Our Stepping Hill Hospital project is investing in both the local community and the future generation
Phil Shaw, Managing Director Building North at Tilbury Douglas, shares the key initiatives making our Stepping Hill Hospital project award winning for its social value achievements.
We are currently delivering the £25m Emergency & Urgent Care Campus (E&UCC) at Stepping Hill Hospital, on behalf of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, with the aim of making state-of-the-art facilities available for staff and patients.
The scheme comprises a full-scale remodelling of the existing Emergency Department at the Hospital with approximately 2,600 sqm of internal refurbishment, along with a remodelling of the existing ambulance drop-off to the Poplar Grove Road elevation. There will be new assessment, treatment and consultation areas for several key emergency and urgent care services including the children’s emergency department, mental health, and medical same day emergency care.
The project also includes 1,300 sqm of new build development, with 375 sqm of new non-clinical staff accommodation at first floor level.
Once completed, the campus will help to enhance emergency and urgent care for the local population of Stockport, as well as residents in High Peak and Cheshire East, where patients, their families and carers will receive high quality care.
Steel signing
In June 2023, we hosted a steel signing event at the site to mark a key construction milestone with the Trust and the team.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust’s Chair, Professor Tony Warne, and Chief Executive, Karen James OBE, both signed a structural steel beam in the building to symbolise the teamwork which has driven the development and the shared ambition for the best possible patient care.
Giving back to the community
For us, social value contributions and investment in the local communities in which we work is key. This is why we are prioritising our local initiatives and to date, the project has achieved a social value return on investment of 57%: £13,117,253, exceeding the initial target of 35%. We are also proud to be supporting the local supply chain and growing businesses, with 76% of our spend with SMEs.
As part of our focus on giving back to the local community, we have already provided £1,000 of donations in kind to the Trussell Trust, which supports a nationwide network of food banks for those facing hardship. Together with our supply chain, we will continue to organise monthly collections for the charity.
In addition, as part of our work with our national charity partner, CRADLE, which is a social enterprise providing a range of pregnancy loss bereavement support services, the site team has collected £500 worth of toiletries, which were then packed into CRADLE Comfort Bags. The bags are filled with essential toiletries made available to women or couples receiving care, during or following pregnancy loss.
Tilbury Douglas also sponsors CRADLE’s training programme for healthcare professionals to provide a counselling service within hospitals. Our sponsorship allows them to develop new services to drive improvement and bring continuity of bereavement care, as well as supporting healthcare professionals with their own emotional and practical needs as care givers.
Investing in the next generation
On the 8 June 2023, we were honoured to win Trafford College’s Investment in Skills Partnership of the Year Award for the site team’s engagement with the students, most notably by providing 13 T Level Placement opportunities.
The team has maximised every opportunity to provide skills and experience opportunities for the students by using the Stepping Hill Hospital site as a live practical learning tool. This included guest lectures and site tours, and there are currently 13 T Levels apprenticeships placements taking place.
To date, we have had 94 apprentice weeks on site and hosted Open Doors tours for many students.
Ongoing progress
As a sign of the project’s excellent progress so far, and the team’s quality practices aimed at raising construction delivery standards, the site was recently awarded a top Considerate Constructor Score of 45/45.
As the construction of the campus is progressing well, with the main building structure now complete, the next phase is to complete the external cladding and internal mechanical and electrical fit out, which is currently underway.
It is expected that the building work will be completed by the end of March 2024.