We designed the original dental access centre nearly 10 years ago and were approached to design the new pain management unit. Our original design has stood the test of time, as the building is still in excellent condition. The initial brief was for a 500m˛ single storey new build extension to an existing dental access centre, along with a 400m˛ refurbishment of the existing building to form a centralised pain management unit, relocated from different locations within the hospital, to enable further development of the hospital site.
The new extension was designed to provide clinical out-patient day facilities for the administration of pain relief, and the associated requirements for medical consultation, monitoring and ongoing care. Our design team held regular detailed design sessions with the full clinical and administration teams to develop the patient care facilities, that included two 8 bed day wards and associated treatment rooms and patient rest facilities. The brief required that each day ward had the flexibility to allow occupation by different ratios of Male/Female patients whilst maintaining separation of the sexes, in line with current national policy. For this we developed a design which allowed a central nurse station to overlook both sides of the ward whilst maintaining patient privacy and also a central bed-space that could be accessed from either the Male or Female ward, so allowing the clinical team to maximise use of the ward.
Clinical support areas, office accommodation and staff welfare facilities will also formed an integral part of the design. Work within the existing building involved the re-planning of spaces and functions to meet the demands of the brief.
Prior to detail design the Brief was changed with the requirement that the facility be moved into an existing first floor hospital ward, partially occupied by the PMU clinical team. We adapted the design, already agreed with the clinical team, to suit the plan of the existing building and to allow the PMU to maintain occupation in their location on the first floor, by developing a 2 phase construction programme for the works.
The project was completed in time for the wider hospital works to progress on schedule.
