A significant milestone in the Phase 1 construction of the Guernsey hospital modernisation programme has been reached.
‘Topping Out’ is generally used to describe the point when the structure of a building is finished, and the ceremony on 2nd May marks the completion of the roof structure for the Phase 1 extension.
Phase 1 will deliver a new purpose-built Critical Care Unit with increased capacity from 7 to 12 beds and a new Post Anaesthesia Recovery Unit with 10 beds (an increase of 3 from the current provision), two of which will offer full Critical Care support if required to manage current and future demand and support increased surgical capacity to reduce waiting lists.
The new Critical Care unit has been designed with the flexibility to simply and effectively be converted to support any future pandemics or other emergency situations.
Deputy Al Brouard, HSC President said: “This is a key milestone for this essential modernisation of our hospital. I would like to thank Rihoy & Son for their excellent work to date and the care and consideration they have given to this programme which is extremely challenging as it is being delivered in a working hospital.”
Gavin Rihoy, Chairman Rihoy & Son said: “‘We are delighted as a team to reach this significant milestone in Phase 1 of the modernisation programme.
“Delivering the project and simultaneously allowing business as usual to continue has been a significant learning curve and I would like to publicly thank the 80+ staff we have on site for getting us to this point.”
Deputy Brouard said: “We are already reaping the rewards of Phase 1 in that the new critical care unit, which will meet modern standards in healthcare construction, has resulted in HSC managing to attract the necessary staff to open this unit in 2024 on completion.
“We have a contractor on site and planning permission in place for Phase 2 – this topping out ceremony is a timely reminder of the importance of the modernisation programme which brings our facilities up to date to meet predicted future demand alongside the transformation of service delivery and significant efficiencies.”
