Page 6 - link magazine

The Link Magazine • March 2002
New hospital takes shape ready for November opening
In just 28 months, a muddy field near the M4 motorway has been transformed as the new Great Western Hospital has appeared on the
Swindon landscape. The Link was given a guided tour inside the enormous six storey L-shaped structure by builders Carillion.
Around five hundred workers don and
are busily fitting out the building, Marlborough
putting down flooring, installing NHS Trust
miles of pipework, ventilation for the next
ducting and wiring. To achieve so 27 years.
much in such a short time has been Since
a masterpiece of logistical plan- work began
ning and design by Carillion, the in October
firm behind the project which won 1999, man-
the contract to build the replace- agers have
ment for PMH under the Govern- had to order
ment's Private Finance Initiative colossal Looking for a job? Joy Brown, left, and Daniela Mytalas
scheme. The firm will build, oper- quantities run the Job Centre Construction Unit on site and are now
ate and maintain the hospital of building recruiting porters, chefs, catering and housekeeping staff
which will be leased to the Swin- materials, Call 791713 or 791714 for details of vacancies
organise
contractors,
meet tight
deadlines and juggle the complex sive views of the
demands of building a hospital Wiltshire coun-
designed for the 21st Century. tryside.
Overseeing all aspects of specialist Each ward will
equipment installation on site, have its own
Carillion's design co-ordinator kitchenette so
Adam Stevens explained that work that food deliv-
is progressing really well. This is ered from the
a very busy period, with many main kitchens
different contractors in the build- can be kept hot
ing completing the services and and served in its
fitting out on all levels." optimum condi-
Each floor has a wide central tion.
'street running down it giving ac- The colour
cess to specialist departments and scheme at the hospital reflects what Wards on the upper levels are
The five storey high glass lobby
wards. designers call 'an earth to sky ap- now largely completed and deco-
Below, awaiting the sound of children Most of the wards will consist of proach,' with terracotta tones on rated. Guided tours for staff are
four bed and single bed rooms. All the lower floors running through taking place so that they can be-
in the third level courtyard play area
of the paediatric unit boast en-suite facilities and most green in the middle floors and sky come familiar with the layout of
have impres- blues at the top. the building in the detailed prepa-
ration for moving in.
The hospital will have a 14 bed
kidney dialysis unit, which will
replace a temporary facili ty in the
Railway Village in Swindon. And
an on-site creche will prove a ma-
jor asset for Swindon and
Marlborough NHS Trust's cam-
paign to fill vacancies.
To complement the 17 ward ar-
eas, there are 516 toilets, 9 lifts and
2,851 sets of doors and enough
flooring material to cover nine foot-
ball pitches. In total there are about
3,500 rooms in the building.
^ ^r.^^. ^ saw
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