Modular Construction News for the Healthcare Industry

New PKL Healthcare Day Surgery Unit

2009-12-07T10:00:00.004Z

Please see below a Press Release from the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital NHS Trust website:

The new short stay surgery unit at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt was named the Menzies Unit on Friday 23rd October, by the daughter of John C Menzies. The Unit was named after the hospital’s Secretary Superintendent (nowadays called a Chief Executive) from 1928 to 1956, John Menzies OBE. His daughter, Mrs Pat Anderson and grandson Richard, travelled from the Reading area to perform the official opening ceremony.

John C Menzies is a well remembered an honoured name at the Orthopaedic hospital. His administrative genius was particularly displayed after the hospital fire of 1948, when he quickly instigated the funding of the hospital rebuilding programme. He died in 1990 at over 90 years of age. The name Menzies was given to a former ward and the sign from then will be transferred to the new Unit. John Menzies’ portrait painting now proudly hangs in the reception area of the new Menzies Unit, beside the opening plaque.

Wendy Farrington Chadd, Trust Chief Executive thanked those involved, saying: “This is a superb facility which will improve quality of care for patients. The Unit comprises three operating theatres, which means that we now have an additional two theatres, as one replaced the old day case theatre. It was constructed within a very short timeframe and our thanks must go to the specialist contractors PKL Healthcare, the project managers from Capital Symonds and our own staff, in particular Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Sumeeta Conry and Unit manager Ande Joseph. It was a true partnership approach which has delivered a fantastic result on schedule.

We are honoured that the Menzies family have made the journey and delighted that, through the generations, they have remained friends of the hospital.”

ModuleCo and PKL Healthcare Deliver Another Fast-track Ward

2009-11-10T08:20:00.005Z

ModuleCo and PKL Healthcare are currently building a 56-bed Modular Ward for Lincoln County Hospital.

The local newspaper, the Lincolnshire Echo, ran this news story on the project:

"Two new wards comprising 56 beds in total are to be built at Lincoln County Hospital – made from 60 pre-fabricated sections transported to the city on lorries.

The new wards, costing £7.8m, are set to open early next February.

A factory in Yorkshire is currently making the steel frame and plasterboard wards in blocks.

The plan is to transport each section by road to Lincoln in early December – subject to planning permission – where the pieces will be slotted into place like blocks in a giant Lego set.

The two-storey ward buildings will be have brick cladding on the exterior.

Several shipments should be brought in daily between December 4 and 20, however, some of the earlier loads may have to travel after the Lincoln Christmas Market weekend.

Jonathan Brindley, spokesman for ModuleCo and PKL Healthcare, the companies involved in the scheme, said the construction method was a quick and efficient way of putting up new buildings.

"We completed a similar scheme at Bradford Royal Infirmary last year and we specialise in such hospital buildings," he said.

"In Lincoln, the hospital trust placed the order in September and the wards should be welcoming the first patients in February, which is fantastic," he said.

"The short turn around time from ordering to opening is a major advantage to hospitals who need to close wards and move patients for deep cleaning of wards as well as providing extra bed space.""

The original storey can be found here:
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/New-Lincoln-hospital-ward-built-like-Lego/article-1405540-detail/article.html

ModuleCo Healthcare Facilities - Now Available For Hire

2009-05-05T12:05:00.004Z

Temporary healthcare facilities to permanent standards

ModuleCo specialist modular healthcare facilities are available for hire through their strategic partner PKL Healthcare Ltd.

PKL Healthcare is the UK market leader in the hire of operating theatres

As the market leader in the hire of high specification healthcare buildings PKL Healthcare's experienced teams of design and build experts can provide a facility to meet your specific requirements, delivering rapid healthcare hire projects with excellent long run support.

PKL Healthcare's hire fleet is built to permanent standards, providing clients with 25-year design life buildings that meet the highest standards in infection control. This allows hospitals to continue the same high standard of patient care without compromise, as well as giving our clients the flexibility to extend their hire for as long as they need without deterioration.

Modular MRI facility - PKL Healthcare provide a huge range of medical buildings for hire

This is only possible thanks to ModuleCo's use of sustainable, best practice off-site design and build techniques, allowing us to relocate your facility at the end of the hire and recycle the materials. This ensures that ModuleCo healthcare buildings have a remarkably low environmental impact despite their permanent specification.

A modular mortuary - Built by ModuleCo and hired by PKL Healthcare

PKL Healthcare have hired more single operating theatres than any other UK firm, delivering to a huge range of specialist disciplines such as orthopaedic surgery. With a standard configuration designed to maximise space and efficiency, with flush fitted M&E and environmental controls and pre-engineered purpose built plant rooms.

