MTX Contracts has completed the remodelling and installation of a single ultra-clean operating theatre and recovery area at Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot for the Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The new operating theatre, which will increase ultra-clean theatre numbers at the hospital to six, has been built to provide additional capacity due to changing patient demographics and Government-set waiting list targets. The Trust originally invested in a mobile operating theatre positioned, as a temporary measure, in the car park next to the existing five operating theatres. However, due to increased demand on existing theatres, especially for orthopaedic operations, and the expiry of the temporary theatre lease last month, a permanent solution was deemed necessary. A specialist in the design and construction of healthcare facilities, including remodelling and refurbishment, MTX has installed two out of the hospital’s five operating theatres over the past decade, and thus has an excellent knowledge of the site and its requirements. With the Trust having no budget or space to extend the hospital further, an appropriate area within the existing hospital building needed to be found to accommodate the new operating theatre and recovery area. MTX designed and installed the new theatre to fit snugly within a redundant waiting area situated off the main hospital corridor, close to the existing five theatres. Two major requirements during the new theatre’s installation were maintaining access to the central corridor as the main thoroughfare through the hospital, and ensuring existing theatre operations were not disrupted. To keep the main corridor operational a temporary screen was installed along the length of the construction area, providing a sealed perimeter for the new theatre, and allowing all construction work to be undertaken in a completely isolated area, thus minimising disruption to patients, staff and visitors. The screen also minimised disruption to the daily running of the existing theatres. MTX also designed and installed a new purpose-built external plant deck around the existing flat roof construction. The design of the original hospital building, constructed in the early 1960s, also had to be carefully considered; thus a high priority was placed on new architectural features being “in keeping” with the existing buildings’ external appearance. The new ultra-clean theatre, handed over on 13 August, was installed in under 14 weeks.
