Morgan Sindall Construction has won a £19m contract to deliver an extension and programme of improvements to the emergency department at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust selected its main contractor for the scheme through the Southern Construction Framework; a collaborative delivery vehicle run by Hampshire and Devon County councils.

Plans were submitted to expand the hospital’s busy A&E last year, due to significant service pressures. 

The new build will help to meet with projected demand and will provide a modern healthcare facility for the east Devon population.

A key requirement of the tender was for a construction company with the experience and logistical capacity to safely and efficiently deliver a phased programme of work alongside a busy live healthcare facility.

All of the works will be organised to allow for the continued operation of the existing facilities, while both of the existing emergency department main entrances will be temporarily relocated to ensure they remain accessible.

The new three-storey development will be located adjacent to the current building in Barrack Road.

At 3,500sq m the building will enable the hospital to expand its clinical services within a state-of-the-art treatment environment. 

As a teaching hospital, it will also provide high-quality education and training space for future generations of medical students.

Inside will be eight new resuscitation bays, which will be served by a new plant room. 

And there will also be a specialist children’s emergency department with paediatric bays and a separate reception area, housing a larger waiting area flooded with natural light.

In addition, the current fracture clinic will be relocated from the main building, and an operating theatre built in its place. 

There will also be a revamped specialist bereavement suite complete with tranquil garden space.

Outside, there will be five additional ambulance bays and there are plans for a new road configuration to help lower the response time for emergency vehicles.

Separately to the emergency department works, Morgan Sindall Construction has also been selected to deliver a new four-storey building to house a new ICU plant room. 

Valued at £4m, the steel-framed building will be used to hold equipment including chillers and air handling units for heating and ventilation, which are vital to keeping the ICU running safely and efficiently.

Brian Rice, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “At a time when the importance of our NHS has been brought into sharp focus, everyone involved in this project feels the responsibility to deliver. 

“We’re well versed with the requirements of working around a live hospital site and will be collaborating with a skilled local supply chain to ensure the work is carried out safely and efficiently.”