LST Projects has completed the first phase of a refurbishment at Princess Anne Hospital, enhancing facilities at one of the UK’s largest neonatal units.

Our team has created two wards providing eight cots with pull-down beds for parents as well as a special care room with five cots. Alongside the new wards, three parent and baby rooms have been constructed, each fitted out to reflect hotel style accommodation.

Further improving facilities for parents, there is a dedicated space for relaxing and making food and drinks, together with a quiet room and private area for expressing. A new reception with intercom and TV, clean utility room, cot cleaning area, walk-in shower, and disabled shower add to the improvements.

For staff, the refurbishment has enhanced accommodation for doctors, the home-care team and special care coordinators.

Key to the project’s success was the installation of large air-handling units (AHUs) on the hospital’s roof requiring two major crane lifts. The AHUs clean the air 10 times every hour within the newly refurbished areas to help protect babies from infection.

We also installed medical spines within the new wards containing lifesaving equipment. Backed by UPS batteries, the spines will continue to operate if there is a power cut ensuring critical care can still be provided.

Following the introduction of the Building Safety Act, the project is being overseen by the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The BSR ensures the design of each phase meets the functional requirements of the building regulations, a process known as planning gateway 2. The completion of the first phase sees the project become one of the first in the healthcare sector to pass Gateway 3, the final stage of the process.

Charlotte Gregory, Principle Project Manager at University Hospital Southampton, said: “This project has been the first that has been subject to the Building Safety Act.  It’s been a learning curve for all of us on this very complicated project. LST’s attitude towards working in a live hospital environment has really enabled this project to be delivered on time. They have worked very closely with the clinical teams and have responded very quickly to any requests and changes of information so that has been really helpful, and enabled us to handover this project which everybody’s really happy with.

“I think the whole LST team have been really delightful to work with, from the guys sweeping up on the site to the managing directors, they appear to have a really good company ethos and they have been a pleasure to work with.”

Justin Horton, LST’s Site Manager, commented: “The neonatal unit’s location within the hospital, the need for complex crane lifts and BSR process made this a particularly challenging project. Thanks to effective collaboration, site management and communication, all hurdles were overcome leading to a successful handover.

“The feedback so far has been fantastic, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Trust to deliver further improvements, which are on track for completion in spring 2025.”

Situated on Level E of the maternity hospital, the refurbishment was carried out above another live ward. Staff will now relocate from this ward to Level E and our team will begin the next phase of works. This will provide a new special care baby unit (SCBU) for babies that need slightly less intensive medical care. Further works to the opposite side of Level E are also planned to provide two more parent and baby rooms, an assessment room, a single-bed ward with an ensuite and nurses’ station.