Mile End Hospital Extension
Project: The Bancroft unit, Mile End Hospital
Location: London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Client: Mile End Hospital
Status: Planning Permission Granted
The brief
The Bancroft unit in Mile End Hospital, London Borough of Tower Hamlets is being extended and reconfigured to accommodate the world’s first self-administered dialysis ward.
Its design includes three specialist wards for haemodialysis. Two will teach patients how to self-administer at home, one for adults and one for young adults, while the final ‘nocturnal’ ward is designed to be used as a ‘home from home’ for patients to receive overnight treatment. Further spaces include staff training areas, a plant room and equipment stores.
Our approach
To ensure this novel facility was fit for purpose, we undertook a Virtual Reality (VR) live test with multiple staff members working together in VR headsets in the proposed space to ensure it is optimised for use when built.
Our design
The design proposal is simple and practical, with a new separate entrance that allows patients 24-hour use housed in the new extension.
Getting the spatial coordination right for the world’s first facility meant it was crucial to engage with staff members using a 3D model and VR headset that was set up in the hospital ward to allow multiple users to test the space.
Our director, Oliver Lowrie said: "VR testing is a crucial step in our design process, but it was more important than ever on this project, as this type of facility does not exist anywhere else in the world. It’s essential NHS staff know exactly what we are building so they are ready to use it as soon as it completes, eliminating the teething problems that can exist with new facilities.”
The result
Construction has already commenced on the internal reconfiguration, and the new ward should be operational in 2023.