The Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) has completed a major milestone in the development of its new shared pathology hub with the opening of a Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory.
The facility will support a more efficient, centralised and sustainable pathology service for acute hospitals, community providers and GP practices across the region.
Construction partner Walter Lilly appointed specialist contractor Medical Air Technology (MAT) to design and deliver the facility, drawing on MAT’s experience in high-containment laboratory environments. Initial design concepts were refined by MAT and developed into a full design-and-build scheme.
The project forms part of the wider transformation of pathology services in line with the national programme stemming from Lord Carter of Coles’ review of NHS efficiency. His report highlights that ‘the provision of high-quality clinical care and good resource management go hand-in-hand. All Trusts should therefore grasp the use of their resources more effectively’.
MAT says that the establishment of the new shared pathology network is one example of how this is being achieved, adding that ‘the shared pathology service is sustainable for hospitals, community services and GPs, and patients, and is an exciting stage in the drive towards improved efficiencies across all NHS facilities’.
The hub required a Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory for processing pathology samples in order to protect staff, the public, and the environment from potentially infectious pathogens.
The new suite includes:
• Circulation corridor - The general circulation corridor provides access to the ante room. From here, users can view key facility parameters (room pressures, alarms) and operate the ventilation system into fumigation mode. Ingress to the lab is via an accessed controlled door. An electrical cupboard houses distribution and building management system hardware.
• Ante room - Accessed from a circulation corridor, the ante room forms the first stage of the biocontainment boundary. This area is for hand washing and gowning/de-gowning on entry or exit from the main laboratory spaces.
• CL3 laboratory - The main containment space is where the bulk of the operational activities take place. This room contains five Class I Microbiological Safety Cabinets, incubators and benching.
• Dark room - Ancillary process space accessed from the CL3 laboratory. This space provides benching, process equipment and a Class II microbiological safety cabinet.
• Autoclave - Dedicated space for the waste disposal plant for high temperature sterilisation and pass-through to waste room. Also contains a sluice sink for wash-up activities.
• Roof level location for the supply air handling unit, extract air plant, runaround pumps, condensers and motor control panels.
All work was completed in compliance with current standards and guidance including the HSE ACDP document Management, Design and Operation of Microbiological Containment Laboratories; and COSHH Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.
Project challenges
The design brief required a substantial amount of glazing, which MAT engineered to meet stringent sealability criteria. The laboratory was also designed for chlorine dioxide fumigation – a first for MAT – requiring three overnight efficacy tests conducted in darkness due to the compound’s sensitivity to UV light.
