Royal Brompton Specialist Care Unit
Apollo is proud to announce the successful installation of a new CT scanner at 79 Wimpole Street, the outpatient and diagnostic facility of the Royal Brompton and Harefield Specialist Care Unit, operated by Guy's and St Thomas's. This project, situated on the Howard de Walden Estate, involved complex logistical challenges, reflecting our commitment to delivering high-quality healthcare solutions.
Scope of the Project
The project involved the strip-out and minor remodelling to the basement area, removing the existing X-ray facility to facilitate the installation of the new imaging suite comprising a CT, ultrasound, cannulation room and recovery space. The client remained in occupation in the adjoining building throughout construction.
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges on this project was altering and remodelling a building, not originally designed to accommodate a CT scanner. The works required two existing buildings to be connected, the floors of which were 150mm different in height.
The building further required extensive structural alterations to accommodate the new CT scanner and associated plant. The site was also constrained, enclosed by occupied premises and located in Wimpole Street, busy with both traffic and pedestrians.
Our Approach
The existing vaults in the building were modified to facilitate the installation of the new plant. In addition, the existing plant room roof was removed and the floor lowered to create enough internal space for the new AHU. The plant room was encased in hit-and-miss brickwork and finished with a living wall.
The scanner is located in the basement. In order to manoeuvre the scanner into position, we closed the road over a weekend to allow a crane to lift the scanner over the building and into position through an existing lightwell.
Innovation
A state-of-the-art Sense X Lighting System was installed in the CT scanning room. This included a colour-changing LED light in-set in the Code 5 glass / lead window, the first to be installed in the UK.
The project was required to be registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme, and achieved a report score of 44 out of a possible 45. As part of our commitment to the Scheme, the construction team volunteered their Wednesday mornings to work at the London Soup Kitchen, located close to the site in Tottenham Court Road.