Wellington Hospital level 7 decant ward

We built a new 14-bed ward on level 7 of Wellington Regional Hospital, refurbishing the space vacated by the Urology department once they relocated to their new facility. The flexible space is the second of two decant wards we have delivered at the hospital, designed to accommodate patients as we complete the multi-year copper pipe replacement project.

We set up separate rooms for the different waste streams during the demolition phase, allowing us to segregate materials for optimal recycling and waste diversion. We kept large skip bins scrupulously clean so we could transport waste through the wards to our resource sorting area without risking patient safety.

Getting materials to site was difficult, with no loading bay or hoist. We used a mobile crane to lift materials to the roof then carried them through the hospital, carefully scheduling deliveries so we could move the crane out of the way as quickly as possible. We organised helicopter lifts for the structural steel and a large air handling unit, meticulously coordinated around the rescue helicopter flights.

This was a challenging project in a live hospital environment, with critical services needing to be maintained throughout. The programme was tight, with an immovable deadline to allow the copper pipe works to proceed. With plenty of hospital experience and a commitment to working collaboratively, our team were able to meet the deadline, even while accommodating design changes when extra beds were added.