Mansfield-based Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading contract furniture manufacturers to the healthcare sector, has completed a £1.1m contract for the supply and installation of furniture and fittings for over 1,600 rooms for the new Royal Papworth Hospital – the UK’s leading specialist heart and lung hospital.

The contract is Deanestor’s 15th healthcare project for main contractor Skanska.

This latest scheme involved the manufacture of nearly 2,000 base and wall cabinets, shelving units and worktops for areas including operating theatres, cardiac catheterisation laboratories, pharmacy, isolation wards, ensuite bedrooms, utility rooms, staff changing facilities, library, and offices.

The fixed and loose furniture was manufactured and pre-assembled at Deanestor’s factory in Mansfield. A highly durable white finish for the wall and base units was specified for the clinical areas with light grey laminated worktops. All these items were designed for longevity and to meet stringent infection control requirements.

In addition to installing its manufactured furniture, Deanestor was responsible for fitting over 12,000 other items across the new hospital including controlled drug cabinets, mirrors, fridges, noticeboards and fire extinguishers. It also manufactured kitchen units for 15 staff rest rooms and beverage bays and installed more than 1,600 integrated panel systems (IPS) pre-fitted with basins or toilets.

Commenting on the project, Francis Breen, Construction Director at Skanska, said: “Deanestor offered the most competitive solution for this project. We needed a combination of high quality, durable and functional furniture that would meet the highest standards of infection control. The Deanestor team engaged well with this complex construction scheme and had a positive attitude throughout.”

Colin Glen, Clinical Project Manager at Royal Papworth Hospital, added: “Our requirement was for good quality furniture that had longevity. Furniture that would be resistant to damage and that is well designed to avoid settling of dust and maintain infection control. Deanestor has provided great quality products which are exactly what the hospital needed.”

The 40,000m2 Royal Papworth Hospital is located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The scheme has been designed to combine a highly efficient clinical layout and a striking architectural design to reflect its world-leading position as a pioneering cardiothoracic specialist hospital and transplant centre of excellence. It provides more than 300 beds which are mostly ensuite, a critical care unit, outpatients, seven operating theatres and five cardiac catheterisation laboratories.

Deanestor has manufacturing and distribution facilities in Mansfield spanning 165,000 sqft across three sites. Originally established in 1948 to manufacture hospital furniture for the newly-established NHS, the company is now a market-leading supplier of fixtures, fittings and equipment to the healthcare sector. It offers bespoke design services to meet specific project requirements and is responsible for installation to provide a seamless approach for contractors and a single point of contact for the most complex hospital construction and refurbishment projects.