Tameside General Hospital

The brief

The brief was to deliver a ten-bed ward facility that needed to be operational within an unprecedented short space of time, with minimum disruption to the running hospital, whilst following government guidelines on social distancing.

The challenges

The project needed to be delivered with as little disruption as possible to the hospital, which was running throughout. As the build took place during the Covid pandemic, additional efforts were needed to ensure government guidelines on social distancing were followed. The urgent need for beds required the project to be delivered within a short space of time.

The solution

The use of a partnering approach as principal contractor to this project helped develop the detailed specification within strict time constraints. Ten ventilated bed spaces, a nurse’s station, staff room, accessible shower and WC rooms, and laundry and utility rooms were developed.

A one-way entry and exit floorplan with automated sliding doors enabled the hospital to operate under the government social distancing guidelines.

All works were completed with minimal disruption to the running of the main site, despite being adjacent to the main A&E entrance for hospital. The project and design team worked closely with the client’s estates team, to ensure that deadlines and specifications were met, whilst ensuring all the relevant Health Technical Bulletins and notices had also been met.

‘We needed to be confident that our ten bed ward unit would be provided to the right standard and also meet a very tight deadline, this is why we selected Thurston Group.’ Paul Featherstone – Director of Estates for Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust