Live healthcare environment | Rapid COVID response | Modular building delivery | Healthcare technical guidance | Link corridor integration
When healthcare capacity was under unprecedented pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust needed a fast, reliable and compliant way to create additional clinical space.
Thurston Group was appointed to design, manufacture and install a bespoke ten-bed ward facility within a live hospital environment. The project required more than speed. It needed careful planning, healthcare-specific thinking and close collaboration with the Trust’s estates team to ensure the new facility could support clinical workflows while minimising disruption to the operational hospital site.
The result was a 242m2 modular ward facility delivered in just seven weeks, providing ten ventilated bed spaces, a nursing station, staff room, accessible shower and WC rooms, laundry and utility spaces.
The project demonstrates what Thurston does best: turning urgent, complex requirements into practical, engineered spaces that work in the real world.
The challenge
The Trust needed additional ward capacity at pace, while the hospital remained fully operational.
The project had to be delivered within a highly constrained programme, during a period of intense operational pressure across the NHS. The new facility needed to support infection-control considerations, social distancing requirements and clinical movement patterns, while being installed adjacent to the hospital’s main A&E entrance.
There was little room for delay or disruption. The facility had to be designed, built and commissioned quickly, but without compromising on healthcare requirements, patient flow or the day-to-day operation of the hospital.
Following the successful delivery of the COVID ward, the Trust required further support as part of the next phase of its estate strategy. This included enlarging the A&E waiting room facilities to meet increased demand, relocating and transforming the ward into an Urgent Treatment Centre, and creating a new physical connection between the ward facility and the radiology department.
The challenge was not just to deliver individual buildings, but to keep critical hospital services moving while multiple phases of work were coordinated around a live emergency care environment.
The solution
Thurston worked closely with the Trust and estates team from the outset, using a partnering approach to develop the specification, align the programme and solve practical delivery challenges at speed.
The modular ward was designed around the operational needs of the hospital, with ten ventilated bed spaces supported by key clinical and staff facilities. A one-way entry and exit layout, supported by automated sliding doors, helped the Trust manage movement through the facility in line with COVID-era guidance and infection-control considerations.
As Principal Contractor, Thurston coordinated the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning process to keep the programme moving while maintaining close control of quality, safety and site activity.
The team then supported the transformation of the COVID ward into a new Urgent Treatment Centre, aligning the relocation and repurposing works with the Trust’s wider emergency department refurbishment programme. This included the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of two additional rooms for the new UTC facility.
A further phase saw Thurston deliver a link corridor connecting the new UTC building to the main hospital’s radiology department. Because of differing ground levels, a hybrid construction approach was required. Thurston combined modular construction with traditional build methods, installing a bespoke modular unit on a raised wall structure and integrating concrete ramping with modular flooring to create a practical, accessible connection between the buildings.
At the same time, the A&E waiting department received a new bespoke two-bay building, doubling reception waiting area capacity while the existing waiting area remained operational. The new space was connected directly to the existing facility, with the breakthrough completed over a single night shift to minimise disruption to patients, staff and hospital operations.
The result
The initial ten-bed ward was designed, constructed and installed in just seven weeks, giving the Trust additional healthcare capacity when it was urgently needed.
The facility supported clinical operations during a critical period, while the later UTC transformation helped the Trust progress its wider emergency department refurbishment plans. The link corridor created a direct connection to radiology, improving the operational relationship between the new facility and the existing hospital estate.
Across each phase, Thurston delivered in a live healthcare setting, adjacent to essential hospital services, with minimal disruption to the running of the wider site.
What this Demonstrates
Rapid response in a critical healthcare setting
Thurston delivered a fully operational 242m2 ward facility in just seven weeks, helping the Trust respond to urgent COVID-era capacity pressures.
Engineering-led problem solving
The project required more than standard modular delivery. Thurston adapted the design around clinical flow, access, infection-control considerations and the practical constraints of a live hospital site.
Healthcare-focused delivery
The facility was developed with relevant healthcare technical guidance and COVID-era requirements in mind, including social distancing, one-way movement and automated door access.
Modular and traditional construction working together
The link corridor required a hybrid approach, combining modular construction with traditional build methods to overcome level changes and connect the UTC with the main radiology department.
Collaboration in a live environment
Thurston worked closely with the Trust and estates team across multiple phases, ensuring the programme supported the wider hospital refurbishment strategy without disrupting essential services.
Built on experience
From urgent ward capacity to UTC transformation and complex corridor integration, the project shows Thurston’s ability to turn a demanding brief into a practical, reliable healthcare environment.
Customer Testimonial
“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, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