Modular orthopaedic operating theatre - PKL Healthcare can even hire complex healthcare buildings with features such as laminar flow canopies

Critical facilties, rapid programmes

Hiring healthcare facilities through PKL Healthcare is the fastest possible way to get fully compliant critical healthcare facilities on to your site and operational within weeks of approval - not years.

Off site construction - modular healthcare buildings arrive on site 80% complete

PKL Healthcare hire facilities can be made ready for immediate delivery taking as little as 10 weeks from order to patient ready facility. PKL Healthcare's project managers are experienced at complex deliveries, locating temporary facilities on hospital rooftops, in courtyards and as standard extensions, meaning that we can provide high quality healthcare facilities in very congested hospital sites.

Modular wards for short or long term hires

For truly urgent requirements and disaster response scenarios PKL Healthcare can deliver healthcare facilities from our existing fleet of healthcare buildings in just a few weeks, giving you high quality additional patient ready hospital capacity in extremely tight time frames.

Birthing room - manufactured using off site construction

Whether you are looking to refurbish your hospital, reduce patient waiting times or drive a new flagship development PKL Healthcare can design and provide high quality healthcare facilities at fantastic hire rates.

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

2009-04-20T14:19:00.012Z

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.

56-bed Ward at Bradford Royal Infirmary

2009-02-06T13:27:00.005Z

In December 2008, ModuleCo completed an “ultra fast-track” 56-bed ward facility at Bradford Royal Infirmary through it's strategic partner PKL Healthcare.

In July of 2008 Bradford Royal Infirmary embarked on an ambitious scheme to provide a new ward facility to be up and running before Christmas, ready to cope with the winter influx of patients.

After a month long competition exercise involving two of the suppliers, it was PKL Healthcare who could commit to the tight programme deadline. An order was placed by the Trust for the 2,071m2, 2-storey ward facility on 14th August 2008.

The ward facility included a mixture of single en-suite and 4-bedded wards and included the associated ancillary and support areas.

The design of the ward determined a module size of 3.8m wide by 17.0m long, which were the largest built by ModuleCo to date. Whilst the units were being built and fitted out in the factory, the enabling contractor completed the groundworks and built thIn December 2008, ModuleCo completed an “ultra fast-track” 56-bed ward facility at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

In July of 2008 Bradford Royal Infirmary embarked on an ambitious scheme to provide a new ward facility to be up and running before Christmas, ready to cope with the winter influx of patients.

After a month long competition exercise involving two of the suppliers, it was ModuleCo who could commit to the tight programme deadline. An order was placed by the Trust for the 2,071m2, 2-storey ward facility on 14th August 2008.

The ward facility included a mixture of single en-suite and 4-bedded wards and included the associated ancillary and support areas.

The design of the ward determined a module size of 3.8m wide by 17.0m long, which were the largest built by ModuleCo to date. Whilst the units were being built and fitted out in the factory, the enabling contractor completed the groundworks and built the steel podium required to position the ward at 1st and 2nd floor levels.

The units were delivered and installed over a week in early November and the remaining 7 weeks in the programme used to complete the installation on site.

The facility was successfully handed over to the client on 22nd December 2008, on time and on budget after just an 18-week construction programme.

PKL Healthcare Operating Theatre in Central London

2009-01-27T10:13:00.003Z

Over the weekend, PKL Healthcare installed a new Modular facility at St Thomas Hospital in central London. The new development includes two complete Operating Theatre suites which will be ready to use in just 4 weeks!

The BBC regional news were there to report on the installation. The BBC artical can be found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7848832.stm

New Healthcare Hire Website

2009-01-27T10:03:00.004Z

PKL Healthcare have a new website http://www.healthcarehire.co.uk.

PKL Healthcare can provide operating theatres, diagnostic imaging suites, wards, containment laboratories and aseptic suites for the tightest locations on hospital sites where space is at a premium. The facilities can be located almost anywhere, from car parks and courtyards to roof tops and gantries.

If you have a potential need for a short, medium or long term healthcare building, call PKL Healthcare to arrange an initial meeting to discuss your requirements. They have developed a fleet of temporary healthcare buildings with standard layouts, including temporary operating theatre suites, wards, recovery units and clinical support areas.

First Baby Born in Modular Birthing Unit

2008-11-11T00:28:00.001Z

In October the first baby was delivered in ModuleCo's new Modular Operating Theatres and Birthing Centre at West Middlesex Hospital.

The Natural Birth Centre was designed to give more of a "hotel feel" for patients to try to create a relaxing atmosphere.

Below is an extract from a press release from West Middlesex Hospital. The full article can be found here.

"A baby born at West Middlesex Hospital last week became an instant celebrity at the Trust, when she was the first to be born in the brand new Natural Birth Centre. Baby girl Matea Petrovic was born at 00:05 on Tuesday 14^th October 2008 weighing a very healthy 8.8lbs to delighted parents Sanela (mother) and Igor Petrovic (father).

