‘Topping out’ the new ITU at William Harvey Hospital

2/8/21

2gether’s Capital Projects Team arranged a site visit to the new 24 bed ITU currently under construction at WHH.

Purpose of the visit was to celebrate the “topping out” of the works by the installation of the final building module. The interior fit-out works are now proceeding at speed to meet the tight deadlines.

Anthony Trimble joined (Director of Capital & Property), Andrew Doubtfire (Associate Director of Capital & Property), Nicky Bentley (EKHUFT Director of Strategy & Business Development) and Paige Dolphin (EKHUFT Strategic Development Manager) for the visit. They were met by Harry Pluckrose, Consultant PM for Gardiner & Theobald and the visit was hosted by MTX’s Contracts Manager Peter Baily.

Architect’s impression of what the finished ITU will look like

To keep this build to time, the teams used the MMC Technic (Modern Method of Construction). This is where while the site is being prepared, but the actual building is constructed in small sections off site. They are then right time delivered to site and positioned using a 500-tonne crane. This is a far cleaner and faster method of construction and limits the “wet trades” on site to a minimum.

Andrew Doubtfire said:

“We have made to date some truly spectacular progress with this project. To go from a car park in February 2021 in five months to a completed shell of a building raised to first floor level on a supporting steel structural is truly remarkable.

“I would also have to acknowledge our 2gether colleagues in Estates, Facilities and Procurement who have been wonderfully supportive of the project in terms of their time and expertise. All of which will add to the success of the end product”.

The building is expected to be complete in October this year.