State of the art 40-bed ward extension to open at South Tipperary General Hospital

6^th February 2020: Leading modular construction specialists, ESS Modular, today handed over a state of the art 3,300 square metre, 40-bed ward extension at South Tipperary General Hospital. The new development is the largest modular ward extension in Ireland and consists of a two-storey accommodation block linked to the main hospital. It features 40 en-suite bedrooms, reception and lounge areas, kitchen facilities, staff changing rooms, store rooms and drug preparation facilities.

South Tipperary General Hospital is located in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary and provides acute general and maternity services to a catchment area of South Tipperary, North Tipperary and West Waterford.  Using a precision manufacturing process, ESS Modular manufactured the new building offsite, significantly reducing the time required on site. The new hospital facility was delivered in less than 12 months.

Maria Barry, General Manager, South Tipperary General Hospital said, ““This new building provides the hospital with a modern department that will facilitate the delivery of safe, effective and efficient patient care. It will assist in the reducing significantly the numbers of patients who are currently treated on trolleys in clinically inappropriate spaces and it will reduce the level of over-crowding on the wards and within the Emergency Department.

The staff  welcomes the development as it provides a physical environment area that is bright and spacious allowing our staff to care for patients with dignity. It also provides greater patient privacy and comfort as all rooms are single and en suite. In addition it will allow us to safely manage patients who require isolation, thus  preventing and controlling the spread of infection. I would like to acknowledge the work of ESS Modular, HSE Estates and hospital management who’s collaboration and communication ensured a successful build within 12 months.”

Each floor boasts 20 new bedrooms and the ground floor has been allocated as ‘Surgical 3’ as it directly links to the surgical area of the main hospital. The first floor will be used as a general ward block, known as ‘Medical 4’. The bedrooms vary in size to accommodate different usages including: Semi Ambulant; Bariatric; Fully Ambulant; and Assisted Bedrooms.

Ronan Smyth, Commercial Director, ESS Modular said, “We are proud to be handing over this much needed facility to South Tipperary General Hospital today. We are all too aware of the enormous pressures facing our healthcare system and it is an honour to be able to have delivered Ireland’s largest modular ward extension, which will help to alleviate some of these pressures, in the South-West of the country. Our modular construction process is ideal for projects such as these as we can deliver top quality, fully compliant buildings much quicker than traditionally constructed facilities.”

Design
The modular ward extension was designed by ESS Modular who partnered with O’Connell Mahon Architects and Arup Consultants  to bring the works from planning stage through to detailed design, contractor tender and construction. The design brief specified the need for a naturally ventilated building and with this in mind, all bedrooms were designed on the building perimeter and fitted large openable windows with the main clinical rooms centrally located and fed from an Air Handling Unit. The new building is split into two blocks which works with the geography of the site and allows for direct access from the corridor of the new building on ground floor direct to the central corridor and stairwell of the main hospital.

Site Works
In addition to the delivery of the new building, ESS Modular was also responsible for all ground works which featured a site clearance, a reduced level dig, radon and under building drainage, building of a 140m retaining wall, foundations, connection of mains water, gas and electric connection, provision of a 171m³ attenuation tank and soft landscaping.