Yorkon News Archives

17/01/2003 – Yorkon wins £1.7m contract at Whipps Cross Hospital

Modular building specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has won a £1.7m contract to provide a new Emergency Medicine Centre, extending the accident and emergency department at Whipps Cross University Hospital in East London.

Due for completion early Spring this year, the new single storey extension adjoining the existing A&E department will provide 30 new beds in a mix of 6-bed, 4-bed and single ensuite rooms. Facilities will include blood, gas and ultrasound units, dirty and clean rooms, offices and shower room for disabled people. It is designed by Yorkon in conjunction with lead architects Broadway Malyan Healthcare.

The project will be a major driver in enabling the Trust to meet Government targets for reducing the time patients have to spend on trolleys to no more than four hours. It is part of a £2.5m investment by the Trust in the Emergency Medicine Centre to provide the highest standards of acute medical care to the local population.

The building will be manufactured off-site at Yorkon's production centre in York and craned into position as 24 steel-framed modules over a four-day period. This will reduce construction time by half and, importantly, will allow the A&E department to remain fully operational throughout, despite the building's location adjoining the major treatment area and between the pedestrian and ambulance blue light entrances.

"Speed of construction is critical for this project", said Reg Hollis, Head of Building and Engineering Services at Whipps Cross University Hospital. "We had an immediate need for the building in order to achieve the Government's objective for reducing waiting times on trolleys to less than four hours. The new facility will be used by patients in the Emergency Medicine Centre for up to 24 hours before they are either discharged or admitted to a hospital ward."

He added, "Off-site construction is much faster than traditional site-based building methods, significantly less disruptive and is more predictable in terms of cost, quality and programme. Yorkon's system is also sufficiently flexible to meet our design requirements for a highly efficient space."

The new building will have a grey facade, complemented by white columns and fascia, and dark blue windows.

Editor's Notes

Yorkon's award-winning modular building system is an efficient alternative to traditional site-based construction, which saves time, guarantees quality and minimises disruption to existing operations.
Modular building involves the manufacture of steel-framed modules in a factory environment, using production line technology, whilst the foundation works are completed on site. The modules are delivered to site by road where they are craned into position in just a few days.