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Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust 60 bed ward

bird's eye view of the ward building amongst the older hospital buildings. You can see the plant and solar panel installation on the roof.

Project: 60 bed mixed-use ward building
Client: Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust
Location: Leighton Hospital, Crewe

  • Two-storey ward building with 60 beds across a mixture of single and multi-bed bays.
  • Specialist physiotherapy area, post-surgery recovery, patient day room and staff, storage and utility areas.
  • RIBA Stage 2 onwards
  • Air-source heat pumps and roof-mounted PV array – EPC rating ‘A’.
  • Demolition of old linkway, construction of new linkway to main hospital.

The challenge

Built in the 1970s using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) that has now been deemed unfit for purpose, Leighton Hospital is one of several hospitals identified by the Government as needing to be rebuilt.

As part of the project, an existing staircase between two live hospital wards had to be demolished, to facilitate the construction of a new linkway, back to the existing Hospital. The build was further complicated due to the need for a mains cold water service diversion underneath the footprint of the site.

Exterior of the new ward building at Leighton Hospital. The cladding is a mix of blue, grey and white. The main building is two storeys, with a three storey staircase and elevator tower to the right. There are regular windows on each floor. The sky is clear blue.
Inside a ward room. To the left is an orange double door. To the centre and right or the image are two bays with a hospital bed, tall backed chair and bedside cabinet in each bay. There is a window to the far right. The walls and ceiling are white, the floor is a beech colour wood effect vinyl.
A wide corridor incorporating a nurses' station. The walls and ceiling are white, while the nurses' station is finished in purple. To the left there is a large window, to the right the corridor passes through three sets of light blue double doors. The flooring is a beech colour wood effect vinyl.
Our solution

We were able to utilise our innovative modular build systems to provide a new 60 bed, two-storey ward building featuring a mixture of single and multi-bed bays, complemented with ancillary accommodation – utility spaces, storage and staff areas – and a specialist physiotherapy space.

As the ward had to be built in the middle of the existing hospital site, we installed 2,000sq m of modular units across a single weekend to minimise disruption to the busy site.

The existing staircase between two live hospital wards was demolished, to allow the construction of the new linkway. The demolition was undertaken using a Brok Machine, and the area acoustically shielded from the adjacent live wards, to minimise disruption to the Trust and ensure health and safety for site operatives. We also successfully delivered the water service diversion overnight to minimise the impact, with no disruption for patients and staff. 

The building is clad in a non-combustible rockpanel boards designed to reflect the colours of the NHS and complement the surrounding site, whilst maintaining fire performance, above and beyond the requirements of HTM 05-02. Sustainability is also a key feature, with a well-insulated building envelope, use of air source heat pumps and a roof-mounted PV array contributing to an EPC ‘A’ rating.

The finished building, which was officially opened by Health Minister Lord Markham in August 2023, has been well-received by staff and patients alike.

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