INGOODCOMPANY Smooth operation

LEND LEASE

Construction of Manchester Royal Infirmary’s new theatre suite was not without challenges, but collaborative working proved the key to success

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end Lease has handed over a new theatre suite at Manchester Royal Infirmary. The suite consists of

two cutting-edge, fully-integrated hybrid theatres, which include robotic C-arms, and a general women’s theatre. The £6.4m scheme was delivered by Lend Lease on behalf of Catalyst Healthcare Manchester and Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It was project managed by Lend Lease Consulting. A normal theatre tends to be designed

purely for surgical purposes, with radiology and diagnostics scanning equipment located separately. A hybrid theatre combines the two, which means patients do not have to go into an operating theatre and wait to be diagnosed – they can be scanned on the operating table before, during and after an operation. This reduces time, patient movements, and risk of infection, as well as increasing efficiency and patient safety.

Rare and innovative The 620m2

new hybrid endovascular

theatre suite is set to transform the treatment of patients undergoing cardiovascular operations – and other specialties such as urology and major trauma – by enabling new innovative techniques and treatments which are not currently possible. Only a few facilities exist worldwide that offer the same capabilities. The new theatres were built from

previously shelled space, part of the initial PFI hospital design, on the second floor of a live hospital. The space is surrounded by a “clean” corridor carrying patients to adjacent clinical areas, a “dirty” service corridor, operating theatres and patient

recovery areas. This was complicated further by two ophthalmic theatres directly below the site, which include highly- sensitive microscopes fixed to the slab between the eye theatres and new hybrid theatres above. The floor slab to the new theatres needed to be raised 50mm and channelled in to 25mm to give the required 75mm floor ducts and facilitate the installation of 1,800kg C-arms as well as hundreds of fixings for the bespoke walling. The smooth and successful delivery of

such a complex and demanding project was the result of strict coordination of clinical services, site works and wider stakeholder management. Jon Parry, head of healthcare for Lend

Lease Consulting, who project-managed the scheme, said: “The real key to making this project work was the continued stakeholder involvement and strong working relationship between Lend Lease and Trust, especially Patsy Tobin, the property and estates lead. The project has faced many technical, logistical and practical challenges. Close collaboration with numerous stakeholders saw us overcome each of these challenges – a testament to the strength of the project team. The new flagship facility is absolutely stunning and a project all involved can be truly proud of.”

BIM at work

Other challenges included the coordination and integration of a number of bespoke and technically advanced features such as a “skirtless” ultra clean canopy, Variop powder-coated modular walling system, fully integrated theatre system team and specialist Siemens medical equipment,

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“The project has faced many technical, logistical and practical challenges. Close collaboration with stakeholders saw us overcome these”

including the C-arms. This was helped immensely by the project being produced in BIM from the outset, which not only aided in the coordination of the building and service elements but also in providing the clinical users a better 3D understanding of the new facility during the design stages. Sheldon Walsh, healthcare director at

AFL Architects, who designed the new theatres, said: “This has been a fantastic process to be involved with, from the complexity and sophistication that the design challenges presented, to working with such an innovative team at the MRI.” The new hybrid theatres received their

first patients in June this year and David Murray, consultant vascular surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary, said: “This facility will be a fantastic benefit to the people of Manchester and the north west. It will allow us to perform complex procedures in a safer environment and introduce innovative techniques that are currently not possible. Minimally invasive treatments will allow patients to have safer surgery and recover much faster. This really is the cutting edge of technology and we are very excited about the future.”

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Client Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust PFI Project Company Catalyst Healthcare Manchester Main Contractor Lend Lease Project Manager Lend Lease Consulting Delivery Partners Maquet, Fulbourn Medical, Townley Hughes, KTP Electrical Architect AFL Architects M&E Design Redworth Associates Structural Engineer Sharp & Scarffe

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