UK’s first modular barn surgical theatre broadens NHS healthcare horizons

The UK’s first modular barn surgical theatre is being built by leading manufacturing and offsite construction specialist, Premier Modular.  

The transformative orthopaedic unit is the latest addition to Maidstone Hospital in Kent and will be known as the Kent and Medway Orthopaedic Centre. The Centre will treat patients from across the region and will increase Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s capacity for planned surgical procedures.  

Premier Modular was awarded the £19.8 million contract due to the Trust’s need for an efficient building solution that caused minimal disruption on a busy hospital site and ensured patients could begin using the facility as soon as possible.  

The new Centre is part of a national scheme to deliver more than 50 new surgical hubs across England, delivering almost two million extra routine operations to reduce waiting lists over the next three years. 

Barn theatres, a specialised operating space that provides an open-plan surgical area, promise a solution to these capacity issues. Despite being small in number in the UK, barn operating theatres have been widely praised internationally for their ability to maximise the efficiency of clinical procedures.  

Work on the permanent unit began this summer and will provide a surgical hub complete with three open-plan operating theatres, X-ray centre, therapy space, recovery area, admin space, single patient and ‘pod’ rooms, all under one roof, to support people from across Kent and Medway.  

The building will be located separately from the main hospital building and emergency department. This design will enable the new Centre to focus on specially designed care for patients, helping to deliver many more operations and reducing the length of time patients stay in hospital. 

Theatre spaces will be optimised through the use of partitions and HEPA filtration to remove the risk of cross-contamination by creating an extremely sterile environment with high air quality that is maintained throughout the facility. 

The new unit will also be equipped with an air filtration system and other M&E equipment, which will be stored in a purpose-built plant room. The building will have a ceiling height that reflects the needs of the Trust throughout the facility and will use a specialised, dual pitched roof with reduced insulation depth to keep the building’s U-value to a minimum.  

Premier Modular will manage the production of everything above the building's foundation level from inception to completion and will implement expert logistical management to undertake the highly technical installation on a constrained site.   

The modular firm collaborated with P+HS Architects and HMY Architects to finalise the initial concept and design and is working with SES Engineering Services to deliver the M&E facilities.  

Demand for offsite manufacturing has surged in the past few years and is expected to continue rising as the need for quick, sustainable building solutions becomes greater.  

Dan Allison, Divisional Director of Premier Modular said: “Maidstone Hospital’s landmark unit is a milestone for offsite construction and for healthcare. The project demonstrates the unmatched potential of modular construction in terms of rapidly delivering extremely high-performance and bespoke buildings. 

“We’re proud of this - the first ever barn theatre built using modular techniques in the UK. By pushing the boundaries of construction technology, the NHS – and other healthcare organisations – are not only reducing post-pandemic backlogs and waiting times but also cutting the carbon footprints of their buildings.” 

The surgical hub is expected to be completed in January 2024 and will treat the first patients in March 2024.  

Miles Scott, Chief Executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, said: “The development of the Kent and Medway Orthopaedic Centre is an important part of our work to reduce waiting times for patients across the region. The new facility will expand the Trust’s surgical capacity and enable patients across Kent and Medway to receive expert care more quickly.”  

To find out more about Premier Modular, visit the website here.