Industry:
Healthcare

Client:
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Contractor:
Kier

Architect:
BDP (Building Design Partnership)

Project

The project involved the development of a new state-of-the-art Surgical Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

The new Surgical Centre will be used for operations and endoscopy procedures and will also replace the existing critical care unit. The facility includes six endoscopy rooms, patient recovery and clinical support areas, eight operating theatres and 22 critical care beds for level two and level three patients.

Our brief from the architects BDP and main contractor Kier Construction was to supply and install 24 door sets along with multiple fixed glazed screens. All door sets were specified from our multi-award-winning Flo-Motion® range of low-friction manual sliding doors.

Challenges

This was a very well managed project and it was a pleasure to work with BDP and Kier Construction again. As a result, the challenges were minimal and largely related to the range of clear opening widths required, which varied from 1550mm up to 1895mm.

Solution

As the designers and manufacturers of Flo-Motion® doors, developed specifically for healthcare environments and first installed at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in 2015, we were able to draw on our experience and technical expertise to adapt hybrid versions of each door type and ensure every aspect of the brief was met.

In total, we manufactured, supplied and installed the following door sets:

2 × Flo-Motion® E32 (single door sliding over a wall) with a clear opening width of 1895mm
5 × Flo-Motion® F12 (single door sliding over a glazed screen) with a clear opening width of 1550mm
8 × Flo-Motion® F11 (single door sliding over a glazed screen) with a clear opening width of 1550mm
1 × Flo-Motion® F11 (single door sliding over a glazed screen) with a clear opening width of 1745mm
5 × Flo-Motion® F01 (single door sliding over a glazed screen and wall) with a clear opening width of 1550mm
3 × Flo-Motion® F01 (single door sliding over a glazed screen and wall) with a clear opening width of 1745mm

Finishes

Our Doorson and Flo-Motion® door sets provide several important benefits for patients, staff and visitors.

Frames: RAL 9003 White
Sliding doors: RAL 7004 Signal Grey Satin
Handles: Hoppe back-to-back nylon handles, 600mm × 34mm, RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey
Glazing: 31.6mm double-glazed units with clear laminated glass

Force Testing

All doors were force tested three times, with certificates issued for each. The mean average reading across the 24 doors was 10.74N. Notably, the E32 doors with a 1895mm clear opening width recorded readings of 8.3N and 11.8N.

Outcome

Our Flo-Motion® door sets and glazed panels provide a number of key benefits for patients, staff and visitors to the new Surgical Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital, including:

Large sliding doors that are easy to open and close for users of all strengths and abilities
Excellent light transfer, helping to maximise the sense of space
An attractive, efficient and effective environment for staff, patients and visitors

Paul Ingram, Senior Project Manager at Kier

“Throughout the design and installation process, Axis were very professional, proactive and excellent communicators. They were a pleasure to work with, ensuring straightforward processes for agreeing modifications and installation methods. It was also refreshing to be able to speak directly with Axis’ Managing Director, Rob Brunero, who was always positive, helpful and collaborative.

“The Axis installation team were conscientious, worked safely and completed the installation to a very high standard within the agreed timescale. When a minor latent defect occurred with a mechanism, the issue was resolved quickly and without fuss. We would have no hesitation in recommending Axis and would be very happy to work with them again on future projects.”