX team completed this successful project with absolute minimum of disruption to clinical activities throughout our 33 weeks on site. Since completion we have received extremely encouraging feedback from the end-users commenting on an excellent job of the new theatres and ancillary areas.
