Interserve has completed a new Neonatal Unit for Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust following a major refurbishment and extension of the existing facility
Each year more than 1,000 families accompany their premature and critically ill babies to the Neonatal Unit, as they are in need of the specialist care that only Liverpool Women’s can provide.
Improvements to the existing Neonatal Unit were essential to respond to this demand, keep premature babies safe and improve the patient and family experience, whilst also providing a solution to tackle clinical challenges. This exciting redevelopment also addresses the shortage of parental accommodation and will allow the unit to better comply with service specifications.
Clinical areas were carefully designed to deliver high standards of observation, privacy, dignity and natural light. To reinforce this transformation architect Gilling Dod worked with both the clinical staff and the parents to achieve a design that met the needs of all the stakeholders.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Interserve ensured the design was flexible and has been future-proofed for another pandemic and includes additional hand hygiene stations, temporary lobbies and retrofit screens.
A fully functional department
Jennifer Deeney, head of Neonatal Nursing & Operations, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The relationship with Interserve and their understanding of what we do has been fundamental in allowing us to keep the department fully functional during construction.
“They learnt to understand our need and balance those with design and budget, meaning we have an amazing facility that will help us deliver world-class Neonatal care into the future.”
Phil Shaw, divisional director, Interserve, said: “By engaging with the Trust we identified and managed the specific requirements for any temporary service provision between each phase, this ensured the works were planned accordingly with no impact on day-to-day operations and blue light services.
“The project delivery was also challenged by the current Covid crisis but the project team worked together to keep the project on schedule without compromising the health and well-being of all those involved and the support of the supply chain has been exemplary and ensured the project was delivered on time and within budget.”