She was presented a gift pack by Lead Midwife Barbara Butler and Consultant Midwife Pippa Nightingale. This included a teddy bear and blanket courtesy of John Lewis and gift vouchers courtesy of Tesco

Sanela, who lives in Hounslow with her 2 other children, both boys aged 10 and 8, said “I feel very privileged to have been the first mum to give birth in the Natural Birth Centre. The centre was completely beyond any of my expectations and the atmosphere in here was very relaxing. I am very happy to be a mum again and I would recommend the birth centre to friends who want a homely experience.”

The baby was delivered by midwives Kelly Krochmalny and Julia Harris. Kelly said “It was an honour to be involved in the first birth. We think the birth centre will continue to be popular as it bridges the gap for those mums who want a home birth but aren’t confident enough and need the security of being at the hospital.”

West Middlesex Hospital would like to send our best wishes to the Petrovic family."

Special delivery for Tetbury Hospital

2008-08-27T11:31:00.003Z

Below is a news article taken from the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard Website regarding the recent delivery of the new ModuleCo Outpatients Department at Tetbury Hospital.

The original article can be found here: http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/3605420.Special_delivery_for_Tetbury_Hospital/

"NEW medical treatment units have been delivered to Tetbury Hospital by crane.

The three huge structures took a team of engineers around an hour and a half each to install early Saturday morning.

Cate Moore, hospital manager, said: "They are massive, we've had to cut down some trees just to get them in."

Simon Preston, chairman of the Friends of Tetbury Hospital, said it was nice to see progress being made.
"It's one step closer," he said. "It's a good milestone to record."

The new units will allow the hospital to provide a greater range of services.

It is hoped the development will be complete by September. "

Outpatients Extension Using Modular Construction

2008-08-20T12:35:00.002Z

Last weekend ModuleCo delivered and installed a small outpatients extension to Tetbury Hospital in the heart of the Cotswolds. The healthcare building has been built using Modular Construction due to the construction periods involved and the minial disruption to the small Cottage Hospital site.

The modular extension will increase the outpatients facilities of the hospital by 350% giving the hospital a further 5 consulting rooms.

The Friends of Tetbury, the fundraising arm of the charitiable hospital, has over the last few months been focusing it's fundraising effort to help to pay for the new modular hospital facility.

The new modular extension is due to be complete by mid-September and there is going to be a public open day in early October.

Hospital Press Release

2008-08-17T20:47:00.001Z

Attached is an extract from a recent Press Release by West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust with reference to the recent delivery of the new Modular Operating Theatres and Birthing Suite by ModuleCo.

The original of this press release can be found here: http://www.west-middlesex-hospital.nhs.uk/media-centre/press-releases/a-special-delivery/

"A Special Delivery

West Middlesex University Hospital became the proud owner of a brand new building this weekend, when the Natural Birth Centre was delivered.

The building is made up of a number of modular units, which allows for such a quick construction time. The sections were built off site and delivered over the weekend, before being put together on site. Work is now underway on fitting out the building in readiness of it opening in the autumn.

The hospital’s maternity services deliver more than 3,800 babies to local families every year and the Natural Birth Centre will allow this to increase by around 1,000 a year.

The Centrehas been designed to support normal labour and will create a home away from home environment including availability of a birthing pool, deep baths, and appropriate privacy and lighting.

West Middlesex also recently launched its Stork Appeal, which is aiming to raise £100,000 to further improve maternity services.

Tonie Neville, Associate Director of Midwifery, said ‘The money we raise will help us to go the extra mile in providing the very best care and facilities for our local community, as well as allowing us to give more women a greater variety of choice during their pregnancy.’

Lots of fundraising activities have already taken place, including cake sales, raffles and movie nights. Some of the activities planned for The Stork Appeal include a quiz night and a recipe book with foreword by celebrity chef, Anthony Worrall Thompson.

If you would like to make a donation to The Stork Appeal you can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/TheStorkAppeal"

Birthing Suite and Maternity Operating Theatres

2008-07-30T23:17:00.000Z

Last weekend ModuleCo delivered a Birthing Suite to West Middlesex Hospital. The facility included two maternity operating theatres and four birthing rooms, two of which had full sized birthing pools.

Due to it's location on site, adjacent to the front entrance of the hospital the new birthing suite had to have an external appearance to match in with the existing architecture.

The internal finishes have been specifically chosen to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere to improve the patient environment and make a stressful time for patients as relaxing as possible.

The new facility is due to open in September.

ModuleCo Exhibiting at Healthcare Estates Exhibition

2008-07-21T22:04:00.001Z

After missing a few years of attendance, ModuleCo will be returning to this year's IHEEM Healthcare Estates Exhibition and Conference in Harrogate on 14th and 15th October 2008.

