Portakabin, the UK’s market leader in modular construction, has handed over a brand-new state-of-the-art decontamination suite, considerably upgrading and improving endoscopy patient care for Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

The trust required the building to be seamlessly integrated into its existing estate footprint, linking directly with the Juniper Endoscopy Unit (JEU), which consists of two procedure rooms and one recovery area. Decontamination facilities for the endoscopy unit were in need of major improvement and with space at a premium on the site, a modular building from Portakabin would allow a new facility to be made available almost 70% quicker than a traditionally built solution.

Portakabin designed a decontamination building, which was raised to be level and integrate with the existing endoscopy unit, removing the requirement for ramps or lifts. The building will play an important part in improving standards of care at the hospital, as well as increasing overall surgical capacity.

From technical design stage through to a full-service building design, the Portakabin team managed every stage with the support of its in-house team, and a few select partners. The building footprint was designed in conjunction with a fire tender track, something which is open 24/7 to allow emergency services to move unhindered throughout the hospital estate, and was re-routed and re-built around the new facility.

The Portakabin team also designed a dedicated seating area for staff into the raised area which links the new and existing building to make best use of available space and was finished with a bespoke canopy.

James Pearson, divisional managing director for Portakabin said: 'This decontamination building is the perfect example of the flexibility you can get from a modular building. Constructing offsite means we can focus on challenging and complicated groundworks at the same time as fitting out most of mechanical and electrical services (M&E) into the modules before they arrive on site. Working with specialist suppliers for the testing and commissioning of the state-of-the-art equipment has allowed us to deliver a building which will make a real difference to patient experience for the Trust.'

Russell Snellgrove, decontamination manager, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust commented: 'Our staff now have a reliable, state-of-the-art decontamination unit that future-proofs our endoscopy performance. We’re all excited about the positive impact it will have on our work.'