New Community Diagnostic Centre at St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping, to be delivered by Morgan Sindall

Morgan Sindall Construction has been appointed to create a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping.

Procured under the ProCure 23 (P23) framework for the design and construction of NHS capital projects, the CDC is the main aspect of three streams of work the tier one contractor is delivering for The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT). This phase of the project is to be completed in 2025, with plans for further services on the site to be confirmed.

This will significantly improve access to important healthcare equipment and skills, shortening the amount of travel time for NHS patients in the area.

In phase one, Morgan Sindall will refurbish and add an extension to a bungalow on the St Margaret’s Hospital site. PAHT has been allocated over £14m for this project, which will enable the buildings to house MRI scanning facilities as well as outpatient services.

This will be one of approximately 30 new centres in the UK, which are part of a government initiative following the COVID-19 pandemic to move diagnostics out of acute hospitals and into community sites to provide easier public access and earlier diagnosis.

As part of its Intelligent Solutions approach to construction, Morgan Sindall will utilise its digital carbon analysis tool CarboniCa during the project. This will inform carbon related decisions throughout the design and construction phases to minimise the work’s emissions and ensure that it is as sustainable as possible.

By retrofitting existing buildings rather than creating new ones, PAHT is significantly reducing its carbon footprint by avoiding the materials, waste, and resources that a new-build development would incur.

Morgan Sindall will also be working with PAHT to deliver important refurbishment work at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. This will include ward refurbishments and upgrades to key areas, which will ensure that the site continues to operate at a high standard until it is replaced by the new hospital.

Peter Whitmore, Managing Director for Morgan Sindall Construction’s East region, said:

The new West Essex Community Diagnostic Centre will bring a wide range of crucial healthcare benefits right to the doorstep of the community. To ensure that this project provides as much value as possible for the local area, we’ve been collaborating closely with The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust to create a new facility that will meet the multifaceted needs of the Trust and its patients.

Bringing our expertise in constructing medical environments as well as in creating sustainable spaces and generating social value, means that this new site will be helping to support future generations in a wide variety of ways.”

Michael Meredith, director of strategy and estates at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said:

The Community Diagnostic Centre at St Margaret’s Hospital will support us to provide modern, integrated and outstanding care to our local community.

We will be able to provide quicker access to diagnostic tests, closer to our patients’ homes. We are focused on having our patients at the heart of our services, with new and enhanced ways of working and providing care.”

Now in its fourth generation of NHS England’s route to market for the provision of design and construction services to NHS capital projects, the P23 framework is part of the CCS CWAS2 procurement framework. This framework ensures that NHS capital works adopt the principles of the government’s Construction Playbook, modern construction on delivery and a focus on sustainability and social value.

P23 has an expected cumulative spend of £9 billion during its four-year lifespan and it builds on the successes of three previous iterations of ProCure that have delivered over £10 billion of projects for the NHS.

Morgan Sindall is delivering a number of vital healthcare projects across Essex, with its team currently onsite at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford as well as at Thurrock Community Hospital.

ENDS