Dudleys Consulting Engineers has completed works to facilitate the installation of a new £1 million elective care hub at Wharfedale Hospital in Otley.

Two new temporary theatres have been installed on site by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to tackle the backlog of patients waiting for treatment.

Elective care hubs aim to create Covid-free sites, away from emergency care, providing safe spaces to help manage people who need elective procedures. The trust's first hub has been installed at Wharfedale Hospital to provide additional theatre capacity to care for 15 to 18 patients a week requiring foot, ankle and upper limb procedures.

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Working for main contractor, BAM Construction and Watson Batty Architects, Dudleys has consulted on all structural and civil engineering requirements for the install, including ground foundations, services integration, and firewall construction.

The process was managed to a fast-track timescale with police escort to delivery of the offsite manufactured 'Vanguard' units fully fitted out to surgical theatre requirements. Dudley was integral to a large team collaboration to ensure efficient installation with minimal disruption to the 24-hour live hospital environment.

Andy Walker, Managing Director at Dudleys, commented: "We were pleased to be a part of the professional team ensuring the rapid turn around of this important installation. There were a number of challenges including planning procedures, firewall construction to protect the existing hospital, and delivery of the units due to Storm Etna affecting the River Wharfe bridge, but we successfully completed the install with levelling and support blocks in place to allow fit out."

The new theatres are expected to be ready for use by the end of the year.