Shepton Mallet Treatment Centre
Off Site Construction Specialist, Yorkon, Awarded Contract

[11/7/2004]
Source : Culture and Community News

Off-site construction specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, is to design and build an innovative, independent treatment centre in Somerset – the UK’s first to be built using modular construction. The £9.24m scheme is also Yorkon’s largest contract in the healthcare sector.

The project is part of a major Government initiative to increase capacity in the NHS, improve patient choice and speed up access to surgery. Due for completion in summer 2005, the 4,100sqm centre will carry out more than 11,000 operations per year.

The Shepton Mallet Treatment Centre is developed by an international consortium, which includes the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System, OR International – a US-based developer of speciality surgical hospitals, and Atkins. The off-site construction project is sponsored by the four Somerset Primary Care Trusts and North Dorset Primary Care Trust.

Built adjacent to an existing cottage hospital in Shepton Mallet, the treatment centre will accommodate four operating theatres for orthopaedic, ophthalmology, and general surgery, an on-site sterile services department, radiology, an endoscopy suite, physiotherapy gym, and 34 in-patient beds.

Jonathan Weiner, Chairman of Shepton Mallet Treatment Centre, said, “The finished building will represent both high quality and value for money. The use of off-site construction will deliver the building in less time than conventional construction, which means we can begin treating patients sooner. Disruption to local residents will also be less because much of the construction work will take place off-site in York.”

He added, “We selected Yorkon for this pioneering scheme because of their reputation and expertise in the health sector, and their commitment to delivering healthcare projects, on time and on budget.”
Keith Blanshard, Director and General Manager of Yorkon said, “We are delighted to have secured yet another industry first for Yorkon - the first independent treatment centre to be built off-site. This more innovative approach to construction is faster and offers improved quality, design flexibility and less disruption, to the benefit of the local community, patients in the Somerset and North Dorset areas and the healthcare providers.”

Philip Eke, Project Director at Mendip Primary Care Trust, said, “The treatment centre will be working to the very highest standards, aiming to deliver a quality of care that will be at least as good as the best currently provided by the NHS. The initiative will give the NHS important extra capacity to perform routine operations and will significantly reduce waiting times.”

The two-storey building will be manufactured by off-site construction techniques at the 60-acre production centre in York and craned into position as steel-framed modules up to 14m long. It will feature roof glazing above the waiting area, western red cedar cladding panels between windows and timber brise soleil to offer shading from the sun. Yorkon will also be responsible for demolition works, landscaping and fitting out.