How would you fancy scaling the outside of one of Hull’s tallest and most recognisable buildings?
It’s the job that awaits estates and construction staff as the latest round of hospital maintenance work gets underway at Hull Royal Infirmary.
Rewind back to 2013, and external mast climbers on the outside of the 160ft tower block were a regular feature as work to provide the hospital with a much-needed, multi-million-pound facelift took place.
Originally built in the 1960s, new windows and a now instantly recognisable blue frontage were installed to refresh the overall look of the hospital and improve its energy efficiency.
Now, local teams are preparing to scale the building once again to carry out maintenance work which includes safety checks and a fire safety upgrade following recent changes in legislation.
The work is expected to take around 20 months to complete and will be accompanied by a further programme of work to improve the building’s public and service lift infrastructure. Costs have yet to be finalised pending the outcome of a successful tendering process.
Tom Myers, Group Director of Estates, Facilities and Development for NHS Humber Health Partnership says:
“Monitoring a hospital estate the size of Hull Royal Infirmary is no mean feat. It’s a constant cycle of installations, improvements, repairs and maintenance to ensure our buildings and facilities are in the best possible shape to allow staff to deliver great care.
“Aside from very minor repairs, it’s been more than decade since any significant maintenance works were carried out on the outside of the tower block, so over the next few months, passers-by should expect to see this latest round of maintenance kicking off.
“As part of this work, we’ll be upgrading the building’s external fire protection, so we’ll see parts of the frontage being removed and replaced. We’ll also begin some much-needed improvements to our ageing lift system to improve its reliability, as we know how much frustration having lifts out of order, especially during busy periods, can cause in a building of this size.
“Given the nature and size of the tower block, we’ve been working closely with Humberside Fire and Rescue Service to formulate and agree a plan which ensures we meet all of the new requirements and they are assured of our safety measures in the meantime. In fact, we’re really grateful for their advice on this as Hull Royal really isn’t your standard workplace or health centre, and with thousands of people walking through the doors on any given day, safety has to be our top priority.”
While preparatory works are underway now, it is likely to be the New Year before patients and visitors start to see noticeable work taking place on the outside of the Hull Royal Infirmary tower block. This work should cause no disruption to patient care as maintenance teams will not require access to wards or clinical facilities; all of the planned activity will take place on the tower block exterior, though some access restrictions for pedestrians and vehicles may be put in place temporarily around the base of the building.