Eastbourne hospital’s maternity ward refurbished

Refurbishment of the ward, which was carried out by Willmott Dixon Interiors, will provide improved facilities and more bed space for patients.

The project was accelerated to provide an addition 26 beds during the pandemic along with new shower rooms, toilets and nurse stations.

7,000 sq ft of the hospital was also refurbished on behalf of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

The project included the re-modelling and internal refurbishment of a former maternity ward while medical gasses were also been installed along with new sluice and drug store rooms.

The 18-week project has delivered a decant ward to facilitate other hospital works, including an upgrade of existing fire stopping provisions.

This also involved installation of new window fenestrations and cladding to the exterior building and courtyards.

The project was completed in a live hospital environment with existing services unaffected and the hospital blue light route in operation at all times.

Graham Shaw, managing director at Willmott Dixon Interiors, said, “We are very proud to have delivered such an important project on behalf of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

“This project was undertaken in extremely challenging circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw a large increase in hospital admissions. “Its successful delivery owes much to daily collaboration between our team and staff at the hospital’s pathology lab to minimise disruption during construction and ensure that works were completed as quickly and safely as possible.”

As part of its delivery, the contractor met a series of key performance indicators for local spend and employment, including 78 per cent of project spend within 40 miles of the site, 99 per cent of project spend with small and medium-sized enterprises and 99.9 per cent of waste diverted from landfills.

The company also recruited a local student to work on the project through a two-month paid internship.