Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading furniture specialists in the healthcare sector, has delivered a second hospital fitout project in the Scottish Highlands.

The new Broadford Community Hospital on the Isle of Skye is part of a £40m development by NHS Highland. This investment included the award-winning Badenoch & Strathspey Community Hospital in Aviemore, which opened towards the end 2021, and was also fitted out by Deanestor.

Delivered by hub North Scotland and designed by Oberlanders Architects with Rural Design, the new 24-bed hospital on Skye provides a range of services. There are consultation and treatment rooms on the ground floor, emergency department, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, chemotherapy, x-ray and ultrasound, and a midwife-led maternity facility. A renal dialysis unit – a new service for Skye established last year – ensures patients can access treatment closer to home.

Deanestor provided both loose and bespoke fitted furniture for 142 rooms throughout the new hospital. This included storage units, medicine cabinets, height-adjustable changing benches, bedroom wardrobes, foldaway beds in some inpatient rooms, nurse stations, and a main reception desk with a walnut wood-effect finish and contrasting glacier white solid surface countertops.

Bespoke joinery was also manufactured and installed by Deanestor for a new six-bay suite for chemotherapy and renal patients to help create a more welcoming patient environment. This suite has large picture windows with stunning sea views. The white low-level counters are designed to house medical gases and vacuum outlets, and incorporate lighting, solid surface worktops, oak privacy screens, coat and bag storage, and IPS panels.

Commenting on the opening of the new hospital, Tracy Ligema, Project Director at NHS Highland, said, “This is a significant milestone in the history of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross. There has been a considerable amount of work involved in this process and we want to thank everyone who has contributed.”

“The new hospital will serve the community for many years to come and highlights the health board’s commitment to developing remote and rural health and social care services.”

Peter Ramsay, Project Director for hub North Scotland, said, “Broadford Hospital is a fantastic health facility which will bring huge benefits for the communities of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross. We faced major challenges progressing construction during the Covid pandemic but the support of all the partners and the local community ensured we have delivered a hospital that everyone can be proud of.”

A durable laminate finish was used for the storage solutions in two shades of blue to reflect the sky and the sea in the surrounding landscape. Darker blue was specified for the inpatient bedrooms and utility areas, with calming aqua for the treatment areas.

As part of the infection control strategy, infill panels were designed to fully integrate the wall cupboards up to the ceiling. This feature is an efficient and highly effective alternative to sloping cabinet tops to avoid dust gathering on top of the units in the clinical areas.

Deanestor also fitted out the pharmacy with tall cabinets, worktops, dispensing cabinets with integrated trays and metal drugs cabinets. A wide range of specialist equipment was also installed across the hospital – from physiotherapy bars to white boards, dispensers, sanitisers, and appliances.

Originally established in 1948 to manufacture hospital furniture and fittings for the newly established NHS, Deanestor now has the resources and expertise to manage 5,000-room hospital projects. It offers bespoke design services to meet specific healthcare project requirements and is responsible for installation to provide a seamless approach and a single point of contact for contractors, NHS trusts and other construction clients.

For further information, visit www.deanestor.co.uk/healthcare, call 01623 420041 or email enquiries@deanestor.com

GEZE’s TS 5000 ECline overhead door closer with guide rail combines accessibility and convenience in one innovative all-round closer.

GEZE, a leading manufacturer of door and window control systems has called the product the TS 5000 ECline, pronounced EASYLINE, to highlight the ease of opening the closer offers.

Providing barrier-free, easy to open doors the TS 5000 ECline is suitable for right and left single action doors with a door leaf width of up to 1250mm. It also has integrated back check, hydraulic latching action, and the closing speed can be individually adjusted.

In addition the closer offers flexibility in installation as it can be installed on the door leaf on the hinge side or on the transom on the opposite hinge side and all functions can be adjusted from the front of the closer. The L version of the closer enables it to be mounted on the push side of the door.

It is part of the GEZE family of closers that have the same styling, perfect for when different closers are needed throughout a building, and it has the same fitting footprint as other GEZE closers allowing it to be fitted in place of other closers without having to re-drill the door.

With a closing force of EN 3-5 with variable adjustment the TS 5000 ECline is suitable for fire and smoke protection doors.

Andy Howland, Sales & Marketing Director of GEZE UK, said “The TS 5000 ECline is one of our most flexible closers and can be installed anywhere where the convenience of passing through a door easily is required and perfect for ensuring access for all.

Add in that it is suitable for smoke and fire protection doors and you have a great all-rounder!”

More information is available by visiting the company’s website at www.geze.co.uk

or for a brochure to be emailed or posted out email info.uk@geze.com

New smart innovation makes project faster, safer, and cheaper

After more than 60 years in operation, Portland, Maine’s Veranda Street Bridge on I-295 was due for a replacement. The bridge, one of the most heavily traveled in the state carrying around 55,000 vehicles per day, was deemed structurally deficient upon inspection in 2017. Furthermore, the roadway configuration below the bridge was confusing for drivers which caused several intersection crashes and was classified as a high frequency accident location.

To increase safety and to minimize impact to highway traffic, an Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) plan was implemented for the project which only allowed for a 60-hour highway closure. The method of ABC selected for this project by Cianbro Corporation, the lead contractor on the job, involved building the upper portion of the new bridge to the side of the existing one on temporary supports. Normally, this approach requires both lifting equipment and falsework to successfully set the bridge – however a recent Mammoet innovation vastly reduced steel mobilization and completed two-and-a-half hours early.

