Medical Air Technology (MAT) has completed the refurbishment of a pre-existing operating theatre complex at Bedford Hospital, upgrading both theatres 3 and 4 with the addition of ECO-flow Dynamic ultraclean ventilation (UCV) systems.
The new ultraclean theatres will allow the hospital to increase its orthopaedic output and expand the range of surgeries it is able to offer its patients. MAT was appointed directly by the hospital, winning the contract in a competitive tender.
The work carried out by MAT was a total design-and-build turnkey refurbishment, necessitating a complete reconfiguration of the layout in both theatres and new HVAC systems. The extensive refit included ECO-flow 2800 UCV canopies, operating lights, pendants, theatre control panels, furniture, floors, lighting, sanitaryware, IPS and UPS, chillers, air handling units (AHUs), ductwork, pipework and HVAC controls within each theatre. MAT designed, manufactured and installed major roof-mounted steelwork and maintenance access walkways for the two new AHUs and a new chiller to support the existing chiller, which supplies cooling to the whole building.
Nearly 11,000 operations were carried out at Bedford Hospital in 2017, and to sustain this level it was important that essential theatre capacity was not affected while the refurbishment of the complex was underway. To achieve this, before work began on theatres 3 and 4 the hospital commissioned a new modular theatre, replicating the equipment within the main complex to ensure continuity and familiarity for staff and clinical team members. While it was being built, MAT undertook the roof plant installation. This necessitated close liaison between MAT, the hospital estates department and the supplier of the modular theatre. When the modular theatre came online, theatre 3 was closed to allow the refurbishment to begin. The seamless and efficient programme ensured any disruption was kept to an absolute minimum and theatre lists were unaffected.
“Finding a solution to improving our theatres has posed a significant challenge and a lot of thought, planning and hard work has gone into finding a solution so that we can better meet the 18-week referral to treatment (RTT) pathway, providing quick and effective care to our patients," said Stephen Conroy, chief executive, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust.
“Refurbishing our current theatre complex will allow us to make sure our current operating rooms are fit for the future, ensuring we can provide a safer, more efficient service for our patients, and a better environment for our staff to work in.”
MAT has its own in-house manufacturing facility and team of engineers, and supplies bespoke equipment for clinical arenas.
