Rochdale company reaches project milestone for landmark Sheffield hospital project

The new pharmacy at Weston Park Hospital, which includes specialist air handling requirements

Rochdale-based BES has successfully completed phase 1 of a pioneering project to design and construct a new pharmacy and aseptic suite that will allow the preparation of specialist cancer treatments at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield.

The project is the company’s first for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is being delivered in two meticulously co-ordinated phases to allow the existing pharmacy to remain operational while the new one is delivered. Work will then begin on the aseptic suite, where gene cell therapy medicines will be prepared for patients.

BES is a leader in the design and construction of specialist environments for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and technology sectors. As principal contractor on the Weston Park Hospital project, the company is responsible for all design, engineering and construction of the new facilities, which are located on the hospital’s sixth and seventh floors.

During the design phase, the BES team offered improvements to the client’s proposed layout to improve the flow and reconfigure the rooms. Phase 1 has involved strip out and refurbishment of redundant office space to create the new pharmacy, which includes cleanroom environments and complex building services, including specialist air handling requirements and air locks.

With construction for phase 1 now completed, the hospital’s pharmacy team will be moved across to its new location and BES will refurbish the existing pharmacy as a new clinical trial and ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products) aseptic suite.

BES has worked collaboratively with Weston Park throughout the design phase to understand their requirements and create a tailored pharmacy and aseptic suite.

Engineering director, Jonathan Morton of BES added: “From our headquarters in Rochdale we are designing and delivering some of the most advanced cleanroom and laboratory environments in the UK for hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and high-tech industries, such as the compound semi-conductor sector. 

“Our team has the expertise to support clients like Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in bringing advanced new technologies into play. The project at Weston Park Hospital will enable the preparation of tailored, targeted cancer treatments and we expect this to be a growing requirement for UK hospitals in which BES has the proven expertise to take a leading role.”