With winter pressures upon them and limited ward and theatre space available to cope with the influx of patients, Royal Berkshire Hospital needed a brand-new orthopaedic centre, comprised of two theatres, a 6-bay recovery and 10-bed ward.
ModuleCo had a pre-existing relationship with the Trust, having delivered a modular theatre and ward in 2007. The new facility was an extension to the existing facility, and we undertook refurbishment works to create a seamless internal finish between the two facilities.
There were multiple challenges faced in the design and delivery of the orthopaedic centre which were overcome with detailed planning and the experience of our project management team.
One significant obstacle faced was the restrictive site and limited access. We created an in-depth Traffic and Pedestrian Management Plan and maintained daily communication with the Trust to ensure as little disruption to the live hospital site as possible.
A detailed delivery schedule was generated to include the type of materials being delivered and the size, type and vehicle quantity on-site each day, ensuring that only the necessary materials were delivered to the hospital, thereby reducing any unnecessary traffic delays.
It was also extremely important to the Trust to maintain the use of the existing modular operating theatres whilst the works were taking place. We were able to identify any disruptive or noisy works within the detailed programme and ensure they did not interfere with the existing theatre schedule, allowing Royal Berkshire Hospital to continue working towards their targets.
The Royal Berkshire Hospital increased capacity by 2,800 patients a year in just 24 weeks.