The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have officially opened the new £267 m South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland’s first 100% single-bed NHS hospital.
Designed by Stantec Anshen+ Allen for the Northern Ireland Health Group, and built by FCC Construction, it will be run by the Western Health and Social Care Trust. The 69,000 m2 acute facility is located on a 52-acre greenfield site surrounded by rolling countryside. Stantec Anshen + Allen says the hospital is ‘broken up into smaller blocks that allow patients to experience it on a human scale’, with ‘predominantly natural materials’ – locally-sourced stone, slate, timber, and glass – ‘further grounding the building in its landscape’. Internal ‘linear gardens’ run the entire length.
Sustainable features include renewable energy, passive heating and ventilating, and ‘site-sensitive design’. Stantec Anshen + Allen worked closely with landscape architect, Land Use Consultants, ‘to create a fully integrated and sustainable landscape’.
Interior areas are ‘well-organised, light, airy, and spacious’, with the design maximising natural light and views of landscape, nature, and the nearby Wolf Lough. All 312 bedrooms have en suite bathrooms, and ‘hotel quality finishes’, with same-handed design and zoned clinical / patient areas ‘to help minimise errors, improve infection control, and enhance patient experience’.
