JOINT IHEEM NI AND ROI 2022 CONFERENCE
One of the ‘elements of learning’ from previous projects in the design of the new Acute Services Block at Ulster Hospital was of ‘detailed attention to good design’.
the trend.” Showing an aerial view of the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald, ‘ typical of many general acute hospitals in Northern Ireland’, which the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust manages, Brendan Smyth explained that, located on the outskirts of Belfast, the hospital serves a population of around 350,000. He said: “About 15 years ago, we started a phased redevelopment of the hospital. At the time, there were a number of individual projects each going through business case process and procurement to be constructed. It quickly became apparent that the process was throwing up several challenges and clashes. So, in discussions with the Department of Health, we aggregated all those projects into one single approved ‘bundle’ – at that time valued at circa £100 million, and from that we developed a Strategic Development Plan, and thereby a Site Masterplan.” These had informed the development of the campus right through to the current day. “Just looking at the slide,” Brendan
Smyth noted, “and some of the early development as part of that process – there was the Maternity Hospital – semi- extension, semi-refurbishment, and the re- location of renal unit. Had the latter been located where it was initially proposed, it would have been a real hindrance to the overall site development and the desired clinical adjacencies.”
The facilities at the new ASB at Ulster Hospital were designed to, and actually achieved, a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard.
Site infrastructure projects Following the completion of these two projects, there had been a series of site infrastructure projects – including demolition, site clearance, and car parking, all to support the two developments, but equally the wider site’s further development. This had entailed considerable investment, that didn’t really provide an immediate benefit for patient accommodation – with much of the work ‘in or under the ground, but nevertheless essential’. Brendan Smyth said: “A lot of the decisions made then have had significant impacts on the sustainability of the site going forward. Shown mid-slide is the Critical Care block, containing the main theatres, CSSD, and endoscopy labs – those types of functions. The two blocks – at the front, and tucked in behind it – are ward blocks, with all the associated services, the Acute Services ward at the back having recently been completed.” He next showed a slide of the hospital’s
Inpatient Ward block, completed ‘4-5 years ago’, with 288 single bedrooms across four floors, and located on the site of the old Health Estates facilities – “a collection of the bedraggled ‘portacabin-type’ buildings that Health Estates used to occupy”.
Great views Brendan Smyth said: “That block, at the top of the site, benefits from
wonderful views on one side, so there’s a real connection between the patient accommodation and nature and the environment. You may wonder what that has got to do with sustainability, but in my opinion, sustainability isn’t all about the MEP stuff, but about basic things – great design, and fabric first; understanding buildings and how they react to climate; the thermal mass of the building; how you include the shading elements, and the high-quality, low-maintenance materials that will last for 50-60 years plus; all those issues. In many ways this block really came into its own throughout the last couple of years of the pandemic.” In Northern Ireland, the speaker said,
there had been ‘quite an outbreak of nosocomial disease resulting from the difficulties of managing patients with COVID’. Northern Ireland’s Department of Health had thus asked Brendan Smyth and ‘two others’ to conduct an analysis of the factors influencing that across the estate. He said: “We did it in priority order, first visiting those facilities with the highest rates of nosocomial outbreak, and in this block at the Ulster Hospital; there were no cases.”
Commitment and dedication of staff He continued: “So we visited it last, and were still learning elsewhere on the estate, and when we visited, the clinical activity in all these facilities was outstanding, and the staff’s commitment and dedication beyond admiration. The one topic that arose every single time, however, was the admiration those medical staff had for the Estates colleagues who had come in and performed minor miracles in really difficult circumstances. Having said that, many still really suffered. You just felt for staff; the pressure they were under, and the strain of managing patients in an environment that really isn’t fit for purpose, and doesn’t have proper sanitary facilities or spatial separation.” The final visit had been to the new ward
The new Acute Services Block (ASB) at Ulster Hospital in Dundonald. 24 Health Estate Journal October 2022
block at the Ulster Hospital, ‘with the same patients presenting; the same elderly population, and the same respiratory
Courtesy of Donal McCann Photography / Avanti Architects
Courtesy of Donal McCann Photography / Avanti Architects
Courtesy of Donal McCann Photography / Avanti Architects
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