Northampton General Hospital When Northampton General Hospital wanted to provide 24 en-suite bathrooms in six of its wards, the work had to be completed within 18 weeks and without losing any beds.
Initial research found that other hospitals had created en-suite facilities by taking a bed from each bed bay and creating a facility in the space released. This was not an acceptable solution to the Trust as it would have taken far too long and permanently reduced the bed numbers in each ward (the Trust would have effectively lost a ward of beds).
With lateral thinking we developed a creative solution by building toilet / shower en-suite ‘pods’ immediately outside the building and directly linked to each bed bay.
By taking this approach it was possible for building work to be carried out on all six wards simultaneously with only limited impact. There was however still a need for some work inside the wards to form openings to access these new facilities. This was achieved by a carefully planned and executed sequence of ward closures.
Each of the six wards was sequentially closed for three weeks during the summer of 2009. The first two weeks for building work, maintenance works and minor alterations (in support of the Trust’s Productive Ward initiative). The final week was set aside for deep cleaning work and inspection ready for reoccupation.
It was through a sustained effort by the multidisciplinary team that six wards were closed, 24 bathrooms built, wards upgraded, cleaned and re-opened in just 18 weeks; an achievement that we are really proud of.
The en-suite ‘pods’ were carefully designed using patient and nursing input to ensure they provide a modern clean environment, fully accessible to disabled users. The new facilities are significantly more accessible to the patient and, with the design features included, have resulted in very positive feedback from patients and staff.
Contact: Kevin Hackett, Deputy Director of Facilities and Head of Estates on 01604 545586 kevin.hackett@ngh.nhs.uk
