Royal Preston Hospital endoscopy unit extension is completed

The first phase of work to upgrade the endoscopy unit at the Royal Preston Hospital has been completed.

The £1.1million project for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was led by Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP).

The FWP-designed unit courtyard extension has created an extended recovery area for patients attending the unit.

It includes 11 single sex recovery bays, along with areas for recovery chairs and dedicated assisted toilet spaces.

The work at the Royal Preston Hospital (RPH) in Fulwood was carried out to meet the accreditation awarded to high-quality endoscopy services and the trust’s privacy and dignity guidance.

The new bays have also been sized to satisfy infection control, which has been heightened by the Covid pandemic.

Phil Nealen, associate partner at architectural and multi-disciplinary design practice FWP, said: “We have created a bright, pleasing recovery space which will benefit both patients and staff at the unit.

“It was a challenging project. The new extension is located within a courtyard which was inaccessible to anything but a tower crane. The only option was to construct a modular building.

“The building was constructed using lightweight a steel frame and fire-resistant timber panels. All materials had to be transported through the hospital corridors.”

Wigan headquartered modular building specialist Cotaplan carried out the construction work and the interior of the building was fitted out by Chorley-based D&G Builders and Joiners. Work on site began in May 2021.

The project is the first phase of planned work to upgrade the endoscopy unit. Phase two will see improvements made to its specialist decontamination facilities.

The third phase will involve a complete refurbishment of the unit’s existing areas, subject to future funding.

FWP, which has its headquarters in Preston and offices in Manchester and London, has a wealth of experience in the healthcare sector.

It has a successful track record of delivering NHS projects in the North West over the last 25 years, including the Life and Urgent Care centres at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital; The Minerva Centre in Preston North End’s Deepdale ground and the Oaklands Mental Health Facility in Lancaster.

Earlier this year it spearheaded the creation of the new £600,000 Fylde Coast Mental Health Urgent Assessment Centre (MHUAC) at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.

It has also worked with the trust, which provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across the area, to redesign the Skylark Centre, a rehabilitation unit based at RPH.

And it has been appointed to deliver its new NHS rehabilitation centre at Wesham, which will focus on helping people’s recovery from complex mental health problems.

A new FWP-designed £750,000 specialist family support centre is also currently under construction at St John’s Hospice in Lancaster.