OFFSITE construction specialist The McAvoy Group has craned the final modules into position on site for a new wing at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.
The contract is worth £15 million to the Dungannon company - its largest healthcare project to date.
The project is using the latest construction technology to minimise disruption to patient care and to reduce the build programme by half to less than 12 months. The building was craned into position as 294 steel-framed modules in a highly complex operation.
The speed of construction will help Northumbria Healthcare Trust to meet the rising demand for acute patient services in the region and maintain its position as a leader in the development of urgent and emergency care.
McAvoy Group construction director Raymond Millar said: "This is a hugely challenging project on a live hospital site.
"We are integrating with the design of the existing hospital and using offsite construction to deliver the building to a short programme, achieve exceptional value for money and to the required quality standards.
"The installation of the final modules is a major milestone for the project and a significant achievement for the project team in the middle of winter and on such an exposed site as this."
The first floor of the new wing will be fitted out as part of this contract to accommodate one of the UK's first purpose-designed ambulatory care units, with the other two floors fitted out in the next phase of the development.
The project features a number of innovations in offsite construction. It is using larger, bespoke modules up to 14.85m long which have been specially engineered to provide a structural flooring solution that seamlessly integrates with the existing hospital building. This will remove the need for ramps and steps.
Mechanical ventilation, heating and cooling systems have been installed in the ceiling voids in the McAvoy factory. This is believed to be an industry first in the healthcare sector.
The new wing is replicating the appearance of the existing hospital which opened in 2015.
