LST has successfully completed the construction of a new £7.3m cancer care unit in just six months.

The facility accommodates 27 inpatients and includes 11 single-bedside rooms. Spanning 1,800 sq m, the two-storey extension has been built atop an existing single-storey building, which houses another oncology department serving more than 150 people daily. The new structure has also been future-proofed to accommodate two additional floors at a later date.

A delayed start, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic, led to an exceptionally tight construction programme. The timing was critical, as the hospital needed patients to move from another ward into the new facility by 14 December 2020, to increase bed capacity in time for Christmas.

To accelerate the project and minimise any pandemic-related delays, the steel frame had been procured ahead of the main build. Moreover, building materials were ordered well in advance and in line with the work sequence, enabling storage at our head office ready for delivery to the site as needed.

The contract included two staircase structures, one designed to accommodate a patient evacuation lift. Once the main building works commenced, extensive surveys uncovered numerous services along the foundations' route. Consequently, we collaborated closely with structural engineers and designers to relocate the stairways, ensuring critical services remained uninterrupted.