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MMC speeds progress on new Elective Orthopaedic Centre


The use of Modern Methods of Construction principles by NHS construction specialist, MTX, is driving progress on the new £64 m Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Colchester Hospital.


More than 70 factory-manufactured build units have now been installed on site, with internal works underway, and a further 80 steel-framed units are set to be craned into place, with the delivery of the units and crane lifts onto foundations prepared by MTX timed to minimise impacting ambulances movements.


building is the largest MMC development of its kind in the UK, and will create one of the largest Elective Orthopaedic Centres in Europe. It will house eight new orthopaedic operating theatres, with up to 71 beds, a reception area, and ancillary facilities.


The Elective Orthopaedic Centre is being built in five phases using a total of 289 factory-built steel-framed units. MTX says the design maximises the advantages of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DfMA) principles, enabling completion ‘faster, safer, greener, and more cost-effectively’. The three-storey, 8,283 m2


MTX said: “MMC can reduce time on site by up to 50%, with steel-framed building components manufactured off site under factory conditions, while simultaneously sub-structures are prepared on site and other work continues, shortening the overall programme. MMC can also reduce waste by up to 60%, while ensuring exceptional quality.”


Once the steel-framed components are in place, and walls and concrete floors are installed, MTX begins fitting out of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing elements, and, finally, furniture, fittings, and equipment. MTX MD, David Hartley, explained: “This project is a milestone for MMC


Geothermal energy’s potential discussed Hazards in hospital wastewater systems Key priorities for safe lift operation


www.healthestatejournal.com FC HEJ May23.indd 1 20/04/2023 16:22


Pictured above, on the left is John MacDonald, NHS Clerk of Works, with John Buttle, MTX Construction Manager, on the right.


as the biggest project of its kind in the UK, and we are immensely proud to be at the forefront of construction technology in creating the new Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Colchester Hospital.”


The Centre is being built on the site of the Mary Barron building, Cardiac Catheterisation Unit, and an administrative block, which have all been demolished by MTX, along with part removal of the Elmstead Day Unit. East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs the hospital, was awarded government funding to create the specialist centre for planned (elective) orthopaedic surgery, which supports NHS requirements for cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions to clear its treatment backlog. The new facility is expected to handle up to 10,500 patient cases annually, including almost 4000 day cases, and is due to start treating patients next year.


MTX Contracts Ltd Innovation House Brooke Court


Lower Meadow Road Wilmslow


Cheshire SK9 3ND T: 0800 138 3541 E: info@mtx.co.uk www.mtxcontracts.co.uk


IHEEM


May 2023 Volume 77 Number 5 www.iheem.org.uk


JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING AND ESTATE MANAGEMENT


Hydrogen and geothermal energy uses


Tis month’s ‘IFHE’ issue of HEJ includes two interesting, sustainability-themed articles from Canada. One focuses on the need for multidisciplinary expertise, careful planning, and the earliest possible engagement across the supply chain when designing new healthcare facilities to be as ‘climate-resilient’ as possible, while the second details recent work in Canadian hospitals to increase use of re-useable PPE and, wherever possible, ‘recycle’ it, in the process significantly cutting plastic waste. Tere are, of course, numerous areas where


the healthcare sector globally will need to operate more ‘sustainably’ to mitigate ever higher temperatures and the resulting climactic impact, among the most obvious being to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. On pages 29-34 the Carbon and Energy Fund’s Clive Nattrass and three sector counterparts examine both the potential for wider deployment of geothermal energy across the NHS, and some of the other ways to achieve decarbonisation of natural gas at the point of use. Tey say that when mapped, some Trusts are in the ‘enviable position’ of being close to both hydrogen and geothermal energy sources ‘purely by their location’. All large NHS emitter sites have been run through the British Geological Survey’s database, and about 100 have geothermal potential, they say. In the same article, the CEF’s Stephen


Lowndes points out that one of hydrogen’s key ‘perceived advantages’ as an alternative to natural gas is that it can be combusted in a similar way using familiar boiler technology, or even used in existing, ‘retro-adapted’ plant. Hydrogen contains no carbon, and releases no CO2


during


its combustion. He acknowledges, however, that a key issue remains how we generate it, and he goes on to discuss three key routes, and the current opportunities and obstacles. On a related theme, on pages 56-58, Tim


Rook, Chief Markets officer at UK heat pump manufacturer, Clade Engineering, discusses some of the key opportunities for renewable energy technologies to reduce carbon emissions and bring savings in the healthcare sector, with a particular focus on heat pumps. He emphasises, however, that with NHS sites ‘oſten complex’, and the services they provide ‘of a critical nature’, additional expertise is required to specify, design, and commission, these ‘important systems’. Tis, he acknowledges, can take some time to do properly, but is – as, as he puts it – ‘well worth the investment in time’.


Jonathan Baillie,


Editor jonathanbaillie@ stepcomms.com


May 2023 Health Estate Journal 5


health estate journal


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