Visitors will be able to discover all their latest developments and have a look at some case studies of the most recently completed healthcare projects. Pay ModuleCo a visit in Hall B on stand B105.

This year's conference will focus on clean, safe and sustainable environments for healthcare.

If you don't already have a ticket, click here to register now for your free exhibition ticket.

Modular Renal Dialysis Facility

2008-06-09T21:58:00.002Z

ModuleCo have recently been awarded a contract to provide a new Modular Renal Dialysis Clinic for Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Satellite Renal Unit will be sited on Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust's Stoke Mandeville Hospital site. The new facility will have an enhanced external appearance, using brick slip cladding and a tiled pitched roof to match the buildings which are adjacent to the proposed site.

The new facility will provide a renal dialysis service for the local population of the hospital reducing the distances patients have to travel for their treatment which can be up to four times a week.

ModuleCo are contracted to take on the whole scheme as the main contractor which will include the enabling works turning an existing car park and greenfield site into the new facility.

Second Modular Operating Theatre for NHS Trust

2008-03-06T11:24:00.000Z

ModuleCo have recently handed over a new modular operating theatre at Wrightington Hospital, the second for the Trust. Click here for the Press Release from Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust.

The modular facility was linked directly into the first operating theatre suite which was installed by ModuleCo in 2004. The new facility contains a full laminar flow operating theatre suite including anaesthetic, dirty utility, scrub and prep rooms and is supported by a new operating department staff change area. The plant to service the operating theatre and staff areas was installed in a dedicated rooftop modular plantroom.

The project was taken on by ModuleCo on a turnkey basis including all the foundations and enabling works. These were completed on site while the modular units were being fully fitted out in the factory. The input from ModuleCo's expert healthcare design team meant when the facility was delivered to site, it matched the foundations and links exactly, even though the units were built hundreds of miles away in the factory.

ModuleCo provide a new Mammography Clinic using Modular Construction

2008-01-29T15:02:00.001Z

ModuleCo have recently completed a project which provided a new Mammography unit at Wycombe Hospital in Buckinghamshire. The Trust decided that modular construction was the best solution to provide the clinic due to the very restricted and busy site adjacent to the existing maternity department.

In utilising modular construction, ModuleCo were able to minimise the amount of disruption to the patients and staff of the hospital, whilst providing a high quality facility with no compromises when compared to traditional construction. The majority of the extensive mechanical and electrical fit-out was completed in the factory and the examination rooms were designed to fit within modules to allow them to be fully fitted-out complete with lead shielding within the wall structure.

This project is the second modular healthcare building that ModuleCo have completed for the Trust. The first of which was a modular Outpatients Department at one of the Trusts other hospital sites, Stoke MandevilleHospital, Aylesbury.

Modular Construction – making the most of Courtyard space.

2007-08-13T15:32:00.001Z

Using the latest techniques in off-site construction, ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) is able to deliver complex projects within tight timescales and often in very congested areas and restricted locations.

The nature of modular construction enables us to provide innovative solutions in terms of usage of space by positioning healthcare facilities in many challenging locations such as over rooftops, on steel gantry support structures and in enclosed courtyards.

One such facility, which was recently handed over to Birmingham Women’s Hospital, was a twin-theatre and two-bed recovery facility. The facility was designed to fit exactly within an existing courtyard area within the hospital. The project took full advantage of the benefits of off-site construction and the majority of the internal fit-out of the units was completed in the factory.

The installation of the Pre-Assembled Units required a 500 tonne crane with a lifting distance of 80m. The path of units in the air was very specific whilst the installation was taking place, as the units could not be lifted over surrounding occupied buildings for safety reasons but also to minimise disruption to the surrounding site. This allowed the twin-theatre and recovery facility to be up and running within 5 weeks of installation on site, keeping disruption to the surrounding neonatal unit to an absolute minimum.

Modular Mortuary - Autopsy Suite, Body Store & Ancillary Facilities For Hire OR Sale

2007-01-18T09:16:00.003Z

ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) has a modular mortuary coming available for hire or sale in March 2007. The facility is just one year old and is in excellent condition. The current operator has had nothing but praise for the unit. The mortuary has been used for decant purposes during the complete refurbishment of the clients existing mortuary. It is ideal for Permanent Expansion, Contingency Planning, Refurbishments or Disaster Recovery.

Due to the modular nature of the mortuary, it can be delivered and assembled on your site in a short time, subject to a nominal mobilisation period. It can then be commissioned to your full satisfaction, providing you with a quick and cost-effective solution to your capacity requirements.

The building can be used as a temporary solution, whilst new facilities are built, or as a permanent structure. Additional external cladding can be applied to enhance the appearance or match any adjacent building finishes.

