Artic undertakes Cardiac Theatre Refurbishment at King’s College Hospital

Artic Building Services and it’s Project team successfully delivered a large-scale mechanical refurbishment of a Cardiac Theatre Unit at King’s College Hospital. King’s College Hospital is a central learning hub and major trauma centre located at Denmark Hill in London, so it was critical for the project to be completed efficiently and effectively so to not disrupt the hospital and its patient care.

The Mechanical Project

The Cardiac Theatre required a brand-new external ventilation system that consisted of two Dalair air handling units, specifically requested by the NHS trust. Alongside this, a new external plant room needed to be installed including heat pumps and a new BMS panel to manage the equipment. To support the external equipment being installed, the team needed to build a steel decked platform with scaffolding to support. The project also required internal refurbishment, including the fitting of surgical theatre canopies, upgraded fan motors and power panels to ensure ultra clean ventilation (UVC) throughout the theatre rooms and reduce the risk of infection. The project finished off with installing new flooring and ceilings, fire doors and decorating the unit ready for use.

Planning the Hospital Refurbishment

Before the works could commence, the Projects department had several tasks to complete so that the site would remain in compliance with the high health & safety standards of the NHS in line with the HTM and was prepped for the install.

This meant making sure the RAMs for the site were complete, and working on a historic building meant that the team needed to review the R&D survey and carry out the Asbestos register checks to make sure the works would be safe to proceed with. The projects team also had to acquire all necessary permits to conduct the work whilst the hospital would be operating as usual.

Artic worked in partnership with trusted consultants BYP, WS, Perega, Bluelight Management, STMC and AirisQ throughout the entirety of the project. The collaboration ensured the efficient delivery that enabled the project to be successfully delivered on time and within budget.

Challenges of the Project:

The hospitals mechanical refurbishment created some unique challenges that meant Artic’s project delivery team needed to adapt their initial solution to make sure the installation could move forward efficiently.

Access to the Theatres

One of the biggest challenges of this project was access to the theatres which needed to be refurbished. Due to the site being a major trauma centre and critical learning hub, King’s couldn’t afford to close the unit completely whilst the works was being completed. This meant the Artic team needed to work in collaboration with King’s and their lead theatre staff to make sure the works could be completed without impacting patientcare.

Working Hours

Due to the theatres still needing to be in operational use throughout the refurbishment, this meant that Artic’s project team adapted its working hours to meet the needs of the NHS site and get the work completed within the designated timeframe.

Crane Lift

The Project required a crane to lift the equipment onto the site which presented some unique challenges to the team. The location of the crane meant it was in proximity to a major railway line; the team needed to liaise with Network Rail to acquire the correct permits and make sure that they had the up-to-date ground surveys for the crane to be deployed.

As a major trauma centre, King’s College Hospital has a helipad on its roof. It was a crucial part of this project for Artic’s team to communicate with the hospital’s helipad team to make sure the crane schedule worked around the helipads own schedule and daily operations so that it didn’t interfere in any way for the 2 weeks that it needed to be deployed.

Outcomes and Benefits

The installation of the new ultra clean ventilation system has not only optimised part of the patient care at King’s College Hospital but also introduced several other benefits.

Increased Energy Efficiency

The solution implemented had increased energy efficiency by utilising the jacket water circuit from the large gas boilers, originally designed to keep the boilers cool. Instead of allowing excess heat to go to waste, it’s now repurposed to supply the Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) system, which feeds the newly installed Cardiac Theatre AHU’s (Air Handling Unit).

Additionally, this system supplies heat to an absorption chiller, which cools the water down to 6°C. This chilled water is then circulated to the new AHU’s, effectively supporting the chilled water circuit without the need for traditional refrigeration methods that can have high TCO2e.

By integrating the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system in this way, the site maximises energy recovery, significantly reduces waste and eliminates the need to discard excess heat.

Previously, the old AHUs were supplied by a steam system, requiring temperatures of up to 177°C, which was energy intensive and costly. The upgraded system now uses LTHW at just 90°C resulting in substantial energy savings, lower operational costs and a more carbon friendly operation overall.

   

Social Value Added for King’s

As part of the mechanical refurbishment project, Artic prioritised sustainable procurement and explored the sustainable avenues within the supply chain.  When the Artic Projects team was sourcing subcontractors for parts of the work, they made sure to consider the option which was the most cost-effective with the best value for the client. Although the chosen subcontractors head office wasn’t local, the Artic team made sure that the employees hired to attend the site were local to King’s and stationed them all directly on site to reduce carbon emissions and increase social-economic growth thereby increasing King’s Social Value added to the project in line with their own ESG values and goals.

Partnering with Artic Projects

The project was successfully completed with a smooth handover to King’s showcasing the confidence the Artic team has in navigating any challenges for large, complex mechanical installations. By using more energy efficient technology, the Artic team have made King’s annual savings on both cost and carbon emissions from the cardiac theatre units. By completing this project, Artic has demonstrated its strong commitment to partnering with dynamic healthcare sites to optimise their equipment efficiently and effectively.

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