Teknomek has worked in partnership with Nottingham-based contractors Hilton Bodill to refurbish staff kitchens across Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Trust is one of the largest employers in the Nottinghamshire area, employing around 16,700 people across its three city-centre venues. With 90 wards and 1,700 beds, the hospitals provide services to more than 2.5 million residents.
Hilton Bodill was appointed to update staff kitchens throughout the hospitals. The objective was to help support a more hygienic work environment, as well as providing more storage space.
John Lennon, head of construction at Hilton Bodill, explains: "Our client's main priority was to create staff kitchens with furniture free of unnecessary dirt traps and with easy access for thorough cleaning. We also needed to consider operational working heights and comply with best practice guidelines for the hospital."
To ensure that these objectives could be met, Hilton Bodill asked Teknomek to design and deliver specialist hygienic furniture and equipment, necessary to transform tired and hard-to-clean spaces into modern, functional and attractive kitchens that would encourage best hygienic practice.
Sue Springett is commercial manager at Teknomek: "Working closely with Hilton Bodill and their client, we designed a range of bespoke kitchen layouts to suit different spaces around the hospitals. Each contained a mix of wall cupboards for storage, worktops, mobile floor cupboards and sinks. The hospital is, of course, a hygiene critical environment, designed with cleanliness in mind. In the same way, we created the new staff kitchens with hygiene management as the main emphasis."
Each bespoke piece of furniture was made to measure so that it was fit for purpose and designed to provide a long-term solution; therefore, providing an excellent return on investment for the Trust.
Upgrading the staff kitchens is part of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust's ongoing programme of maintenance and improvements. Throughout each project, Teknomek worked closely with Hilton Bodill and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to complete the refit with minimum disruption to staff and patients.
John Lennon concludes: "In construction, 'just in time' delivery is crucial. Teknomek have gone the extra mile to ensure our installation teams are able to get on with the job in hand without any delays, enabling us to complete our wider projects with no disruption."
