David Bailey Furniture Systems has completed a £1.25m hospital furniture installation at Southmead Hospital’s new state-of-the-art Brunel building in Bristol.
Selected by Carillion as its furniture partner for this prestigious project, David Bailey Furniture Systems was also tasked with sourcing fixtures, fittings and equipment to the value of £400,000.
Trevor Gillman, managing director of David Bailey Furniture Systems, said: “From the beginning of the installation in September 2012, we knew this was going to be our most-challenging project to date.
“Due to the size and complexity of the new development it was no surprise that we encountered a few delays on site which squeezed our installation window, meaning the majority of our furniture was manufactured and installed between March and June 2013.
“The main hospital building is immense, with a floor space of 115,000sq m across six storeys, so at the peak of activity we had 12 fitters on site to ensure all work was completed within the required timeframes.
“This project was the first time we had been asked to procure such a large variety of additional fittings and equipment like exercise bars, mobile gym mats, grab rails, washroom dispensers, hooks, notice boards, seats, work benches, even works of art. We counted 9,650 additional items in total.”
“In my 24 years working at David Bailey Furniture Systems, this has been by far our largest undertaking and one of the most rewarding projects to be involved in.”
Among its extensive scope of works on site, David Bailey Furniture Systems installed 3,050 individual base and wall storage units in a range of different sizes across 23 ward areas and 24 operating theatres. In addition, the company fitted 820 individual pieces of worktop totalling approximately 1,500m.
Of the 6,500 rooms David Bailey Furniture Systems installed furniture in the Critical Care Area on Level 2 is a good example of the sheer scale of the contract. Consisting of 12 bedrooms, two isolation lobbies, dirty and clean utility areas, a resuscitation station and various staff bases, David Bailey Furniture Systems supplied fitted storage units for all areas in addition to secure drugs cupboards and a Trespa worktop with resin sink for the laboratory area.
Dave Read, package manager for Carillion, said: “When we selected David Bailey as our furniture supplier for this major project, we had an ongoing relationship with them from previous large-scale hospital projects, so we were confident in their ability to deliver the high level of finish required.
“We weren’t disappointed. Not only did they supply and fit a huge range of HTM-compliant storage units and worktops in various sizes and specifications; they also sourced a wide variety of additional items.”
“The attention to detail of their fitters on site was particularly appreciated, especially towards the end of the project. Managing Director Trevor Gillman managed the project, and he paid considerable attention to support his on-site team, to ensure the successful delivery.
“Our experience working with David Bailey on this project and previous projects has always been one of top quality customer service, and we look forward to working with them on future contracts.”
Now the new Brunel building has been handed over to the North Bristol NHS Trust, this spells the end of Phase One of the new development. On May 28, the building will be open and fully operational at the centre of the redeveloped Southmead Hospital site.
