The Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Tunbridge Wells

health-case-studies-the-tunbridge-wells-hospital

Facts and figures

  • Client: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
  • Finance model: Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
  • First NHS acute facility with 100 per cent single, en-suite rooms
  • This is the second project won by the Interserve/John Laing plc/Laing O'Rourke consortium, which is already working on the PFI contract for the 926-bed Royal Victoria Infirmary and Freeman Hospital project awarded by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust

Interserve, in consortium with John Laing plc and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, invested £5.2 million of equity and subordinated debt in the construction of the £231 million The Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The new 512-bed hospital is the first NHS acute facility in the UK to be constructed with 100 per cent single bed rooms with en-suite facilities. Interserve will deliver facilities management services worth £75 million in the new buildings over a period of 30 years. This will include mechanical and electrical maintenance, estates management, grounds maintenance, utilities management and the provision and operation of a helpdesk. The building design maximises the location within the local environment and woodland management will be a particularly important element of Interserve's services.

The new hospital, which is seven storeys high with a floor area of 65,000m2, includes planned and emergency surgery, orthopaedics, a women's and children's zone, day-case theatres, outpatient services and a mental health unit. Construction began in April 2008 was completed in 2011.

Achievements

  • Excellent rating under NHS Environmental Assessment Tool (NEAT).
  • The Unitary Charge for the new facility was materially below the Trust’s affordability threshold and therefore the new facilities represented great value for money.
  • Patients benefit from the views of the surrounding woodland, which have been captured in the hospital's design. The design builds on evidence taken from the "Healing Environment" study, which shows that views to the outside and natural ventilation aid patient recovery and their general well being.

  • The layout and features within each room was determined in collaboration with the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to ensure that the patient experience and their safety shaped the design process.