ModuleCo Nominated for Healthcare Modular Building Award

2006-11-21T10:29:00.002Z

ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare), as part of a delivery team led by Costain Limited, are nominated for a Major Award at the Better Healthcare Buildings Awards taking place at the Metropole Hilton London on 2nd November 2006.

The Better Healthcare Buildings Awards is an annual event organised by Wilmington Conferences, publishers of HD (Hospital Development magazine). There are 16 much coveted awards. Costain's project supported by ModuleCo was for a modular constructed (off-site) facility of 2,700m2. The client was the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust and the modular facility was built at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. The award category is "Better Patient Environment".

ModuleCo supplied two modular operating theatres, a 6-bed modular recovery ward and a 2-storey modular neurosurgery ward. Some particular features which contributed to the nomination were:

- Fold down beds for parents
- Sun pipes to give extra natural light
- Child-friendly pictures embedded into the vinyl floor finishes

The Costain Project Manager John Williams commented "I wish to congratulate ModuleCo for the quality of the installation and the building as a whole. The theatre suite has gained considerable appreciation by the clinical staff and it has exceeded their expectations of modular theatres".

Healthcare Estates Exhibition a Success!

2006-11-21T10:26:00.001Z

ModuleCo Ltd (formerly PKL Healthcare) recently attended a successful two days at this years Healthcare Estates Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate. ModuleCo exhibited to promote their healthcare modular buildings along side part of the foodservice division (Kitchen FM) of associate company PKL Group (UK) Ltd.

Kitchen FM allows a hospital to have a fully functional and maintained catering capability without the need for capital spend. Regular servicing, routine & emergency maintenance and technical support are all included in the Kitchen FM contract. It gives the hospital peace of mind of knowing exactly how much their catering facilities will cost each month and is flexible enough to be expanded or reduced at any time.

Steve Tilley, ModuleCo's Sales Manager, commented, "We had a tremendous two days. Not only do you meet new contacts, it is a great opportunity to catch up with previous clients and contacts to let them know about our recently completed healthcare modular building projects."

ModuleCo will be exhibiting again at next years Healthcare Estates Conference and Exhibition.

ModuleCo heads back to its roots providing operating theatres to the US Army in Afghanistan

2006-10-20T10:23:00.002Z

ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) has recently completed one of it's most challenging projects to date. A field hospital supplied to the US Army at it's air base near Bagram in Afghanistan. This is not the first time PKL has worked for the armed forces, the healthcare division's first project was providing an operating theatre to the British Army in Kosovo in 1999.

The Afghan facility was fabricated at the factory of a modular partner in Dubai complete with the maximum amount of Mechanical and Electrical fit out. The units were then shipped across the Arabian Sea to Karachi in Pakistan. From here the 86 modules were transported by road on a 16 day journey through Pakistan and Afghanistan before arriving at Bagram, 27 miles north of Kabul.

The 2,500m2 facility has three separate buildings with servicing plant areas and consists three operating theatre suites, a trauma unit and an intensive care unit, all supported with associated ancillary areas.
One of the benefits of using modular construction on this project is that it can be easily relocated to another army base should it be required elsewhere. This is exactly what happened with ModuleCo's first operating theatre following the end of the conflict in Kosovo in 1999.

Modular Theatre Relocated in Six Weeks!!

2006-10-10T13:47:00.001Z

At the end of October ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) will be permanently relocating an operating theatre suite to it's new home at Halton Hospital in Runcorn. As part of a 'spend to save' scheme, North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust are reconfiguring the services of their two hospital sites. The modular operating theatre with 2-bed recovery is the first step in this reconfiguration and will be ready to receive it's first patient on the 4th December.

The total programme for re-installation is only six weeks, which includes some changes the layout and the creation of an extra modular building link. This short programme is made possible due to the modular design of the theatre suite. The features of which include, a fully enclosed and fitted out plant room module, breakable service connections on module joints (where allowed), and rooms that are contained within single modules are completely fitted out before delivery.

ModuleCo have now provided over 65 dedicated healthcare facilities for a range of requirements on a temporary and permanent basis.

ModuleCo's Central London Medical Centre at Imperial College

2006-09-12T15:32:00.001Z

This two-storey, stand alone building totalling 1,000m2, had to be installed with minimum disruption in the prestigious area of South Kensington, London. The facility accommodates a GP Surgery and Dental Practice on a temporary basis (for 2 years) while the permanent healthcare facility is built as part of the Princess Gardens Residence. At the end of the hire period (August 2007) the facility will be available to be relocated to a new client for hire or sale.

