The Royal Sussex County Hospital is currently undergoing major renewal works scheduled to take place over the next decade. The project, costing just under £500 million, will replace some of the oldest buildings within the NHS with two new, state of the art facilities. On March 2016, our asbestos consultants were appointed to support the 3Ts construction project by providing refurbishment and demolition surveys in accordance with HSG.
Whilst the significant renewal works are taking place, the hospital will still provide services for patients across the region in Brighton and Hove.
Prior to commencing we undertook a site visit to make certain our surveyors understood the requirements and environment of this wholly unique building. We mapped out the environment and identified the need for specialist equipment such as mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) to reach high level ceilings and upper elevations. This was facilitated by our surveyors who already had the necessary MEWP training in place.
Similar to the requirement to survey at high levels, we also delivered surveys to inaccessible areas installed behind asbestos containing materials. To deliver these additional surveys safely (so we could provide the client with a more comprehensive asbestos report), we collaborated with on-site asbestos removal contractors. Representative controlled removal of overlying asbestos allowed our surveyors to inspect areas behind the ACMs.
As another example of our ability to access all areas, we worked with the hospital’s engineers to safely survey the building’s lift shaft. All samples taken as part of our surveys are tested in our in-house UKAS accredited laboratory. The survey process was on-going, with surveys produced on a phased based, as buildings were decanted and handed over.
Final issued reports to the client were fully comprehensive including executive summaries, full descriptive registers, laboratory analysis reports, photos and accurate marked up plans. Following the surveying process, we provided air monitoring and 4-stage clearance services on-site; helping to ensure that asbestos-free areas are returned to the client, on-time.