A new urgent treatment centre (UTC) has opened at Clacton Hospital, with MTX Contracts delivering the new facility using a modular construction approach.
The UTC occupies the ground floor of a new two-storey extension, which replaced the hospital’s former urgent treatment centre building.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust appointed MTX as the main contractor for the project in 2024.
The new building was constructed using 51 structural steel modules manufactured in a factory before being transported to the hospital and craned into position.
The modules were installed during summer 2025, with the installation programme running from 28 July to 8 August.
While the steel units were being manufactured off site, MTX demolished the existing UTC and prepared the hospital site for the new extension.
Once the structural units were craned into position, the weatherproof structure was completed within weeks, allowing work to progress to the concrete floors and mechanical, electrical and plumbing fit-out.
A prefabricated rooftop unit was also installed to house mechanical equipment serving the building.
The completed UTC provides a more spacious environment for patients requiring treatment for urgent but non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, including sprains, suspected fractures, burns and wounds.
The facility includes nine consulting and examination rooms, a screening room, mental health room, triage rooms and an eye and plaster room.
Ground and first-floor walkways connect the new extension with the original hospital buildings, which were also refurbished by MTX as part of the project.
The new facility connects to the refurbished Kate Grant and Jubilee buildings, while an internal corridor links the UTC directly with the hospital’s community diagnostic centre (CDC).
This allows patients requiring scans or other diagnostic tests to move between the services without having to leave the building.
The modular construction formed part of a wider £25m redevelopment programme by MTX, which involved demolishing parts of the existing estate and constructing the new urgent treatment centre alongside refurbishment works.
Austin Heating Services also worked on the improvements, while the project was funded by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England, NHS Property Services, NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board and Tendring District Council.
Tendring District Council contributed £2m towards the project through the Government’s Community Regeneration Partnership funding programme.
The UTC is part of a wider transformation of Clacton Hospital, which previously included the new CDC and endoscopy suite, the relocation of maternity services and creation of a new birthing suite, and new accommodation for podiatry and infusion services.
Additional parking and electric vehicle charging points have also been created.
The new urgent treatment centre is open from 8am to 8pm every day and provides same-day assessment and treatment for urgent conditions that are not serious enough to require A&E.
