Queen’s Hospital, Burton - Ward refurbishment works

Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the chief provider of secondary healthcare services to approximately 36,000 people across Burton-upon-Trent and surrounding areas.

Queen’s Hospital is the largest of the three hospitals that form the trust, offering a comprehensive range of service with a mission to ‘deliver the best experience possible’.

The hospital required a complete refurbishment of its Orthopaedics and A&E wards, as well as some additional offices outside of the ward. The project would comprise the removal of existing walls, new mechanical and electrical systems, re-roofing, internal decoration, and the replacement of vinyl flooring.

J Tomlinson’s previous experience of successfully delivering a wide range of refurbishment projects to the healthcare sector meant that the company was selected to undertake the required works on behalf of the trust.

Live hospital setting

During the mobilisation period of the project, J Tomlinson met with the client to outline clear plans to support delivery, including:

• Quality Plan – quality control activities aligned to client’s specification; this included providing samples for client approval and agreeing the frequency of quality inspections at key milestones throughout the project.

• Environmental Plan – developing effective procedures, covering waste management, carbon reduction, noise and dust minimisation; in line with the hospital’s Environmental Policy.

• Site Rules – liaising with the hospital’s Estates team to understand site-specific operating procedures and incorporate these into our safety method statements and training.

• Traffic Management Plan – understanding traffic flows around the hospital, for public, emergency access/egress and fire safety, in order to develop a site-specific Traffic Management Plan that would minimise disruption to the hospital, while safeguarding all staff, public and operatives.

We ensured that ambulances would be able to access and exit the hospital’s busy A&E department as normal by erecting a gantry that enabled waste to be disposed of via a waste chute connected to the roof.

Minimal disruption to patient environment

In order to minimise disruption to staff, patients and visitors, J Tomlinson adopted a phased approach to the project, refurbishing one area at a time and beginning with office areas. Temporary screens were erected to segregate and protect the patient environment from sites where work was taking place; however, the company ensured that hospital staff always had access to all areas, which was particularly critical in the event of an emergency.

Excellent client communication was essential throughout works; planning works jointly with the client and providing proactive updates throughout the duration of the project was instrumental to the refurbishments being completed on time and in line with the client’s requirements.

EXCELLENT CLIENT RELATIONSHIP - following successful completion of the Orthopaedics ward refurbishment works, J Tomlinson was appointed to refurbish the hospital’s A&E ward

MINIMAL DISRUPTION - phased working, a traffic management plan, and daily communication with patient-facing staff ensured that any disruption caused by the works was kept to a minimum. We ensured that ambulances would be able to access and exit the hospital’s busy A&E department as normal by erecting a gantry that enabled waste to be disposed of via a waste chute connected to the roof.

HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT EXPERTISE - having worked within a wide range of health and care environments. J Tomlinson has a detailed understanding of the specific challenges and requirements experienced by such clients. As such, were able to undertake the ward refurbishment works within fully operational environments, whilst ensuring the hospital was able to continue providing excellent patient care on a daily basis

ON-TIME DELIVERY - works were completed to a high standard, in line with the hospital’s attractive and modern feel