The Royal British Legion - Extension and refurbishment - Galanos House care home

Founded in 1921 following World War One, The Royal British Legion is the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, and is committed to providing lifelong support to serving and ex-Service personnel and their families through hardships, injuries and bereavement.

J Tomlinson was appointed by The Royal British Legion to undertake a significant refurbishment scheme across Galanos House in Warwickshire – one of 6 care homes owned and run by the Legion.

Works comprised the creation of two extensions to maximise capacity at Galanos House, creating 10 new patient beds in the home’s award-winning Poppy Lodge dementia unit, as well as a new community hub featuring a day care facility, café and treatment rooms. Garden landscaping works and an extension to the home’s car parking area were also undertaken to support increased occupancy following completion of the project.

All works were undertaken across a live and fully-occupied specialist care environment and continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live Dementia Care Home

Considerate construction: The wellbeing of residents, staff and visitors remained at the forefront of J Tominson’s approach throughout the scheme. Regular communication between the project team and care staff and a high degree of vigilance was instrumental in minimising the impact of our operations, with temporary, secure hoardings erected to segregate working areas and help reduce risk. Phased working was also undertaken

Managing spatial constraints: Spatial constraints on site were managed and overcome via the relocation of welfare facilities, creation of a new haul road, pre-scheduled deliveries and some weekend working. Throughout the scheme we were mindful of the critical importance of keeping the thoroughfare clear for staff, visitors and emergency vehicles.

Energy Efficient Technologies

As part of the project, a raft of energy efficient measures were installed by J Tomlinson to help future-proof existing and newly-created spaces and maximise comfort levels for residents and care staff. These included a new Building Management System (BMS), boilers, underfloor heating, LED lighting and thermal insulation to the fabric of the building.

Value Engineering

Over £170K of value engineering opportunities were identified and proposed at tender stage to help ensure the project was delivered in line with our client’s budget. These included changes to windows and doors, as well use of as an alternative lighting fixtures and cladding material. Following close collaboration with the wider project team, it was agreed that additional alterations would be made to enable J Tomlinson to work with the existing site ground levels to minimise the project’s carbon footprint and the cost of removing material from site.

COVID-19 Safe Working

The latter stages of the project – which primarily consisted of external works - took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Tomlinson rigorous approach to health and safety helped mitigate the spread of infection through reduced staff levels, excellent hygiene, phased working, temperature checks and adherence to social distancing guidelines.

ON BUDGET COMPLETION – The project was completed on budget, aided by over £170k of value engineering works identified and proposed by J Tomlinson at tender stage

LIVE DEMENTIA CARE ENVIRONMENT - The home remained occupied and fully operational throughout the project. J Tomlinson’s considerate, Dementia-friendly approach and excellent risk management ensured minimal disruption to residents, visitors and care staff

HIGH-QUALITY FINISH – The scheme was completed to a high standard, with cedar cladding, aluminium windows and doors, curved guttering/fascias and complex roofing as the architect’s choice for aesthetics

ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES – Energy efficient measures installed by J Tomlinson included a new Building Management System (BSM), boilers, underfloor heating, LED lighting and thermal insulation to the fabric of the building