Chelsea and Westminster Hospital expansion increases COVID-19 care capacity – Latest

Work has completed on phase one of the expansion and redevelopment of the adult and neonatal Intensive Care Units at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Elliott Wood worked with Ryder Architecture on behalf of Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the scheme. Patients are already being treated in the state-of-the art facilities, with 12 new ICU beds supporting the critical care capacity for COVID-19.

The new extensions to the existing wards were constructed as additional steel framed storeys above the front of the building on Fulham Road. The facades of the new wards have been detailed with large glazed elevations to maximise light ingress, and to provide views over London from the new hospital level.

The design required a full assessment of the load capacity and stability system of the structural elements which support the new extensions. The structural detailing and the logistics of the site works have been carefully developed to minimise the impact and disruption on the public; existing ambulance routes; and operational wards in the vicinity of the new extensions.

The critical care project has been part funded by CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Once complete in 2021, the Intensive Care Units will have capacity for 650 more critically ill adults and babies every year.