News
New state-of-the-art £5.6m operating theatre completed
8 Jan 2024
Devika Parmar
Director
A new modular Laminar Flow Operating Theatre at Newark Hospital can now deliver up to 2,600 extra surgical procedures per year, thanks to the efforts of a collaborative construction team.
The project, funded by NHS England’s Targeted Investment Fund (TIF), was procured through the ESPO Property, Building and Infrastructure Advice, & Management Services Framework, with Pick Everard delivering architecture, landscape architecture and principal designer services, Hexa Consulting acting as structural engineers, and Pulse Consultants as project managers.
The state-of-the-art facility, valued at £5.6 million and named the Newark Elective Hub, will significantly increase Newark Hospital’s service offering and improve patient access, care and waiting times within the local community. Connected to the main hospital via a newly constructed link corridor, the new operating theatre allows up to 50 extra procedures per week to be carried out, complementing existing orthopaedic and trauma services.
Utilising innovative modular design concepts, the project minimised on-site construction time, allowing for most of the implementation of the new suite to take place over a single weekend. This ensured there was minimal disruption to Newark Hospital’s vital ongoing patient care and procedures. As well as the laminar flow theatre, the suite comprises of a new recovery area, anaesthetic room, scrub facilities, as well as a new staff change area.
Devika Parmar, director at Pick Everard said: “This project is hugely beneficial to Newark’s healthcare offering, affording residents closer access to high quality healthcare without the need to travel outside the area. It also benefits staff and their operations greatly, with the new link corridor ensuring services such as waste collection can be navigated through the existing facilities in one seamless transfer.
“Additionally, minimal disruption during installation was crucial to ensure continuity of clinical services delivery. The ability to design the structure offsite minimised immensely. Communication was also key between the project stakeholders, with fortnightly meetings and workshops held to ensure our process was compliant with the Health Building Notes (HBN) and Health Technical Memoranda (HTM) criteria, with all design proposals scrutinised by the client’s technical advisers.
“We now look forward to the new operating theatre becoming a cornerstone of Newark Hospital’s service offering, delivering enhanced value to local communities.”
As well as the social value the new operating theatre brings to the area, the localised service is estimated to deliver a reduction in carbon footprint by 12kg per patient, due to reduced travel time and distance to nearby health services.
David Ainsworth, director of strategy and partnerships for the Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “This is a really exciting time for Newark Hospital, our patients, and our colleagues. Thanks to the efforts of Pick Everard and the wider project team, the new operating theatre means more patients can get the treatment they need and get back to living a fuller life, faster.
"The hospital has a long history in the area, and the theatre is just the latest aspect of our plans to make the best use of its potential, as well as what it adds to the wider Newark community.”
Mark Jones, director at Hexa Consulting, said: “Providing multi-disciplinary consultancy services to the planning application and construction phase of this project was a fantastic opportunity. Through collaboration with the wider design team and main contractor, we were able to navigate the challenges of the available space and working hospital, which would remain open during the construction phase, to ensure the scheme was viable.”
“Combining Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) modular units and traditional building techniques saw the scheme progress at pace, and we’re pleased to have been a part of such an essential project for the hospital.”
Further elements to the project including landscaping works and refurbishments to other areas in the Hospital are to be delivered in the new year.