Morgan Sindall Construction’s Northern Home Counties business has been appointed to develop a £19.1 m ward expansion on behalf of the Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) NHS Foundation Trust.
Procured via the Pagabo Framework, the project will create a new two-storey building known as Oak Wards at the hospital, and a link corridor to the existing A&E department in MKUH’s main building. These upgrades will enable the site to provide healthcare services to more people at a faster rate, helping meet the increased healthcare demands of Milton Keynes’ growing population. The project, the second Morgan Sindall is currently delivering for the Trust, is due to start on site in the second quarter of 2024, and complete in late 2025.
The new Oak Wards facility will feature two 24-bed wards, four of which will be five-bed bays and four single bedrooms, alongside storage space, utility rooms, offices, a ward kitchen, and staff areas. Both storeys will be laid out in a rectangular floor plan with a central nurse’s station and large bay windows to maximise natural light. The floor plan mirrors an existing ward, so will be immediately familiar to staff.
Morgan Sindall’s ‘Intelligent Solutions’ approach to construction was utilised during the project’s design stage to overcome potential challenges and ensure that the new building provides a sustainable, high-quality healthcare facility that aligns with the NHS’s Net Zero carbon goals.
Key sustainability features include air source heat pumps on the roof to supply power to the new ward building, while the façade, building services, and insulation, have been designed to exceed the current requirements for efficiency and thermal performance. A concrete frame will help reduce embodied carbon levels. Sustainable drainage and water management systems on the ground floor, including swales and a rain garden, will allow rainwater to naturally drain away. Externally, Morgan Sindall will conduct landscaping designed to achieve a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain, through planting new trees and wildflowers, and installing habitats such as bat boxes and insect hotels.
Due to the development’s proximity to existing buildings, daily operations will be closely monitored and scheduled to avoid disrupting vital hospital functions. MKUH also has a helipad, with a flight path that crosses the site. To ensure the helicopter can remain active, crane lifts and other planned works will be conducted in coordination with the flight authorities.
Morgan Sindall has been working with the Trust since the project was at RIBA stage 2. It is also working with the Trust on a new radiotherapy centre, due to open this Summer.
