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.

New Healthcare Hire Website

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.

Birthing Suite and Maternity Operating Theatres

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.

Second Modular Operating Theatre for NHS Trust

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.