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How we work

Our Building and Infrastructure Programme has two distinct workstreams:

• Women and Children’s Hospital Programme delivery team, led by Roberta Fuller
• Capital Projects delivery team, led by Andy Powell

These two teams are part of RCHT’s Estates and Facilities Group, and are responsible for a programme of work covers all major construction projects, and any associated hospital reconfiguration. The Capital Projects team is also responsible for the replacement of high value equipment (e.g. scanners and imaging equipment).  The Women and Children’s Hospital Programme delivery team is also responsible for the enabling projects and associated infrastructure upgrades, as well as delivering major projects through dedicated digital and social value workstreams.

These projects are supporting the transformation of healthcare in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by: 

• Improving the patient experience with new, high-quality spaces for the delivery of care
• Improving clinical outcomes with modern, fit-for-purpose theatres, wards, diagnostic facilities, day-case units and support accommodation 
• Developing a modern, sustainable estate to help deliver Cornwall’s Carbon Net Zero commitment 
• Addressing health inequalities by improving access to care, and providing safe, welcoming buildings for patients, visitors, and staff 
• Attracting and retaining talented and dedicated staff with the provision of state-of-the-art workspaces 
• Delivering a digital infrastructure to sustain a wide range of clinical and non-clinical technologies to boost efficiency and innovation in the Cornish health system 
• Working with local partners across all sectors to support local economic, sustainability and regeneration initiatives 

If you’d like to get involved in any of our projects, please get in touch. Patient engagement and hearing from people with “lived experiences” are very important to us. 

Find out more about our Women and Children’s Hospital Programme as well as our other big projects.

A Smart Hospital

Whilst we work towards constructing the new Women and Children’s Hospital hospital on our Truro site, we’re also looking at ways to improve our digital capabilities across all our buildings, using some smart technology.  

A smart hospital uses data and technology to accelerate and enhance the work we already do, whether that’s clinical staff or hospital managers. We can do things like track hospital bed occupancy and the whereabouts of equipment. We can monitor and control the environment such as noise, lighting and heating within the building. We can help people to park more easily and find their way within the hospital. We can measure patients’ vital signs and analyse radiology scans. We can even use robotics for some procedures.  And we can better manage our buildings.  

We are currently looking to test a number of specific areas:  

• Building Information Management (Modelling)
• Digital Wayfinding 
• Mobile technology for nurse calls (Silent Hospital project) and digital task management  

Building Information Modelling and Management

Project Lead: Tamsin Allen 

Building Information Management (BIM) is now being put in place to support the new Women and Children’s Hospital, as well as other major projects at RCHT. 

BIM is a framework of processes that allows data relating to the design, build and operation of an estate (such as a hospital site) to be collected, shared, analysed, and reported effectively. This includes all the assets within a building or on an estate.  

For the Women and Children’s Hospital, BIM is enabling a true partnership approach between RCHT and the design professionals in the construction industry and our clinical stakeholders. For example, BIM processes help to identify potential errors or clashes between design and construction needs before the building becomes a reality. BIM can also help reduce waste in construction, assist site managers monitoring the building progress, and help to keep projects running to schedule. And, once built, our team at RCHT will receive accurate information as regards “what’s behind each of the walls” at the point of handover and operation which will help significantly with maintenance requirements.  

Digital Wayfinding

Project Lead: Tamsin Allen 

Our Digital Wayfinding project will look at ways to improve the experience of patients, staff and visitors when they attend hospital. Although physical signage and wayfinding is updated every year (or so), many still find it difficult to navigate their way around our sites. This can make patients late for (or even miss) appointments, or anxious when they arrive, and this has a knock-on effect in terms of how efficient our clinics run. A digital wayfinding solution will provide patients and staff with a real-time smart solution to find departments and wards, helping to reduce stress and ensuring better efficiencies.  

This project is in its infancy, but a Proof of Concept has been explored by a small team of staff and patients to demonstrate its feasibility. We will then research a few options in order to work up a business case for wider implementation in line with the new Women and Children’s Hospital Programme.  

Biodiversity and Sustainability

Project Manager: Mike Horrocks

We take our responsibilities towards the environment and sustainable modern methods of construction seriously.  We have committed to: 

• Achieving a BREEAM Excellent or Outstanding rating on all new builds 
  (BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methods) 
• Complying with the NHS Net Zero Carbon Design Standards 
• Embedding sustainability within the core objectives of our major capital projects 

Examples include: 

• Prioritising sustainable designs and modern methods of construction 
• Utilising renewables and decarbonised waste management 
• Planting trees 
• Creating new habitats gardens and wild areas to deliver biodiversity net gain 
• Using local (sub)contractors and locally sourced materials wherever possible 

Within the team, our sustainability champion ensures that all the projects deliver a biodiversity net gain (BNG) of at least 10%, which is required by law.  

The biodiversity net gain initiative, together our approach to sustainable construction will help RCHT reach its target of achieving net zero by 2030.   

Find out more about the Green Plan for the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Health and Care Partnership 2021. 

Social Value

Project Manager: Mike Horrocks

Every major capital project we do at RCHT must deliver “social value” for our local community. We ask our contractors how they can support us to do this.

Social value can be created n a number of ways. It includes job creation and promoting local employment skills. It includes contractors volunteering time and services. It includes ways to reduce health and social inequalities in Cornwall, such as creating safer and/or more resilient communities through local support initiatives. It also includes delivering on environmental, sustainability and decarbonisation initiatives such through the use of low emission vehicles and equipment, and renewables.