RAAC Replacement Programme update

An update on works ongoing at Bassetlaw Hospital.

The main hospital building at Bassetlaw dates back to 1976, with the Mental Health Building Block 47 and part of the Theatres building Block 43 built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Although considered a revolutionary new building material at the time, RAAC is now outdated and newer construction materials offer more longevity and durability, as well as having lower maintenance cost. Whilst there is no immediate risk to the buildings, our Trust is taking proactive action to remove the material before any potential issues arise.

A RAAC replacement programme has been launched by NHS England/Improvement and the Trust has funding to remove all (RAAC) panels from Bassetlaw hospital and replace with a new modern roof.

To be able to replace the roof above theatres block 43 the theatre teams will relocate to temporary theatre units.  The temporary theatres units have now arrived on site and are located outside Clinical Therapies. Contractors are working on linking them up to water and electric connections and creating a corridor connection from the units to the hospital ready for theatres to move in to in October. You can still access Clinical Therapies from the existing entrance however you will start to see some changes in the lobby area to allow for internal access to the theatres.

In order to provide crane access to  the roof of Mental Health Block 43 and Theatre block 43, the construction team will need to take over the visitor car park at the front of the main entrance in October, exact date to be confirmed shortly.

To minimize the impact to parking for staff and visitors. You will see the construction team in the next week creating a new car park at the north side of the hospital and extra disabled parking has been created outside the maternity entrance & clinical therapies as well as a new drop zone.

The project team has engaged significantly with the clinical teams impacted by the project as well as Estates, compliance, parking and fire officers within the Trust to ensure minimal impact to the Staff and patients. Nonetheless some disturbance is unavoidable, so we thank you for your patience as we carry out this work.

Work on the RAAC roof will be completed in March 2023, following which the construction of the Emergency Village will commence.