Developments underway at our Women’s Hospital
Major improvement work has begun at our Women’s Hospital which will dramatically change the façade and improve the internal environment for patients, families and staff.
Enabling works are in progress which will see a completely new frontage to the building, with replacement of all windows to triple-glazed and new external cladding.
This is set to reduce the energy costs by up to 80 per cent and make it much easier to manage the internal temperatures of the clinical facilities and offices, so that it is much more comfortable in very hot and cold weather.
The new-look Women’s Hospital will be a modern, clinical facility which staff can be proud to work in, comparable to the neighbouring buildings.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Sam Pretlove, and Director of Midwifery and Deputy Chief Nurse (Women's), Rachel Carter, said: “We are delighted to have this important improvement work now progressing and are without doubt that this will make a significant difference to all those in our care, and who provide that care.
"It will not only look better but will also help us with people being able to identify 'this' as our Women's Hospital that we will be able to keep warmer, colder and contribute to the environmental agenda too."
For the duration of the works, consideration has been made to privacy. Windows are being painted with a mist spray to enable light in and yet protect the dignity of staff and patients within the building. This misting is only done for the duration of the work and will be removed when that area of the building has been completed.
We recognise that any building work can be disruptive and the contractors, working alongside our Vital Services team, will be carrying out the work with sensitivity. The construction company are experts in carrying out this type of development with experience of working on health care buildings where clinical services are not interrupted.
Our Trust was awarded £63million of grant funding for its decarbonisation project with this being just one of many developments on our Women’s Hospital site and we look forward to continuing to upgrade this facility to enable our teams to provide the best care they can to our patients and families.
The funding will also see state-of-the-art, eco-friendly ground source heat pumps installed at both our Women’s and Children’s hospitals as well as replacement of old single-glazed windows and a remodelling of the Children’s Hospital main entrance.