Bassetlaw Emergency Care Village

The Challenge

Bassetlaw Hospital was experiencing high levels of demand for UEC services which the ageing estate was unable to accommodate safely. In 2017, due to issues with recruitment and retention of staff, paediatric inpatient services were closed due to safety concerns, resulting in 20-mile transfers for children in need of overnight stays. Backlog maintenance costs at the site were high and growing, with high-risk RAAC roofing on one of the site’s buildings.

The Trust had a vision to address these issues and secured a pledge for investment from Government in late 2019. However, delays created by the pandemic meant that by late 2021 the project was facing both looming funding deadlines and increasing concerns over build costs due to spiralling construction inflation.

To ensure the future of the project Archus was appointed to help support the Trust in driving the project forward.

Approach

We worked as part of the Trust’s project team through the project lifecycle:

• Taking a Project Director role through the whole scheme, we were able ease pressure on the Trust’s Senior Responsible Officer by acting as the key point of contact and escalation between the internal Trust clinical, operational and project stakeholders and the PSCP, design and technical teams, ensuring the SRO could remain focused on the strategic direction of the scheme.
• Drawing on our expensive experience and success rate in NHS business case delivery and approval, we delivered two fully compliant NHSE business cases to access the capital funding required by the Trust to deliver the scheme.
• Following best practice project management procedures, we established a robust governance and reporting structure, leading its implementation throughout the pre-construction and construction phases.
• Working collaboratively with a range of internal and external stakeholders, we supported the Trust in navigating the design process to ensure that the new build would meet all necessary space, clinical and financial requirements, while mitigating the increasing risks of hyperinflation. We supported this work by drawing on the knowledge of our wider team to provide activity and capacity modelling and schedules of accommodation.

Despite the many market challenges, the team was able to ensure capital costs for the project remained within agreed funding envelopes and both business cases were submitted within the required timescales. Following successful approval of the Outline Business Case, the Full Business Case was approved by NHS England in June 2023 and in July 2023, the project officially broke ground.

Outcome

Following an 18-month construction period, the new facilities were handed over to the Trust on 20^th December 2024. The Archus team then worked alongside the Trust to complete an intense programme of commissioning and preparation works, with the clinical areas successfully opening to patients in late January and early February 2025.

We also supported the Trust’s charitable appeal for this scheme, funding the purchase of a ‘light-box’ for the ceiling of the Paediatric Resus bay, and two ride-along John Deere tractors for the children’s playground.

Read more here.

Transforming care starts here
Get in touch with Archus to explore how we can help deliver your next healthcare infrastructure project, with purpose, precision, and community impact.