A London Hospital Undergoing Refurbishment

Adaston was commissioned to consult on fire stopping measures for a hospital undergoing an extensive refurbishment programme during the COVID pandemic. We implemented our “find and fix” approach, whereby we simultaneously assessed the compliance of current and new passive fire protection and undertook any necessary remediation work.

In order to obtain approval from the Primary Care Trust, the hospital’s fire safety design needed to meet stringent Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) requirements, which go over and above regular fire safety legislation.

Adaston has extensive experience in the healthcare industry and, as such, understands the unique challenges posed by the sector, particularly with live environments.
We were commissioned to undertake a fire stopping survey and complete any identified remedial work on the fire compartmentation line. This included fire door integration, pipes, wires, ducting and damping.
The team worked closely with 18 stakeholders to deliver a bespoke solution that didn’t impart patient care. All work was backed by our third party accreditation and documented to provide the required golden thread of information.
With a focus on ongoing maintenance and remediation, the hospital now has well-maintained systems in place that are both compliant and cost effective.

As the site needed to be ready for patient use each day, our processes were designed to minimise disruption to the live healthcare setting.

The “find and fix” approach does precisely as the name suggests, as there is a surveyor and a team of operatives working simultaneously. The process works as follows:

1. Surveyor inspects the site and highlights any areas of non-compliance digitally
2. Operatives immediately remediate the item and record evidence of the completed work
3. The site supervisor inspects the fix and signs the work off online certifying that it’s fully up to standard and compliant
4. Adaston workers and the client have full access to this information at all times for total transparency and traceability

This working approach delivers a one-time fix solution, which maximises the speed at which work is completed while minimising disruption to staff and patients.

The hospital is a four-storey building that’s open to patients 365 days per year. The hospital has a range of facilities covering various patient services. This, combined with patient safety and the extra measures required for COVID, posed sector-specific challenges.

To tackle these challenges, Adaston’s surveying team worked around the ward shifts to minimise the impact on patient care, often working on the premises throughout the night. The team identified areas of non-compliance and immediately rolled out solutions to improve the safety of the building in a time-efficient manner.

Adaston worker inspecting fire safety in a school riser

Man in hi vis inspecting a building for a fire risk assessment

2 Adaston workers checking the gaps around fire doors in a school

An Adaston fire safety worker stood outside the Royal Northern College of Music

2 hospital buildings with lights on in the evening

A fire safety worker completing a passive fire protection survey

The hospital was brought up to the correct standards for passive fire protection compliance, safeguarding the patients and staff occupying the building. Further plans were implemented for ongoing maintenance and remediation to ensure the future safety of the building and its occupants.

All works were digitally recorded on the industry-recognised Bolster data system to ensure a golden thread of information was maintained. Digitally recording information is essential for a building to remain compliant with the relevant legislation and regulations.

By documenting all identifiable defects and the work carried out to bring them up to standard, we left the hospital’s accountable persons with all the documentation they needed to show their compliance.

A London Hospital Undergoing Refurbishment

An Approach to Minimise Disruption

Unique Challenges and Solutions

Results

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