Covid-19 Compliant Facility at New Cross Hospital
Following the implementation of national lockdown it was an urgent requirement for healthcare trusts to maximise their ability to accommodate and treat possible Covid-19 patients within the confines of existing hospital estates.
Key details
Project name
Covid-19 compliant facility, New Cross Hospital
Client
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Location
Wolverhampton
Insider Media West Midlands Property Awards winner - Construction Project of the Year 2020
Services provided
- Specialist COVID Ventilation Design
- Mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering
- Above Ground Drainage
- Architecture
Challenge
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Healthcare Trust commissioned the construction of a new two-storey, 12 ward building on a pre-existing staff car park. The new ward was designed in accordance with the latest government and CIBSE guidance in relation to the mechanical ventilation systems and strategies in order to provide best care of patients and lowest risk for spread of Covid-19.
Solution
Our Building services team provided technical and design guidance to ensure that the facility was constructed with a bespoke ventilation regime.
To assist with keeping a fully balanced and steady internal environmental atmosphere pressure balancing dampers were provided in each ward, commissioned and set to ensure even pressure balances within the new structure.
The mechanical ventilation design and, in particular the airflow paths and space pressurisation was of paramount importance. The ventilation system was designed in line with HTM guidance and government publications plus enhanced technical design features to assist with critical airflow patterns and internal movement of air.
The whole building needed a constant supply volume in excess of 11m³/s all of which had to be conditioned and distributed to ensure specific area volumes and pressure differentials. The Air Handling Unit was over 12m long and stood over 4.5m high with its own air cooled chiller and chilled water pipework circuit. Low Pressure Hot Water heating was derived from the sites centralised steam system via plate heat exchangers and was sized to provide full fresh air in line with the current Covid-19 design guidance.
Each ward was negatively pressurised with transient spaces and adjacencies being positively pressurised providing a maximum of 15pa (pascals) differential. The need to exhaust vitiated air expediently was factored into the air terminal layout plan for each space to reduce the opportunity for airborne contamination and spread of Covid-19.