Whiston Hospital is an acute general hospital in Whiston, Merseyside, run by the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (MWL). The hospital prides itself on offering state-of-the-art facilities, so when it decided to increase the number of operating theatres on the site, it wanted to ensure they were of the same extremely high standard.
MAT and Warden Construction, who previously worked together at Ramsay Health Care’s Buckshaw Hospital, submitted a joint successful tender for the Whiston Hospital scheme which involved, in part, the strip-out and remodelling of a floor area of approximately 1,100m2 to convert a section of the hospital’s third floor administration hub into a new operating theatre suite. In addition to housing theatres 14 and 15, the ultra-modern suite would feature two conventional operating theatres, an anaesthetic room, and a recovery room.
Attention to detail and commitment to excellence
Planning started in 2020, with work beginning in 2023. Computers, desks and other administrative equipment was cleared to make way for the complete redesign of the area for the theatres and ancillary spaces. MAT engineers then took over, installing the new theatre and recovery ventilation and equipping each theatre with a full package of specialist equipment, including operating lights, theatre control panels, pendants and a picture archiving and communication system (PACS), all supplied by Bender UK.
In addition to the theatres, the suite contains an anaesthetic room and five-bed recovery, with the ventilation designed by MAT to provide the best environment for pre- and post-operative care. Three new air handling units (AHUs) were also required to boost the performance of the hospital’s HVAC systems, in line with the requirements of HTM 03-01 (2021). The AHUs circulate air, clean pollutants and regulate temperature, and play a vital role in hospital infection control.
Everyone involved in the project, which was handed over on time and within budget, shared the same attention to detail and commitment to excellence. The suite will ensure the hospital can continue to offer short waiting times and world-class facilities, with treatment delivered by dedicated clinical and support staff operating in the best possible environment for patient care.
A specialist contractor
MAT designs, manufactures, and installs bespoke critical ventilation systems and turnkey project solutions for new-build and refurbishment healthcare and life science projects. The team has extensive experience of working in live environments and fully understands the challenges around delivering a project within an operational scenario.
In addition, the company’s facilities management division, MAT FM, provides a range of competitively priced and highly effective service and maintenance packages for all core products and turnkey solutions offered by MAT or other suppliers, ensuring that equipment is maintained, serviced and validated correctly for optimum performance and efficiency.
