North Wales NHS Trust called in the Portable Offices’ team when they needed a temporary waiting area for their mobile dental service. A modular unit was provided that was all kitted out ready for instant occupation. A further need for a regional business hub at Bangor Hospital to house senior management resulted in an additional unit being sited to provide an open plan office, two separate office, kitchen and wash room. Mike Bailey arranged and co-ordinated the installation. He said: “Everything came as promised, all kitted out. It was a very smooth operation and I feel we experienced an excellent all-round service.”

‘Awe inspiring’ is not a phrase that most people would associate with portable office accommodation, but for staff at St Andrew’s Medical Practice in Spennymoor, Co Durham this term summed up their feelings when Portable Offices arrived like the fourth emergency service to provide them with interim accommodation following an arson attack on their building. A plea for help from the centre’s nursing and administration staff, desperate to help the 10,000 local residents relying on the centre for medical treatment, was the ‘call to action’ for the Portable Offices team who rallied to their aid with modular portable accommodation. Practice Manager, Tracey Martin, said: “We were shocked by the devastation caused by the arson attack on our building which literally razed it to the ground.  Our semi-rural community relies on the centre totally for medical treatment and prescriptions, so we were in dire straits without a building to operate from. “It may sound a cliché, but Portable Offices were our ‘knights in shining armour.’ They responded straight away. Within a very short time, 11 modular buildings were dispatched to us. In fact, one left their site every half hour -operating with military precision.” The buildings arrived over the weekend although it took two weeks for foundations and utilities to be installed and for the necessary planning to be secured. Tracey explains: “Logistically, we needed planning for the accommodation to be sited on our car park, plus power and water.  The Portable Offices’ team helped us with all of this. “Our location down a back street was less than ideal from an access point of view but they worked with the situation and with us to really make it a seamless operation.” The Portable Offices team worked in tandem with medical and admin staff to develop a room plan that incorporated a pharmacy / dispensary, practice nurse / treatment room, consultation room, medical file room, office, waiting room and staff and public toilets. A total turnkey service was provided which included foundations, water, waste and power services, a disabled access ramp, fire alarm system and full project management including liaison with the local council on planning matters and the electricity board regarding a new power feed. Construction of the new medical centre is underway and the team hopes to be in the new building in the Autumn.

As a result of an explosion in winter illnesses last year, Basildon Hospital experienced an unexpected surge in the number of sick patients requiring treatment.   This led to an urgent demand for temporary space in which to accommodate a number of additional patient beds.  A number of possible solutions were considered but eventually it was decided to look at renting a number of pre-fabricated modular buildings. The hospital had secured a modular building earlier from Portable Offices in Luton to provide an extension to the pathology laboratory and had been happy with the building and service and so contacted Portable Offices once again. John Barnes, Estates Property Manager of Basildon Hospital, commented: “When we purchased modular space to extend our pathology department we were impressed with the value for money and service that we received from Portable Offices and so decided to contact them about our urgent need for temporary patient accommodation.” Portable Offices turned around the drawings in record time and while the building modules were being fabricated, groundwork contractors were already constructing the foundations and laying the drainage ready to site the new temporary ward. Neil Christie, Manager of Portable Offices Luton, explains how they collaborated with the hospital team to bring the optimum design to fruition: “We ensured that the operational needs of the hospital were met by working closely with the nurses and the hospital team to produce a design that was not only practical but that would also exceed patients’ requirements and expectations. We also produced a series of feasibility studies to ensure the project direction was correct from the early stages onwards.” Designs were signed off by mid-November and by mid-December the building modules were delivered to site. In less than a month, notwithstanding Christmas in between, the new ward was handed over and the first patients were accepted into the ward on January 12th. Fully equipped with alarms, security doors, IT, medical gases, electrics, patient bathrooms and toilets, staff restroom, office reception, clinical areas, utility rooms and reception, the new ward accommodation has proved to be a godsend to Basildon Hospital.   John Barnes highlights the most impressive aspects of the contract delivery: “The speed of fabrication and installation were exceptional with only seven weeks from design sign-off to handover. The quality and standard of the units – warm, light, bright and modern – was significantly superior when compared to a number of competitors. The buildings were also exceptional value for money, far more cost-effective than other options and this, combined with the outstanding service from the Portable Offices’ team, made it a resounding success.” Manager, Neil Christie, concluded: “There were a number of challenges, the main one centring on the tight time constraints which meant that we were under enormous pressure to deliver the optimum design, quality product that was fully equipped within a very narrow window of install opportunity. However, one of the benefits of portable accommodation and modular buildings is its adaptability and flexibility. The Portable Offices’ team succeeded in managing the contract and planning to ensure that all site workers including those from the other parties involved played their own important role in what became a seamless operation of almost military precision.