Yorkon News Archives

07/05/2003 – Yorkon awarded contract for UK's largest healthcare scheme to be built off-site

Off-site construction specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has won a £7.5m contract to design and build a new three-storey healthcare facility for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The project, which will enable up to 10,000 additional inpatients to be cared for each year, is believed to be the UK's largest single hospital scheme to be built using modular construction. It represents a total investment of around £15m for the Trust, including equipment and other associated costs.

Scheduled for completion in autumn 2003, the 4,950 sqm facility will
accommodate three new state-of-the-art 28-bed wards and six general
operating theatres, with a full height glazed link to the main hospital and three ambulance bays. It will be used for specialties facing high demand, such as orthopaedics; general surgery; plastic surgery; ear, nose and throat surgery; urology; gynaecology; oral surgery, and pain management.

The building will be manufactured off-site at Yorkon's 60-acre production centre in York and craned into position as 123 steel-framed modules up to 14m in length. It will be clad in York stone to complement the surrounding local architecture.

David Jackson, Chief Executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said, “This development is a major step for healthcare in Bradford. The new building will create much needed capacity to help us ease the pressure on inpatient services.” He added, “The modular approach will significantly reduce construction time, bringing benefit to thousands of patients who are waiting for surgery, whilst also minimising disruption to patient care during the building process. Yorkon has a wealth of experience in the healthcare sector and their design for this scheme will provide us with a highly flexible and quality patient facility to help us meet the Government's tough waiting list targets.”

Keith Blanshard, Director and General Manager of Yorkon, said, “We are delighted to be involved in this important project. We are experiencing a huge increase in demand for off-site construction from both public and private health service providers, and expect this to continue to rise. Speed of construction is a necessity for healthcare schemes, where it is essential to bring the building into use as quickly as possible to help reduce waiting times.”

He added, “Modular building greatly reduces disruption on site – a key benefit for hospitals where sites are usually very busy and space is restricted. There is also a real issue about the shortage of skilled labour in the construction industry and whether it can meet demand from the NHS. Because we use a highly skilled and trained workforce at our production centre in York, our projects are not affected by this major problem.”

The development of the additional wards and theatres at Bradford Royal Infirmary will also be used to champion a new model of care, which will see more patients booking their own dates for operations. There will be an increased role for ‘outreach' teams in the community, enabling patients to return home earlier, and where appropriate, self-service meals will be introduced.

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.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the country's top-performing groups of hospitals. It has been awarded three stars - the highest standard - in the last two annual NHS performance ratings, one of only 17 Trusts nationwide to achieve this. Every year, its two hospitals, Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, treat more than 100,000 inpatients; 300,000 outpatients; 100,000 casualties through A&E; and deliver more than 4,000 babies. The Trust has an annual income of more than £150m and employs more than 4,000 staff. The Trust was formally awarded teaching hospital status in spring 2003, after its role in the training of medical students was expanded.