The new spans were built on temporary abutments approximately 60 meters away from the permanent installation location. In the days leading up to the closure weekend, Mammoet’s team used an innovative Mega Jack 300 SPMT cradle system to jack up each of the bridge spans to the required elevation, which was approximately 7.6 meters (25 ft) high.

Once lifted, each trailer configuration was fastened, relocated out of the way, and temporarily staged until the closure weekend. Raising the bridge sections to their required height prior to execution day provided greater insurance that the job would be completed during the short available time window, while the cost of this was small compared to mobilizing steel falsework to site.

Once the demolition of the old bridge and subsequent clean up were complete, Mammoet successfully drove each 24m x 14m (78 ft x 45 ft) bridge section into location above pre-built permanent abutments and lowered it into position. The team was allotted 12 hours to move both the southbound and northbound spans into place and set them; however, this was accomplished in only 9.5 hours.

This was the first time that Mammoet used its Mega Jack 300 cradle system on a highway bridge. The one-of-a-kind innovative equipment is integrated in that it allows the jacks to sit in cradles which are built inside the trailer. The system allows for building low to the ground which ensures a higher level of safety and more control. This also means far less metal needs to be mobilized to site to support bridges during construction.

Each 400t (800,000 lbs.) bridge span was jacked up 5.4 meters (18 ft) in total. The 14 cassettes in the modular jacking system raised the bottom of support girder approximately 6 meters (20 ft) off the ground, with the girder itself providing the remaining elevation. Each span was precisely moved on 24 axle-lines of SPMT in a 3 x 4 configuration before being set into position, aligned, and lowered. Mammoet employed a crew of 6 plus three 3 iron workers.

The project was executed ahead of schedule and without incident or injury. The new bridge is designed to last for the next 100 years. This was the first accelerated bridge construction (ABC) project ever completed in Maine.

CPD presentation by Graf UK delivers the ultimate in wastewater wisdom

A CPD that explains the issues around wastewater treatment and advises on the options available for specifiers has been launched by Graf UK.

The 50-minute presentation delivers a multitude of “Wastewater wisdom”, ranging from the fundamentals (what is wastewater treatment and why is it required) to the latest regulations and issues, via a user-friendly mix of “live” presentation and videos.

Graf UK’s new CPD explains the differences between cesspools, septic tanks and wastewater treatment plants, then goes on to detail, and demo, advanced wastewater systems for optimum treatment, such as SBR (Sequence Batch Reactor) systems which are capable of cleaning wastewater to 98% in just six hours.

It also explains the pollution strength of sewage and how Graf systems are capable of reducing the average levels of BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand – the amount of oxygen that microorganisms/bacteria require to break down organic matter) from 300-400mg/l to just seven, suspended solids from 200-300mg/l to 14mg/l, and ammonia (nitrogen compound) from 60-80mg/l to 0.5mg/l.

CLICK HERE to watch the full CPD

As well as providing guidance for calculating sewage treatment system sizes depending on the population and type of building, the CPD also explains processes including de-nitrification, disinfection, phosphate removal and carbon dosing. This latter process helps housing developments deal efficiently with sewage underload as their population increases.

Graf UK’s new CPD features a video explaining the new General Binding Rules under which anyone with a septic tank discharging into a watercourse must have plans in place to replace it or upgrade the foul water solution within a reasonable timescale, typically 12 months, or sooner if the property is sold before this date.

It also explains how the impact of nutrient neutrality is making its way north from the south-west of England, where Natural England is clamping down on developments in the Solent area until such time as they can prove they are nutrient neutral.

Build-up of nitrates and phosphates produced from housing developments increases the production of algae and subsequently reduces oxygen levels in rivers and lakes.

The CPD explains that while manufacturers can help specifiers design a solution to redress the balance of nature, only those with European expertise are best placed to do so as the UK does not have the historical data that mainland Europe does in this instance.

Graf UK’s new CPD concludes with the case study of a family attraction in a SPA (Special Protection Area) in Scotland that required a new sewage treatment solution that SEPA (the Scottish Environment Protection Agency) required to deliver phosphate levels of 2mg/l, and 0.2mg/l.

Sika UK is pleased to announce the completion of a large-scale redevelopment of their Wishaw plant near Glasgow, acquired in 2019, and one of four sites within the UK which is dedicated to manufacturing a range of mortar and render product lines.

As a result of this redevelopment, the Wishaw site is projected to allow the production of up to 35,000 tonnes of mortars and 12,000 tonnes of Sika’s market leading single coat render, Monorex per year – bringing the combined total for all Sika UK sites to over 100,000 tonnes of both mortars and façade products annually.

Previously dedicated to the manufacture of Enewall products, the site will now focus on the production of SikaWall; a range of renders and systems from the trusted Sika brand. Incorporating Sika’s renowned high levels of customer service with a quality product, the newly rebranded SikaWall range is one which customers and applicators can have confidence in.

The redevelopment of the Wishaw site further strengthens Sika’s capability to manufacture market leading products within the UK and consequently improves our ability to mitigate supply chain issues which have affected the building industry over the last two years.

Commissioning of the Wishaw site was carried out at the beginning of April with production scheduled to commence later in the month.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE SIKA WEBSITE