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consistent layout, with the same Merivaara surgical lights and touchscreen theatre control panels by Bender UK, so teams can move seamlessly from one theatre to another. According to The Health Foundation, in June
2024, out of 7.6 million cases on the waiting list for consultant-led care, 1.2 million were for people waiting for admission to hospital for elective surgical treatment. These people – waiting for operations such as hip replacements or cataract surgeries – tend to have waited longer than those on the rest of the waiting list, often in avoidable discomfort and pain. Most elective services are carried out in
acute hospitals that also treat large numbers of emergency patients. This means that surges in demand for emergency care – such as during the pandemic or in a bad winter – can lead to cancellations of planned surgeries given the need to prioritise more urgent, unplanned work. Elective surgical hubs play a pivotal role
in plans to tackle the elective care backlog. Surgical hubs aim to improve productivity, reduce cancelled operations and enable people to be discharged from hospital more quickly. These specialised ‘hospitals within a hospital’ are dedicated to planned surgeries using ringfenced staff and resources. This effectively separates elective care into two pathways: a hub focusing on high-volume low-complexity (HVLC) cases, such as hip replacement, and the rest of theatre space freed up for more complex cases. In May 2021, Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT), the national NHS England programme, introduced the HVLC programme to support surgical hubs to adopt best clinical and operational practice. £1.5bn has been invested to drive their expansion, with the creation of 47 new hubs and 26 expanded hub sites between 2023 and 2025. As of September 2024, there were 108 surgical hubs operating across the country with a further 26 due to open by the end of 2025. Colchester Hospital is designated a major
centre for knee revision surgery and is part of a national movement to centralise complex surgery in centres of excellence. It is accepted wisdom that surgical teams performing those types of surgeries on a regular basis ensure patients have better outcomes and fewer complications.
Largest MMC project of its kind in UK Scott McCaskie, the MTX Director with principal responsibility for the Colchester project, explained that ESNEFT embarked on the journey to create the ESEOC in 2018 when the Trust began developing its strategy for the new surgical hub.
It originally secured Sustainability and
Transformation (STP) funding for a unit with six operating theatres. Part way through the initial pre-construction phase with MTX, the Trust gained extra Targeted Investment Fund (COVID Recovery) funding for two additional theatres and an additional ward, making it eight theatres and three wards. The extra funding also enabled ESEOC to include X-ray facilities, a gym and a physical therapy room with specialist staff to rehabilitate patients recovering from more intensive hip and knee procedures. The increase in size and facilities makes the
new dedicated elective orthopaedic centre one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe, and certainly the largest ever built in the UK using modern methods of construction. MTX Contracts Ltd was chosen by ESNEFT to deliver the design and build project employing the company’s hybrid construction method that embraces modern methods of construction and off-site manufacturing of structural steel units and services modules. The new building was delivered through a two- stage contract. The preconstruction services contract was awarded in 2020 and MTX worked with the Trust to bring the design to RIBA stage four. Planning permission for the ESEOC was granted in June 2021 and MTX was appointed as main contractor in April 2022 after a further tender process. One of the largest mobile cranes in the UK was
used to lift the 293 factory-built structural steel units which were manufactured offsite and delivered to site to assemble the building in five phases.
Once the shell of each floor was in place and the concrete screed installed, MTX began fitting out of FFE (furniture, fittings and equipment) and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing). Much of the MEP was manufactured as modules offsite and then delivered to site for assembly. Legacy buildings were cleared from the site and MTX worked with groundworks contractors to divert the main sewer and surface water connections for the whole site, which were located five metres underground. The MTX design team worked closely with
the Trust to capitalise on the sloping nature of the site and created a basement which houses a plantroom, water tanks and systems, with attenuation tanks beneath. The building also incorporates a rooftop plant room and another one on the first floor. MTX Managing Director David Hartley explains:
“This project is a milestone for MMC 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. Proven expertise in employing MMC principles enables us to deliver high quality, new hospital facilities faster, greener, safer and more cost effectively than the conventional building process, while also ensuring the highest build quality.”
For pre-construction enquiries, please call 0800 138 3541 or email
mike.butler@mtx.co.uk
www.mtx.co.uk June 2025 I
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 7
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