Case Study
Hereford County Hospital – 72 bed ward
MMC categories used:
Category 1: Four-storey hybrid volumetric: Type C. Structural chassis, fitout, and external cladding / roofing complete. First fix M&E containment installed within the factory.
Category 2: External 2D steel wall frames manufactured offsite as part of the volumetric modules.
Category 3: Four-storey pre-cast lift shaft.
Category 5: Skid-mounted domestic hot water plates/pump sets and pipework all pre-assembled. Main steam pipework runs assembled and tested in factory. Offsite manufactured heating pipework sub-assemblies.
Category 6: Brick Slip Systems.
Category 7: As-completed drone survey. Timelapse camera.
Pre-Manufactured Value 75%
Wye Valley NHS Trust had scope to expand the current ward facilities at Hereford County Hospital; established as the area’s leading centre for acute hospital care. MTX were successful in the bid to provide a 3 storey ward development. This project was 1 of 20 new hospital upgrades across the country, delivered under Boris Johnson’s NHS Build Fund.
The development includes 72 bed spaces split across 3no 24 bed wards, with supporting ancillary areas such as a dedicated reception on each floor, staff bases and assessment rooms, all serviced by a top floor plant room. The new building connects into the existing hospital at ground floor level, via purpose made link corridors. A twin precast lift shaft was also integrated into the modular design to provide the new facility with 2no bed lifts.
As part of the Government initiative to ‘to build back better, greener, faster’, the new building was constructed utilising Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Repeatable Rooms designs were utilised across all 3 floors and each ward houses multi-functional bed bays alongside single bed accommodation. To further reduce the time spent on site, our M&E contractor fabricated, assembled and pre-installed the main plantroom headers and plate heat exchangers off site in a quality-controlled environment.
The new 72 bed ward development was delivered and installed during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the works the onsite team worked in close proximity to a live Covid-19 ward, keeping the patients and staff in mind at all times, ensuring social distancing and cleaning was maintained to a constant high level.
Hereford County Hospital was designed with the highest ventilation standards in mind, in line with the growing demands associated with the Coronavirus pandemic. An additional AHU was provided to serve a HBN 04 supplement 1 compliant isolation room. The isolation rooms were carefully designed to optimise airtightness by ensuring all services entered the room via the lobby.
The new facility provided Hereford County Hospital with 3,500m² of extra accommodation and successfully achieved a BREEAM score of ‘Very Good'.
[The project was] … hugely significant and marked the biggest step forward in terms of bed provision since the current County Hospital was opened just over 20 years ago” Chief Executive, Wye Valley NHS Trust.
Key Facts
Client: Wye Valley NHS Trust
Construction Period: 60 Weeks
Size: 3,500m²
