Northumberland-headquartered Merit, a leading industrialised construction and digital manufacturing specialist, has been appointed by the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to design and deliver a new Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Unit on site at Bedford Hospital. The £3.6m facility, which will utilise advanced offsite construction methods for its delivery, will be completed in July 2025.
Works to manufacture the offsite components of the build will commence in Merit’s Cramlington-based smart factory later this month. By pioneering a new industrialised construction approach, Merit’s product-based solutions are perfectly suited to meet the growing demand for faster and more cost-effective healthcare facility delivery, while also prioritising sustainability.
The new SDEC Unit will encompass consultation rooms, clinical management rooms, examination rooms, assessment areas, and other supporting services, to provide a comprehensive range of exceptional healthcare services.
To deliver this cutting-edge facility, Merit will utilise its UltraPOD® SFS variant. UltraPOD® is Merit’s expandable full-building solution that can be customised to create various types of buildings for different purposes.
As part of its commitment to continuously improve its operations and better serve its customers, Merit’s new UltraPOD® SFS variant incorporates Merit’s latest roll former, panel line production system, which enhances project affordability and accessibility while significantly reducing the construction timeline. The V6 platform comes as standard, rated BREEAM Excellent as a minimum, EPC-A, and energy consumption is 69% lower than current CIBSE hospital benchmarks.
Commenting on Merit’s latest appointment, Tony Wells, CEO at Merit said: “We are thrilled to bring Merit’s innovative offsite construction approach to this project, which enables us to provide high-quality, efficient solutions faster than traditional methods. Our focus is on delivering a state-of-the-art facility that prioritises the needs of patients and healthcare providers, ensuring they benefit from outstanding care in a modern, expertly designed environment. Through close collaboration with Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we are committed to a seamless and swift delivery that enhances the healthcare experience for all.”
Melanie Banks, Director of Redevelopment and Strategic Planning at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to said: “The development of the new SDEC will allow us to assess, diagnose and treat a high volume of urgent patients each day and in a timely manner, alleviating the pressure on our Emergency Department. This will improve the patient experience and negate the requirement to be admitted into the hospital. Given the significant pressures on urgent and emergency care services up and down the country, an efficient design and speed of construction delivery has been essential.”
Merit prides itself on its ability to design and deliver high-quality, technically complex facilities for the healthcare sector, with notable project wins including Berwick’s new £35m Community Hospital, a new therapy-led rehabilitation unit on site at Norwich Community Hospital and a new Community Diagnostic Hub on site at Woking Hospital. In September 2024, the business announced its appointment to design and fit-out a multimillion Medicines Manufacturing Centre (MMC) to be based in Seaton Delaval.