The Operating Theatre journal April 2021

Leading provider of healthcare buildings Kier
wins £87m project at Musgrove Park Hospital
Kier, a leading provider of healthcare facilities, has been appointed
by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to deliver a new surgical centre for
Musgrove Park Hospital. The £87m transformation project will provide
a new building and state-of-the-art amenities to support the Trust’s aim
of improving its patients’ experience.
Procured through the Department for Health & Social Care’s P22
framework, the new surgical centre will include eight operating
theatres, six endoscopy rooms with a patient recovery and clinical
support area as well as a critical care unit with 22 beds, specifically
catering for level 2 and 3 critical care patients.
Kier is already on site carrying out enabling works for the surgical centre
and will commence the construction of the sterile services department
in February 2021, which is the first phase of the works leading to the
development of the surgical centre that will start in 2022.
Working collaboratively with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Kier is
also delivering a new Acute Assessment Hub at the hospital as part of
its Musgrove 2030 plan, which aims to radically transform the hospital’s
estate.
Anthony Irving, managing director of Kier Regional Building Western
& Wales, states: “We are delighted the green light has been given to
construct the new Surgical centre at Musgrove Park. Over the past two
years, we have worked collaboratively with Somerset NHS Foundation
Trust to develop this scheme that will provide first-class facilities.
“We will utilise our vast experience within the healthcare sector to
deliver both the Surgical Centre and the Acute Assessment Hub at
Musgrove that will support the Trust in providing important services for
the people of Somerset.”
Commenting on the green light for the surgical centre, Health and
Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I’m delighted to give plans
for the new Taunton Surgical Centre the green light. The new £87
million centre will replace the oldest operating theatres still in use in
England with state of the art new theatres and critical care facilities.
“This is great news for staff and local residents, who will also benefit
from the new Musgrove Park Hospital which we are backing as one of
the 40 new hospitals which will be built by 2030. This is all part of our
plan to build back better - by investing in NHS buildings for the long
term my ambition is for local people to benefit from world-class NHS
facilities for many years to come.”
Dr Daniel Meron, chief medical officer at Somerset NHS Foundation
Trust, which runs Musgrove Park Hospital, said the news was a huge
boost for people in Somerset.
“We are delighted that funding for the new surgical centre has been
fully approved by the government,” he said. “This will be a huge boost
to the people of Somerset.
“This is an exciting news and the start of our ambitious plans as part
of the Musgrove 2030 programme, which will allow us to progress the
next stage of the development under the new hospital build programme
“The quality of care provided to our patients is something we are very
proud of and we want to support people to stay as well as possible and
have the right services in place to support them in the community.
“We want to support our excellent clinical and non-clinical teams to
further improve the outstanding care they provide to our patients and
we are very excited at the prospect of being able to care for and treat
our patients in state-of-the-art operating theatres and critical care
facilities.
“Work has already started on the site to clear older buildings ready for
the main construction phase and we currently estimate the new centre
will be open for patients in 2024.”
Nick Fairham, principal at architecture practice BDP, who has been
carrying out design work for the Musgrove 2030 modernisation
programme since it began including the hospital’s Jubilee Building
which opened in 2014, said:
“In line with the wider modernisation and transformation of Musgrove
Park Hospital, patient, staff and visitor experience is at the heart of
the new surgical centre’s design. This includes everything from creating
high dependency and recovery space immediately adjacent to the
theatres so that patients remain within the care of their specialist team
after their surgery, to maximising opportunity for daylight and views of
the gardens. The centre will be connected to both the Concourse and
Jubilee buildings by glazed links overlooking landscaped and planted
courtyards helping patients to move from one area to another, enabling
easy access for visitors and improving efficiency for staff.”
This award win reinforces Kier’s position as a leading provider of
healthcare facilities, with other live projects including the £98m
transformation programme at Heatherwood Hospital and the £97.1m
scheme for Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham.
Congratulations, you are now reading, the extended OTJ
The Operating Theatre Journal
Discovering the many more pages available online @ www.otjonline.com
Find out more 02921 680068 • e-mail admin@lawrand.com Issue 367 April 2021 25