VINCI Construction UK Underway with £4.1 Million Fast-track Hospital Project

VINCI Construction UK is underway with a £4.1 million contract to undertake a fast-track development programme at the Princess Royal University Hospital for South London Healthcare NHS Trust.

The new facilities are being provided in response to the growing demand for maternity services and will include a second maternity theatre, larger special care baby unit, a midwifery lead birthing unit and additional ward capacity, as well as re-configuration of the accident and emergency unit. The works are to run concurrently in an occupied hospital building where it is essential to keep services running at all times.

Four air handling units and a chiller unit were recently lifted into position using a 500 tonne mobile crane. A crane of this size was required due to the complex lift to position the air handling units in courtyards within the centre of the hospital, necessitating a reach of 91m.

The arrival and operation of the crane needed significant planning to enable the hospital to continue to operate and to minimise impact on the local area, where extensive traffic management planning was required to cater for bus routes and car parking for the hospital.

Jonathan Pearce, Director of Estates & Facilities for South London Healthcare NHS Trust said: "I was very impressed with VINCI Construction UK's planning and logistics co-ordination prior to the weekend in preparation for the lifts.  The presence of the crane on site was always going to have a big impact on the day to day running of the hospital, but the VINCI Construction UK team rose above the challenges of the day.  They deserve every credit for the way they managed this complex operation so that the hospital was fully re-opened and ready for normal operations on Monday."

Published: 13/10/2010