OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION
An isolation room.
to shape a clear vision for the available space, UHDB took the bold step to alter its approach.
The procurement process A collaboration of departments at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, led by Finance director, Kevin Downs, and Paul Brooks, director of Patient Experience, Estates and Facilities Management, would form the bedrock of a new approach to planning and procurement. Together they stepped outside their comfort zone, and away from the well-trodden path of ‘gain generic funding, identify precise project, spend funding’, to challenge the ingrained, short- term thinking of ‘financial estates planning’ driven purely by the most urgent need or available round of capital.
Stepping out of the comfort zone can be a scary prospect when there is constant pressure to develop for the immediate need. What is imperative in making this new model of procurement a success is a deeper understanding of where current, as well as future, points of
A nurse station.
pressure on delivery of services for patients exist, and identifying the correct delivery partners to build long-term strategy with. The Estates team was thus challenged to take an holistic view of the Queen’s Hospital estate, and develop projections for a five-year estate strategy that would drive the financial model, creating an environment where investment was sought for ‘planned development based on demand’, and where projects were developed in phases to overarch funding cycles and maintain quality, rather than delivering a partial solution, value-engineered to fit a single capital funding release.
‘Traditional build methods precluded’ The timescale for the initial requirement of a 28-bed ward effectively precluded traditional build methods from the Trust’s estate strategy – due to rigid design and long lead-in timescales for development and delivery that would extend far beyond the availability of funding. Without appropriate timeframe for design and tender, or traditional construction
driven by the need for projects to be produced in shorter timescales, the use of offsite construction became the logical choice, as this type of construction can effectively be brought to site and ‘plugged in’.
As the choice of solution became clear, it was also apparent that there was a need for collaboration with expertise outside the Trust to facilitate this new approach. Appreciating this, the Board at UHDB empowered its teams to create strategic partnerships in the existing supply chain, and to identify alternative modern methods of delivery, acknowledging that such partnerships are critical to the delivery of long-term estate development. Financial compliance and due diligence criteria, together with best value for the Trust, had to remain a cornerstone of any development, and selecting the correct strategic partners from the supply chain was key to achieving this without compromise on specification or quality.
Already market-tested
As the main contractor for the Treatment Centre, my team at Catfoss had previously delivered an offsite-constructed modular ward scheme for the Trust at Derby Hospital, and so we were already market tested, presenting the perfect opportunity to further develop our existing, completely transparent, ‘open book’ relationship, where we collaborated with the hospital’s own supply chain, facilitating its involvement wherever possible. Experience has shown me the value for the Trust of using the existing supply chain within new-builds in this way, which cannot be underestimated, as it offers the ability to integrate to existing systems seamlessly; it also allowed us to support the ‘holistic view’ approach to long-term planning adopted by the Trust, as it removes the need to expand current maintenance spares to support new ranges of equipment.
A ‘pre-op room’ at the new Treatment Centre.
The new Treatment Centre highlights the positive outcomes that can be achieved by the inclusion of a coalition of skilled strategic partners earlier in the
March 2021 Health Estate Journal 71
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