Working for the Barts Health NHS Trust, Skanska redeveloped two historic London hospitals and now provide facilities management and estates services to both.
Shaping the future of two world-class hospitals
The redevelopment of St Bartholomew’s Hospital and The Royal London hospital was one of our largest ever construction projects in the UK. Having completed the redevelopment in 2016, creating facilities to meet the short and long-term needs of patients and clinicians, Skanska now provide comprehensive facilities management services.
The project involved:
- the demolition of 13 buildings at the Royal London Hospital and construction of a new 17 storey building, making it the UK’s largest hospital
- transformation of the 900-year-old St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Barts) into a state-of-the-art cancer and cardiac centre, demolishing a 1930s building and using the site for a new build.
The challenge
Construction for this project was extremely complex, not least because both hospitals had to remain fully operational throughout.
The nature, size and logistics of the project presented several challenges. Skanska was well placed to meet them all:
Scale – coordinating two overlapping healthcare construction projects several miles apart in one of the world’s busiest cities is a massive challenge. It was vital to have the resources to deliver without compromise during peak delivery periods.
Working on tight city sites – both hospitals were constructed alongside existing, working hospital buildings. Barts is a very constrained site subject to unusual planning regulations. The Royal London required construction alongside live neonatal wards and completion of 5,000 rooms on a single day. Planning, innovation and care were critical and, with deep groundworks and construction within 2 metres of live operating theatres, vibration and noise control were vital.
Partnership – many stakeholder groups were affected, both within and beyond the hospitals across these two important sites. Our collaborative ethos meant we created strong partnerships embracing all the groups affected, from staff and patients to the local community, allowing the project to progress smoothly.
The unique mix of new and old buildings presented challenges too, from dealing with Roman remains in the basement to integrating state-of-the-art structures with 18th century landmarks.
The redeveloped hospitals have created indoor environments that promote patient wellbeing and enhance the experience of both staff and visitors. Wards are light and airy and have large windows and glass atria to allow natural light into the buildings. The buildings are fully airconditioned and incoming air is filtered to ensure that pollutants from the surrounding city do not compromise the sterile hospital environments.
St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Barts)
The Trust consolidated previously widespread hospital operations into a single, purpose-built location. Barts is a cardiac and cancer centre of excellence for London, providing 290 beds, supported by over 2,200 staff.
Built in a conservation area, on a site that has been home to a medical facility for some 900 years, it has been transformed into a state-of-the-art hospital, serving people in the capital and beyond.
The Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital is the principal trauma care centre for the city and the home base for London's Air Ambulance service. It is home to the largest renal care unit in Europe and the city’s second-largest paediatric specialist unit.
Located in east London, the hospital has 746 bed spaces, a specialist women and children's centre, and an accident and emergency treatment facility.
Facilities management
Skanska’s dedicated healthcare services teams provide facilities management and capital and lifecycle asset replacement to both hospitals until 2048.
Our highly skilled team supports the work of frontline medical staff through various operational services. This includes running the facilities management helpdesk and maintaining specialist medical equipment, such as oxygen supplies.
We also maintain the fabric of the buildings, provide a range of mechanical and electrical engineering expertise and carry out statutory inspections.
We helped Barts Health NHS Trust become the first Trust in the UK to be awarded the Carbon Trust standard for waste management. We also helped them win a Green Apple award, for the innovative use of a reverse-vending machine to help recycle plastic bottles and metal drink cans.
