Installation of a twin operating theatre into a busy central London hospital courtyard

Finding space for new facilities on crowded hospital estates can be incredibly difficult, with hard to access courtyards sometimes being the only available land. ModuleCo specialise in delivering into complex locations, using off-site construction to utilise underused locations such as courtyards and rooftops.


The installation of the twin operating theatre into Guys and St Thomas Hospital was a near was a real challenge. The hospital itself is located in the heavily congested heart of London directly opposite the houses of Parliament, and the courtyard site was surrounded on all sides by buildings from 7 to 13 storeys high.

With no vehicle access, traditional construction methods requiring lots of heavy vehicles on-site were ruled out. By manufacturing 80% of the twin operating theatre off-site in controlled factory conditions before craning it into place as 6 separate modules ModuleCo were able to bypass these problems, delivering the facility with the minimum possible disruption to the hospital site.

The Modules are protected for transport and delivered by flat bed lorry - 80% of fitout has already been completed in controled factory conditions.

A cranes lifts the modules directly from the lorry to the courtyard site

The operating theatre being craned high over an intervening 7 storey building

The modular operating theatre is lowered into the courtyard

The twin operating theatre is delivered into the restricted courtyard before being installed

The ModuleCo modular operating theatre - Complete

The delivery was meticulously planned by ModuleCo's experienced project team to minimise the time craning was taking place on site, ensuring:

• The smallest possible cost to the client
• The least disruption to staff and patients
  
• The biggest reduction in health and safety risks

With so many tall buildings surrounding the courtyard, ModuleCo had to crane the entire twin orthopaedic theatre over a large intervening 7-storey building.

Thanks to a dedicated, safety conscious delivery team and a well-organised hospital Trust all modules were craned into place quickly and efficiently without compromising on health and safety.

In just 2 days the entire twin orthopaedic operating theatre was craned and installed into the courtyard at Guys and St Thomas Hospital, providing fast-track healthcare facilities at the very heart of the hospital’s campus.