The main entrance to the facility is actually on the upper floor due to a difference in ground levels, this meant an integrated disabled lift and staircases were needed inside the building to allow access to the lower floor. Both surgeries have separate patient waiting and staff areas, enabling them to work independently of one another. The dental surgery includes four dentist rooms, reception, waiting and staff areas. The GP surgery benefits from GP, nurse, treatment and therapy rooms, two-bed sick bay, clean and dirty utility, 64 persons waiting, staff, record and administration areas.

Fabricating the facility off-site in the factory and delivering it to the Imperial College site almost complete, resulted in minimum disruption to this prestigious central London location when compared to a traditional building project. Yet, it was built to permanent building standards, designed to provide safe, bright, comfortable and functional accommodation, and completed in only 18 weeks!

ModuleCo facility still going strong...

2006-08-30T09:49:00.002Z

In August 2003 ModuleCo Ltd (formerly PKL Healthcare) completed one of its largest single schemes to date. The 2-storey, 4,100m2 facility at South and Formby District General Hospital combined a theatre, wards and offices. It was linked to the main hospital building via a purpose built corridor with the large open-plan administrative area on the ground floor, and an orthopaedic theatre supported by two 28-bed wards on the first floor.

Taking full advantage of the benefits of off-site construction for healthcare facilities, the unit was handed over to the client in a number of phases with the theatre and one of the wards handed over in just 16 weeks! The overall programme for completion totalled 30 weeks.

Three years on the building is still being used to it's full potential and has proved a complete success. ModuleCo has provided a further 50 projects since that time meaning it's portfolio contains over 60 successfully completed specialist healthcare facilities to date, more than any other modular healthcare provider in the UK.

ModuleCo Ltd Build Modular Mortuary Facility

2006-08-09T08:15:00.002Z

At the beginning of this year, ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) completed their first modular mortuary project. The 380m2 facility is on hire for 1-year to Hull City Council providing temporary accommodation whilst the permanent mortuary is relocated. The design, installation and commissioning was completed in just 11-weeks with the prime equipment being transferred from the existing mortuary over a weekend, keeping the disruption of service to a minimum.

The new temporary mortuary includes refrigerated storage for 28 bodies and forensic storage for 8. The autopsy room has 5 autopsy tables and an isolation autopsy area. These areas are supported by offices, public viewing area, and staff facilities.

The mortuary manager commented: "We have moved into a temporary mortuary facility designed and built by ModuleCo. As the manager of this facility, I have no hesitation in complimenting ModuleCo on a job well done."

PKL Group (UK) Ltd rank 2nd in the Fast Track 50 Companies in the South West

2006-06-09T13:21:00.003Z

The Western Daily Press have published today, (now in its fourth year) the Fast Track 50 Companies in the South West within a special publication. It pinpoints the fastest-growing firms in the area measured by their growth in turnover over four years, PKL Group are ranked 2nd.

PKL Group was established in 1985 and became an AIM listed PLC in April 2004. They are a niche support services company designing, providing and maintaining specialist facilities for foodservice and healthcare providers.

PKL Healthcare is a division of PKL Group and has been a key factor in the growth. PKL Group launched its healthcare division in 2001 and since this date have completed over of 60 healthcare project s, all of a technically complex nature to various NHS Trusts and other healthcare organisations in the UK and internationally. PKL Healthcare only use modern off-site (modular) construction and believe that this method offers great advantages to the healthcare sector, including shorter build time, minimised disruption on hospital sites and improved quality control.

Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge is one of PKL Healthcare's biggest projects so far, reaching over 3000m2, and valued at approximately £5 million. It provided a suitable solution for a hospital with restricted space. The new five-storey Emergency Assessment Unit was required to be positioned within a confined courtyard beside the existing Accident & Emergency department.

New Aseptic Suite for Oncology Centre

2006-06-07T12:14:00.003Z

A 1st floor extension was required to be designed and manufactured to fit on top and link to the centres existing building. ModuleCo provided this facility using off-site construction methods.

Some of the advantages Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology benefited from, in choosing this modern method of construction are:

- Less on-site disruption
- Fast-track programme
- Specialist exterior finish, in-keeping with the existing architecture
- Enabled the facility to sit on top of an existing building therefore utilising the space available.

This cytotoxic pharmacy and dispensary comprises two aseptic suites, a gene therapy suite, 5 office suites, a storage room and a disabled access lift. One of the features is the brick cladding that was sampled and matched to the surrounding architecture. A specific request was that sheet cladding covered the steel work and original roof to give a maintenance free facility. The project was also manufactured, delivered and fully commissioned to provide a full turnkey solution.

"Another high quality facility, composed to exact specification and within our clients budget"

Pete Brookes - Site Manager - ModuleCo

Oral Maxillofacial Unit now complete

2006-05-19T14:12:00.002Z

Located at Northwick Park Hospital, London, totaling in size to 1000m2 and only taking 16 weeks; ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) designed and provided a modular healthcare facility using modern methods of construction.

