Mansfield-based Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading furniture and fit out specialists, has completed a £1.3m contract for the manufacture, supply and installation of furniture and fittings for the new £350m Grange University Hospital in South East Wales.

Designed by BDP, the project for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is believed to be Wales’ biggest ever health infrastructure project and is Deanestor’s 17th contract for main contractor Laing O’Rourke.

Deanestor has a long-standing business relationship with Laing O’Rourke, having provided furniture and fit out services for the new Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool.

Completion of the new Grange University Hospital was accelerated in the coronavirus pandemic to make 350 new patient beds available early. This allowed the health board to take possession of 50 per cent of the hospital just four weeks later. To help achieve this, Deanestor installed over 1,000 soap and towel dispensers and 263 PPE centres, and manufactured and fitted 48 pharmaceutical storage solutions, all in less than three weeks.

Deanestor manufactured around 3,000 items of furniture for the 55,000m2 hospital, including laboratory furniture, shelving, base and wall cabinets in compliance with all relevant HTMs. Its team procured and fitted more than 22,000 products for around 1,450 rooms – from mirrors and medi rails to drug cabinets and specialist catheter storage units.

Commenting on the project, Darren Cann, Works and Estates Manager at The Grange University Hospital, said, “This was a large-scale and complex hospital fit-out project. We had stringent requirements for robust, long-lasting furniture and fittings which would be easy to clean and maintain to meet the highest standards of infection control. Deanestor was able to accommodate our specific requirements, such as sloping worktops to facilitate cleaning, and to help us meet all relevant HTMs and HBNs.”

“Deanestor has a good reputation in the healthcare sector so we had confidence that their bespoke furniture and fit out services would meet the Trust’s expectations. The finished installation looks great and we propose to continue to use their team for some further work at the hospital.”

The new hospital provides critical care, serving a community of over 600,000 people. Services include a 24-hour assessment unit to deal with all major emergencies, dedicated paediatric assessment unit, neonatal intensive care, and support services including pathology, pharmacy and radiology.

Deanestor’s contract included the manufacture of white base units with light grey laminate worktops for all the patient bedrooms, staff beverage bays and kitchenettes, and cantilever peninsular benching, worktops and adjustable shelving for around 26 pathology laboratories.