BAM has started above-ground construction work on the new pathology laboratory at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which is set to serve patients across West Yorkshire and Harrogate.

Based at St James' Hospital, the new facility will become part of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network, formed through the collaboration of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) and will support the delivery of pathology services across the region.

As well as supporting improvements in diagnosis for people across West Yorkshire and Harrogate, the new laboratory will help to meet the growing regional demand for specialist treatment and care whilst providing development opportunities for staff.

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The installation of both the staircase and lift shafts is nearing completion and has involved the off-site casting, delivery and installation of 506 tonnes of concrete units using a mobile crane.

With much of the pre-fabrication happening off-site, BAM Construction have been able to maximise efficiencies in their programme delivery and reduce waste, supporting the Trust’s sustainability and net zero carbon agenda.

The new facility is set to be completed by the end of summer 2023 and will become operational in the autumn. It is also part of the Trust’s wider health improvement plan which includes the development of a new adults’ hospital, a new home for Leeds Children’s Hospital and the largest single-site maternity centre in the UK – all brought together in one building on the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) site.

Currently, the Trust's pathology services are provided from within outdated facilities in the Old Medical School at the LGI as well as some of those delivered from St James’s Hospital.

The new building will bring many of these services together and the vacated Old Medical School will form part of a plan to use surplus estate at the LGI to develop an innovation village which is expected to deliver up to 3,000 new jobs and £11.2 bn in net present value.