Carefoot construction NHS Wigan endoscopy unit p Freshfield

NHS England awarded funding for the endoscopy unit in October last year. Credit: via Freshfield

Carefoot on site for Wigan NHS extensions

16 February 2024 11:25 Paul Unger Comments (0)

Construction firm Carefoot has started on a £6.4m endoscopy unit in Wigan after completing a £6.5m project at nearby Leigh for a surgery theatre and community diagnostic centre.

The two hospital extensions, each around 15,000 sq ft, are being delivered by Carefoot for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and are designed to improve diagnosis, reduce waiting times and increase care capacity across the borough.

Richard Mundon, director of strategy and planning at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Carefoot to our Wigan site and look forward to continuing to work with the company.

“These developments will certainly help to futureproof our facilities, address the expected increases in population demand and play a significant role in reducing health inequalities across the Wigan borough. This can only lead to improved outcomes for our patients across a wide range of services, which is fantastic news for us as a trust, but also the wider community.”

The two projects have been funded with £11.9m from NHS England which was granted to the trust in October 2023 to reducing patient waiting times.

Colin Carefoot, chief executive, Carefoot, said: “As a company, we have been working with the NHS on healthcare construction projects for over 70 years and in addition to these two major extensions, which will improve healthcare capacity across the Wigan borough, we’re currently involved in multiple hospital projects across the North West.

“Working on healthcare projects brings unique issues – the project at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan is particularly challenging as the extension is adjacent to three live areas of a very busy hospital. However, our team has the experience and knowledge to manage the construction process in a way which minimises the impact on the trust and its patients.”

The Wigan endoscopy unit was designed by Manchester-based DAY Architectural and is expected to be completed in summer 2025. O’Neil and Partners, Bradshaw Gass & Hope, and Pettit Singleton Associates are consultants on the project.

The community diagnostic centre and elective theatre at Leigh Infirmary was designed by Chorley-based architects Gilling Dod. Consultants on the project included Steven A Hunt & Associates, Sutcliffe and Rider Hunt.