Published date: 06 February 2024
King’s Lynn Health Hub Welcomes Guests For First Facility Tour
Over 25 guests braved the January weather to have a first look tour of the new £11.5 million King’s Lynn Health Hub that’s currently under construction. Progress on the new build will continue into the Spring, with an anticipated completion date of Summer 2024.
Guests from NHS Property Services, NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, and Officers and Councillors from Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk joined representatives from health construction specialists Darwin Group for a private tour to see the progress on site.
The Health Hub will house over 20 new clinical rooms, providing a modern, fully accessible, and digitally enabled facility. Once operational, the centre will offer a range of primary care services, in addition to hosting a maternity hub and rehabilitation therapy service from the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Work commenced on site in late Autumn 2023, and progress over the winter has seen the installation of drainage, preparation and installation of the foundations, and installation of the modular building units.
The building will be produced using Modern Methods of Construction, whereby, building structures will be manufactured offsite, before being installed on-site. This creates less material waste, reduces environmental impact, and quickens the construction process.
Internally, walls have been sprayed with an intelligent membrane to create an airtight building shell. Upgraded insulation and triple-glazed windows will increase thermal performance. Whereas air source heat pumps and LED lighting will reduce energy consumption.
King’s Lynn Health Hub will also attain an A+ energy performance rating, whilst being Net Zero Carbon in operation. As a result, less pollutants will be effused, and energy inefficiency will be mitigated, consequently, leading to cheaper utility bills.
Victoria Shaw, Property Development Partner at NHS Property Services, said: “The new healthcare hub will offer people in King’s Lynn and the surrounding areas a sustainable, modern, and fully accessible facility. Through NHS Property Services’ partnership with customers, we can assist health professionals in delivering the best possible care to patients in a building designed to meet their needs.”
Paul Higham, Director of Primary Care Estates at NHS Norfolk and Waveney said “We are delighted with the progress we’re seeing on site and it’s exciting to see this much-needed development finally taking shape. This new health hub will provide a range of health services that will help to meet residents’ needs for healthcare services in King’s Lynn now, and to meet the growing demand from the planned expansion of the town.”
Jim Pierce, deputy CEO at Darwin Group, said: “We know how important this facility will be for the wider King’s Lynn community, so to be able to show people the progress that has been made so far has been very satisfying.
“It’s been fascinating for our team to hear about the positive impact the health hub will have on maternity and rehabilitation services for the area too.
“It’s not often that so many stakeholders get to see the progress of a project in this way. I think it’s given them a good understanding of the benefits of using modular construction methods for this project, especially in terms of the net zero carbon aspect.”
