Modern medical miracle

In August, a new treatment centre will be unveiled in Somerset. Nothing spectacular about that. But what is impressive is that the Shepton Mallet Treatment Centre, which spans over 4000 sq m and two storeys, is due to built in just over nine months - at least half the time it would take to build it conventionally. And with the modular construction taking just 13 days to be craned into position.

Modular building for treatment centres - part of a wider government initiative to slash waiting lists and improve access to surgery - is not new, but appears to be effective.

Stephen Barnes, senior project manager for Atkins, who is overseeing the build, explains how the site is being transformed into a treatment centre that will carry out more than 11,000 operations per year.

The project

The Shepton Mallet Treatment Centre in Somerset is set to open this summer. Professional services consultancy Atkins provides project and programme management services. It won a £5.2m deal to deliver the centre and supporting infrastructures.

The hospital is being developed by a consortium that includes health providers the New York Presbyterian Hospital and OR International. Modular specialists Yorkon are building the facility. The centre needs to be up and running in nine-and-a-half months.

Why go modular?

Atkins examined whether to purchase a building or build a new one. It couldn’t find any buildings in the area that could be converted easily. But there was enough land on the grounds of the existing Shepton Mallet Community Hospital, so Atkins plumped for that.

The next question was should they use modular or conventional construction?

Modular got the go ahead due to cost and time constraints. Barnes estimates that conventional construction would take between 18 months and two years.

He adds: “Treatment centre contracts are competitive, so we looked at ways of delivering a high-quality building, but at a reasonable cost. We found that modular build tends to be approximately 70 per cent of the cost of conventional construction. Coupled with that there are massive time savings with delivery.”

Modular construction ensures speed and concurrent working.

“One of the incredible things is that we placed the contract with Yorkon in August last year and by November the foundations were in and the modules were starting to be craned on to site,” Barnes said. “By the end of November the modules were all in place. So the actual physical envelope of the building was there. Even as the modules were being delivered to site, the programme allowed us to start fitting out the internals.”

The two-storey building was manufactured off-site and will feature roof glazing above the waiting area, western red cedar cladding panels between windows and timber brise soleil to offer shading from the sun.

The design

Even as the modules were being delivered to site, the programme allowed us to start fitting out internals

Stephen Barnes, senior project manager, Atkins

This came about following extensive consultation with the American providers and input from doctors and clinicians in the UK.

The aim, says Barnes, is to create a centre of excellence ensuring the patient experience is second to none and high quality interior design.

Modular buildings can compromise design and Barnes adds: “I think the only area where design is compromised on modular buildings is really where columns have to go. On a modular building you have to follow a regular pattern of where columns are placed.

“You don’t get a huge amount of flexibility so we had to tweak the floor plans, but I wouldn’t say that this was compromising the building. I think the only issue would be that there are one or two columns within the building that ideally you would move to a slightly different position.”

Drawbacks

There were lengthy discussions, to get the right clinical adjacencies. And Atkins’ was not able to succeed on all fronts. Although Barnes blames the site, rather than the modular building. “We could only have two floors due to planning requirements. For instance, we had to put the sterilisation unit upstairs, whereas ideally it would be beside the operating theatres.”

Medical equipment

The treatment centre will house major equipment such as MRI scanners, X-ray and ultrasound equipment. The building will be able to accommodate radio frequency and radiation shielding.

Fittings

Atkins opted for a fit out on site, otherwise it feared the quality of mechanical and electrical systems could be compromised and there were safety considerations. Barnes adds: “It wouldn’t have been safe to have plugs going between the modules either on the plumbing side or the electrical side.”

The future

For Barnes, the modular design is a useful approach for building treatment centres. He feels that Atkins may be able to roll out this type of design in the future.

But will this operation be a success? He hopes so. So far the procedure is running to schedule. He adds: “We are deliberately looking at various elements of the project where we can bring forward the programme at the moment to try to ensure that we secure the overall timeline.”