Emergency Assessment Unit by ModuleCo


Emergency Assessment Unit, Cambridge ModuleCo was awarded a contract to design and build new Emergency Assessment Unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

The requirement. In order to cope with the increasing number of emergency cases Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust decided to re-organise its emergency care. Instead of having two ‘front doors’ for emergencies – the Accident and Emergency department and the Medical Assessment Unit, the new healthcare facility would bring together all areas of emergency assessment.

The challenges. As part of the specification, the new five-storey Emergency Assessment Unit (EAM) required positioning within a confined courtyard beside the existing Accident & Emergency department.

				At ground level, an existing building was already occupying half of the courtyard. It was important for our Design team to develop a design that would best utilise the available space. Therefore, the shape of the building needed to be an inverted ‘pyramid’, where the lower levels have a smaller footprint than the higher levels.

The solution. The new Emergency Assessment Unit was built using ModuleCo’s off-site construction approach. 64 modules were built off-site whilst a steel platform was erected on site. The steel structure included a series of 4.5m trusses that were supported by only four columns, two of which had to go through the existing building. This allowed the second floor of the building to be positioned over the existing building.

All the units were lifted over the hospital during a weekend and at night, enabling the hospital to carry on business as usual during the day. The facility. The new Emergency Assessment Unit incorporates a clinical decision unit, medical and surgical short-stay wards for both adults and children, a child’s play area and observation units where patients will be admitted for a maximum of 72 hours.

To see the video of the installation of this facility, please use the links below. Click here for Quicktime Click here for Windows Media

Emergency Assessment Unit, Cambridge