SR Architects Ltd. was commissioned by RUH Bath NHS Trust starting in late 2020 to design, tender and administer construction to build two new extensions and reburbish an assessment ward for the Accident and Emergency Department at the hospital.  One new extension was briefed to provide a segregated assessment zone for patients presenting with infectious disease – Covid19 or for other possible pathogens in the future. The other new extension relocated services associated with larger body trauma assessment away from the A&E entry area to an area associated with treatment of such conditions.  This relocation opened up an area in A&E that could be used for paediatric assessments to expand that operation. The Minors Assessment Unit was also refurbished to separate bed bays to deal with the issues presented around Covid19 infectiousness and as a general uplift.

The challenge of our design work and the construction programming lay in providing the required clinical spaces for these areas into very tight existing physical areas and all within a 6 month timeframe, all while the hospital continued to operate at the peak of the Covid pandemic.

Completed in mid-2021, these new facilities have contributed to smoother and future-proofed operations at the hospital.