Patients undergoing surgery at Crawley Hospital are set to receive better and safer care following a £2.6m upgrade of the hospital’s surgery theatres, funded by NHS Property Services (NHSPS).
Four surgery theatres in the hospital’s Red Wing have been refurbished, modernising the space to enhance the patient experience and improve the working environment for hospital staff.
As part of the upgrade, the theatres have been fitted with Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), also known as back-up systems, to ensure that surgery can continue in the event of a power outage.
They have also been made fully fire compliant, in line with fire zoning regulations to ensure better fire resilience.
Fire and smoke safety systems were also upgraded to provide additional monitoring and physical compartment separation in the event of a fire.
In addition, new LED and power saving light fittings were installed, replacing the background lighting. This technology was over 20 years old.
New medical gas and duplex pumps were also installed, reducing operating costs for the NHS as a result of the energy saved by upgrading the technology used in the space.
NHSPS worked with West Sussex Estates partnership and construction partners to enhance the space and deliver the works. Undertaking the work during the pandemic, design and construction was ran in parallel as all parties worked tirelessly alongside Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SaSH) to complete the upgrade.
Ian Booth, Principal Operations Change Manager at NHSPS said: “It’s truly inspirational how dedicated the construction team and clinical staff on the ground were, working as one team to make sure the project was delivered quickly and to a high standard
“It took 16,000 man-hours in 4 months, which equates to eight years of work for one person!”
Michael Wilson CBE, Chief Executive at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust added: “We’re thrilled with the outcome of the project and know that our upgraded theatres will help to improve the patient experience and the work environment of our staff.
“It’s fantastic that we can optimise our facilities for our patients and staff while simultaneously creating cost savings which can be invested back into the NHS.
“We look forward to working together on the next set of improvements for Crawley Hospital.”
