London hospital with Wernick connection

Hayes Cottage Hospital in Middlesex is a name that conjures up the happier days of the health service.  It has been a hospital for local people, staffed by local people since 1875.  When the NHS decided to close the facility there was such an uproar from the community that the NHS agreed that any future development of the site would be for local healthcare purposes only.

Enter John Fordham and his family who bought the hospital and have converted it into a delightful 50-bed nursing home.  That could have been the end of the story except that there was still one redundant building on the site that was prime for re-development.  Last year John was contacted by Hammersmith Hospital’s Renal Department, which is responsible for all renal dialysis in West London.  Would he be interested in building a renal dialysis unit on the site? If so the NHS would rent the unit and provide all the medical staff. 

Externally the satellite site had to comply with the requirements of the local council’s conservation department.  Internally, the design had to meet the NHS’s strict guidelines specified in the latest Hospital Building Notes as well as John’s vision of a user-friendly open-plan design.  At the Hayes site everyone has tried to keep the cottage hospital culture, but with the very latest equipment and facilities.

The 37 factory built modules that comprise the two-storey, 829 square metre, 24-station dialysis unit were delivered and craned into position over four days. Fitting out took just eight weeks.  John considers the end result to be, “Brilliant; the internal finish is vitally important in this environment and Wernick have achieved a look that is aesthetically pleasing, efficient in use and easy to keep medically clean”.

(Abbreviated article.  Contact Jeff Bownds for full story and photos).