The facility includes plaster moulding laboratories, minor operations rooms, dental rooms, offices, wc’s, showers, staff change areas and waiting areas. ModuleCo’s specialist off-site construction includes intensive M&E solutions. The facility links to the existing hospital and incorporates a disabled lift and a separate colourful child’s waiting area.

The facility was required at Northwick Park due to closure of a facility at Central Middlesex Hospital. The client procured the scheme via Procure21 with Interserve acting as Principal Supply Chain Partner, and Fitzpatrick a Principal Supply Chain Member.

Ray Blythe, Project Manager at Fitzpatrick commented: “With completion of the healthcare facility, I should like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for a job well done.

As ModuleCo has undoubtedly been aware, the whispers have been rife with the news of the completed scheme, together with excited compliments about the quality of the workmanship obtained by the builder. What more can I add to that, except to give thanks again on the completion of a successful project which has been brought about with the co-operation of both teams coming together for one aim; Patient care.

It has been a pleasure working with ModuleCo and indeed I hope we shall have an opportunity to work together in the near future”

Helping to cut down travelling time for dialysis patients

2006-05-12T10:38:00.002Z

Getting Fast-track Renal Units into the community

There has been drive from the Government towards getting dialysis facilities into the community principally because of the travelling time for patients - some patients have to travel to the main city hospitals, and this can be up to 3 times a week, which can be daunting if you don’t live in the city.

ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) can provide fast-track facilitiies using off-site manufacturing to help drive this Government inititive. The prime benefits of using this modern method of construction are:

· Programme time – reduced
· Reduced on-site activities – less disruption
· Factory environment – Controlled inspections and limited weather/labour restrictions

Below is an example of a facility that ModuleCo have provided and as you will read it has certainly reeped the benefits from both a patients and a business point of view.

Case Study:

A £2.3 million project providing a new nine-station dialysis unit and a new radiology suite at Cromer and District Hospital.

What: Radiology & Renal Unit
Where: Cromer Hospital, Norfolk
Features: 2 buildings – a 9 bed renal unit for kidney dialysis and a radiology unit, which is the new home for the hospitals MRI scanner, x-ray machine and ultrasound unit. The facility also features a specialist pitched roof to coincide with the existing architecture.

The nearest Radiology and Renal Unit was over an hour away and the hospital wanted to cut down on travelling time and inconvenience to its patients. So when they received money from Mrs Bernstein who was a local resident this allowed the hospital to obtain new equipment improve and expand hence cutting time and hassle for its patients.

'Excellent' endoscopy unit for Infirmary

2006-05-08T07:51:00.002Z

Patients and staff will soon be feeling the benefits of a £3.5 million investment in endoscopy services, designed and provided by ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare).

The new modular endoscopy suite replacing the outdated accommodation in the Brotherton Wing of the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) has now officially opened in the Clarendon Wing.

The new unit – a state-of-the-art facilty designed using off-site construction, was lifted into place using a specially commissioned 250 ft crane – will improve the patient experience and provide staff with first class clinical facilities.

It will also provide the flexibility to expand endoscopy services in the future – for example if the Government presses ahead with plans to introduce nationwide colorectal screening.

Consultant Gastroenterologist Dr Simon Everett said: “The new endoscopy unit provides state of the art accommodation and modern healthcare facilities for diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract.

“There are spacious, comfortable and dignified patient areas as well as purpose built facilities for the hands-on training of future endoscopists. We believe this will significantly enhance the service we can offer patients in Leeds.”

Endoscopy services were previously provided in a three roomed unit in the basement of the Botherton Wing. The facilities were cramped, with little scope to improve decontamination services in line with new regulations. Because of estates constraints, inpatients and outpatients had to share facilities.

The new unit has four spacious rooms and is equipped with the latest in decontamination technology. Dedicated training areas will allow the Trust to build on its excellent reputation for training the endoscopists of tomorrow.

Trust chief executive Neil McKay said: “We have known for some time that we needed to bring endoscopy accommodation into the 21st century.

“I’m delighted that the reconfiguration of acute services across the Trust has given us with the opportunity to provide this excellent new facility. The unit is a tremendous development, both for our patients and the staff who care for them.”

Official Opening of Endospopy Unit for Leeds Teaching Hospital

2006-05-02T12:56:00.002Z

This 33 week programme delivered by ModuleCo will have its official opeing tomorrow. The new Endospopy Unit comprises four Endospopy treatment rooms, Endospopy cleaning rooms, and four examination consultant rooms. Stage 1 and stage 2 recovery areas, patient preparation, reception, waiting area. Also a seminar teaching room that connects to the treatment rooms for training purposes.

