Built over two floors, the wards feature a mixture of single and multi-bed bays and a specialist physiotherapy area on the ground floor for occupational therapy and post-surgery recovery, along with a patient day room. Lord Markham, who is responsible for the Government’s programme of building new hospitals and upgrading existing ones, visited Leighton Hospital to open the ward on 15 August and see the site first hand. He heard that the new wards would both increase overall capacity, and provide decant accommodation to allow Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) to undertake essential refurbishment and stabilisation works to existing wards. Leighton Hospital was built in the 1970s using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), and is one of a number of hospitals recently identified as needing to be rebuilt.
The exterior of the new building has been designed to reflect the colours of the NHS and complement the surrounding site. Sustainability is also a key feature, with high performing materials, air source heat pumps, and roof-mounted solar panels giving it an energy efficiency ‘A’ rating.
Russ Favager, the Trust’s deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer, said: “We were delighted Lord Markham was able to officially open the wards as part of his New Hospital Programme visit. The two new wards have allowed us to continue our focus on providing unparalleled care for our patients and the best quality and safe place to work for our people. I’d like to say a huge thank you to our Estates team, Darwin Group, and all those teams involved in this project, for the speed in building these wards.”
A family-operated business based in Telford, Darwin Group was recognised in the FT 1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe. Founded in 2006, it was acquired in 2023 by Portakabin.