Singleton Hospital gets a facelift after renovation works

The renovation, fully funded by Welsh Government, started in March 2021.

Work took place on the front of the main block – visible behind the main entrance – and its side elevations. 

It affected wards across six floors in the building, while work also took place on the roof.

The improvements are in line with the latest building regulations.

Antony Jones, Swansea Bay University Health Board’s Capital Business Manager, said: “The re-cladding of Singleton Hospital proved a challenging project as we were working at a high level in an exposed coastal location.

“However, lessons were learned as works progressed, with each additional phase completed more productively.”

Great teamwork and continual improvements to the way the project was managed meant that it stayed within budget.

“Whilst achieving these results, the quality of work and health and safety were never compromised, which is quite an achievement when working in a live hospital environment,” said Antony.

Before the work started, the health board worked closely with its supply chain partner Keir Construction; cost advisors Gleeds; project managers MACE and other professionals.

All parties worked tirelessly in the design and phasing to minimise the impact on operational services throughout the project. 

The project was split into four phases in order to minimise disruption to services, patients and staff.

Wards were reassigned to different areas within the hospital, and are now back to their original location with the exception of a few wards which have moved due to the health board’s Acute Medical Services Redesign programme.

The success of the project has led to a report being delivered to Welsh Government to share with other health boards undertaking a similar project.

Elaine Lewis, Singleton’s Service Manager for Hospital Operations, said: “Despite the complexity of the work, we were delighted that no services were disrupted as part of the project.

“It did impact staff more than services as often specialities were mixed as the project was completed over four phases and nursing teams were split for the duration of the transfer, with each phase taking place in half of a ward area on three different levels.

“Our staff have been fantastic in supporting this project despite the disruption. The ward staff and our domestic team were hugely supportive in maintaining areas and getting them ready for moves.

“Our estates, IT team and porters ensured the wards were ready to transfer and then getting them ready to move patients back in while our car park team maintained the traffic flow consistently throughout.

“Clear communication between the Supply Chain Partner, operational management and our estates team enabled access to areas isolated for the work, which allowed estates to undertake backlog maintenance while the wards were empty.

“In conjunction with the various moves, staff also managed the transfer of services as part of the health board’s Changing for the Future plans, which has seen certain services move to Neath Port Talbot and Morriston hospitals and from Morriston to Singleton.”

(Lead image: Swansea Bay NHS)