Ensigna Construction was appointed by The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the Phase 4 Diabetic Care decant works at Hillingdon Hospital.
The £2.568m project involved the refurbishment and reconfiguration of existing lower-ground-floor accommodation, together with the construction of a new single-storey extension within an enclosed courtyard.
The completed facility provides a new reception area, consultant rooms, screening rooms, a doctor’s kitchenette, clinic booth and upgraded clinical and supporting spaces throughout.
Delivered at the heart of a fully operational acute hospital, the project combined substantial refurbishment, new construction and complex M&E installations within an exceptionally constrained environment.
Following establishment of controlled segregation and service isolations, Ensigna undertook the strip-out and reconfiguration of the existing accommodation before progressing through new partitions, finishes and specialist clinical installations.
The works included:
DX and VRS systems were incorporated to provide end users with greater control of heating and cooling within individual rooms.
Delivering at the Heart of a Live Hospital
The location of the new extension created one of the project’s defining challenges.
The courtyard was completely surrounded by the existing hospital, meaning conventional construction access was not available. Access to the works interfaced with live hospital circulation routes used by staff, patients and visitors, while sensitive hospital departments providing 24-hour services remained operational immediately adjacent to the construction area.
Ensigna worked closely with the Trust to develop and refine detailed site layouts, logistics arrangements and traffic management plans covering personnel, deliveries, waste movements and the protection of essential hospital access.
Internally, floor-to-ceiling fire-rated hoarding with sealed junctions separated construction activities from occupied areas. Material and waste movements through live hospital routes were carefully controlled, with banksmen and traffic marshals managing interfaces with hospital users.
Daily liaison with the Trust allowed activities to be coordinated around changing clinical and operational requirements, helping to minimise disruption throughout the works.
Infection Prevention & Environmental Control
Working alongside operational clinical areas required enhanced controls for dust, noise and infection prevention.
Recognising the heightened importance of infection control within a live healthcare environment, enhanced dust-control measures were implemented during demolition and construction to mitigate airborne dust and associated Aspergillus risk.
Work areas were sealed and segregated, with negative-pressure extraction incorporating HEPA filtration used to prevent construction dust and spores migrating into occupied hospital accommodation.
Acoustic barriers and controlled working arrangements were also used to manage noisy activities, supported by ongoing liaison with the Trust regarding operational restrictions and required quiet periods.
Waste was segregated within designated refuse areas wherever practicable to maximise recycling and minimise material sent to landfill.
Overcoming an Exceptional Logistics Challenge
The enclosed courtyard created a significant question during project planning: how could major M&E plant be safely installed when there was no conventional route into the construction area?
Elements of the M&E installation were pre-packaged off site, reducing on-site labour and installation time within the constrained hospital environment. Getting this equipment into position, however, required a substantial crane operation.
Ensigna developed a solution requiring plant to be lifted approximately 40 metres vertically and 50 metres across the existing hospital buildings, using a crane of up to approximately 400 tonnes.
Given the scale of the proposed lift and the sensitivity of the surrounding live environment, the Trust required significant assurance that the operation was both achievable and safe.
Ensigna worked collaboratively with the Trust, project team and a specialist crane contractor to develop and evidence the proposed methodology. Ensigna was also able to draw upon experience from a comparable major crane lift previously undertaken within another live NHS hospital, providing practical evidence that an operation of this nature could be successfully planned and controlled.
Detailed lift planning addressed crane positioning, lifting routes, exclusion zones, pedestrian and vehicle interfaces and the need to protect essential hospital access. Dedicated banksmen and traffic marshals secured the affected areas and managed movements around the hospital during the operations.
The final programme incorporated separate lifting operations for the AHU and subsequently the ASHP and packaged plant room.
The result was an ambitious but carefully engineered solution to an exceptionally constrained logistical problem, made possible through detailed planning, specialist collaboration and Ensigna’s previous live-healthcare experience.
Programme & Delivery
The project was delivered over 47 weeks, from 15 May 2025 to final handover on 30 March 2026.
Delivery required careful coordination between the existing accommodation, new courtyard extension and substantial M&E infrastructure. Works progressed through segregation and strip-out, structural and building works, M&E first fix, specialist clinical fit-out and finishes before moving into second fix and completion activities.
The latter stages incorporated external works, specialist installations, snagging and cleaning, followed by comprehensive testing and commissioning ahead of final handover on 30 March 2026.
Outcome
The Hillingdon Hospital Phase 4 Diabetic Care project demonstrates Ensigna’s capability to deliver large-scale, technically complex healthcare construction within a fully operational acute hospital.
The project combined clinical refurbishment, new-build construction and extensive building-services infrastructure within an exceptionally constrained location.
From maintaining safe segregation and enhanced infection-control measures alongside operational clinical departments to developing a major crane strategy capable of reaching an entirely enclosed courtyard, the project demanded detailed planning, technical expertise and close collaboration between Ensigna, the Trust and specialist delivery partners.
The completed facility provides modern, upgraded accommodation for the hospital’s Diabetic Care service, including new consultation and screening facilities and improved environmental controls, supporting NHS teams in the delivery of patient care.
Project Highlights
£2.5m contract value | 47-week delivery programme | Live acute hospital | Clinical refurbishment & new-build extension | Enclosed courtyard construction | Major AHU, ASHP & packaged plant installation | Up to 400-tonne crane operation | Negative-pressure HEPA dust control | Specialist healthcare M&E