ModuleCo utilised the site space to enable the facility to be completed. The facility was craned into a confined courtyard area - by one of the biggest cranes in the country and then linked to two sides of the hospital covering nearly the whole diameter of the courtyard area.

The project required a construction of steel support framework between two parts of the existing hospital within a courtyard area followed by transporting the facility units to sit onto the steel support framework via an occupied part of the hospital with a crane.

The Royal Liverpool Children’s NHS Trust, Alder Hey

2006-04-28T09:28:00.001Z

Working for ACM, ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) designed and built a new 2-storey modular neurosurgery ward at Alder Hey Hospital – built under ProCure 21 using alternative finance, and includes two theatres and a five-bed high-dependency unit.

The trust had a need for the new service but had no capital to fund it. The answer to this was a £6.5m managed and service facility, paid through the new revenue stream and utilising modular buildings provided by ModuleCo. Modular buildings are classed as temporary, therefore attracting no capital charges.

The building at Alder Hey is of the highest quality and is natural in appearance and it is a great example of the changing perceptions of modular buildings and off-site construction. It is robust and has a design life warranty of 60 years.

New Emergency Assessment Unit opens its doors

2006-04-27T07:49:00.001Z

Staff at Addenbrooke's Hospital have been putting the finishing touches to the new Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU), and from this week are welcoming the first patients to the new facilities.

The EAU has come a long way since September last year when the 68 modular units or 'building blocks' provided by ModuleCo that made up the unit were dropped into place. Over the last six months PKL Healthcare's building work has continued inside the unit to make it ready to open its doors to its first patients.

The unit will change the way emergency care is organised in the hospital. It will provide one 'front door' for emergencies instead of the current two - the Accident and Emergency department and the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU), which are situated at opposite ends of the hospital.

Patients will be assessed on arrival in the Emergency Department (ED) adjacent to the EAU by an integrated multi-professional team including doctors, nurses and other staff who will make early decisions about treatment and care. This will enable the team to decide whether patients can be discharged, managed within the EAU or need a specialist opinion or possible admission to the main hospital.

The unit will feature medical and surgical short-stay wards and an adult Clinical Decision Unit and a Children's Observation Unit, improved access to radiology facilities and rapid pathology testing, plus rapid access clinic facilities for emergency patients.

The Clinical Decision Unit, an area for observation or treatment and further clinical decision-making, is already open to patients. Over the next few weeks the other areas of the EAU will become occupied and will be up and running. The official opening will take place in June.

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust - Birmingham Heartland Hospital, Birmingham

2006-04-26T10:25:00.001Z

ModuleCo (formerly PKL Healthcare) designed and built the UK’s first modular diagnostic imaging suite. The sophisticated facility for a radiology department was constructed to permanent building standards but with the benefits of off-site construction.

The 20-week Programme procured on a 10-year operating lease, features a two-storey building with a pitched roof and brick slip cladding. It incorporates RF enclosure, magnetic and lead shielding protection, concrete bases to bear the weight of the scanners.

"PKL Healthcare provided an innovative solution to the Trust’s requirements to house two MR scanners and one CT scanner within a very tight timescale. The new building has blended well with it’s surroundings and we look forward to a partnership with PKL to ensure that the high specifications required for state of the art Diagnostic Imaging Facilities are maintained and further developed in the future"
Lowri Morus, Clinical Director

New PKL Healthcare unit helps waiting times fall in Swansea

2006-04-25T09:36:00.002Z

A new £5.2million purpose-built day surgery unit at Singleton Hospital is helping to speed up treatment times for patients in Swansea and bring down long waiting times Health Minister Dr Brian Gibbons said today (March 9th).

The new unit, supplied by ModuleCo, which was officially opened today, is open 12 hours a day, five days a week and provides an additional 80 to 100 operations each week.

Built with off-site construction methods, the facility incorporates two operating theatres, four 6-bed recovery units, four assessment rooms, ancillary and staff facilities.

Dr Gibbons said: "Since the day surgery unit opened at Singleton last October patients have seen a huge difference in the way they are treated. The Welsh Assembly Government has given a commitment to reduce waiting times across Wales and by providing £1.8m towards this unit patients in Swansea are seeing this happen.

"One of this year's targets for the NHS is to increase the number of procedures carried out in a day theatre setting so that patients don't have to spend any longer than is necessary in hospital. With this facility patients coming in for cataract surgery spend around two hours at the unit from admission to discharge. This is a huge improvement.

"The unit has also had an impact on general elective waiting times. With patients being treated in the new day unit, main theatre space has been freed up increasing the capacity of the Trust to carry out operations.

"Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff in Swansea there have been some dramatic falls in long waiting times over the last year. With the opening of the new day surgery unit at Singleton I am sure unit these falls will continue."