Why modular buildings are the future of healthcare construction
Modular operating theatre

Why modular buildings are the future of healthcare construction

More hospitals are buying modular buildings; whole units that are manufactured offsite, complete with clinical equipment and/or furniture, fully kitted out, ready to arrive on location and be put straight to use.

These pre-fab buildings are the future of construction across all industries, but healthcare has recently stepped right into the spotlight. With hospitals and clinics across the world filled to capacity, demand for new sites at breakneck speeds is a global challenge. Modular buildings are uniquely equipped to meet this demand, and governments have quickly acknowledged this fact and invested accordingly.

In December 2021, the UK government announced a £700 million investment in the NHS to address the backlog and improve patient care over the winter. To be distributed across 187 hospital trusts, one of the agenda points for the investment is the installation of modular operating theatres. Within that investment, St George’s Hospitals is to receive £14.4 million to deliver a new modular facility providing 20 intensive treatment unit beds. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will also secure £7.1 million to build a modular ward with 32 beds.

Reception area for ModuleCo
A reception area showing furniture we manufactured for a ModuleCo modular healthcare building.

Why are modular buildings the future of construction?

The government is putting more money into modular operating theatres because they are a quick but reliable fix.

For a hospital or facility, it’s much quicker and cheaper to order a completed facility that is manufactured elsewhere. It’s also less disruptive to the healthcare site. Modular buildings take away the eyesore of construction and the hassle of location disruptions that go along with it. All modular facilities are built on the premises of the building manufacturer and only dropped off at the hospital or facility when fully built and equipped.

Furniture for modular building
Another room we have furnished for ModuleCo modular buildings.

Who makes modular buildings?

Companies such as ModuleCo are making modular health facility buildings for stock, ready to ship out when an order comes in. The team at DBFS have been proudly working alongside them, fitting the facilities out in situ at ModuleCo’s manufacturing facility, so they’re ready to go. These are stock theatres that hospitals can buy off the shelf.

ModuleCo kindly shared their experience on what it’s like to work with DBFS for furniture fitting modular facilities:

Q: What made you choose David Bailey to work with on these projects?

A: Price and installation period.

Q: Were other furniture manufacturers considered? If so, why were these rejected in favour of David Bailey?

A: Yes, we have other suppliers, but market testing has proven DBF to be commercially viable.

Q: What do you like about working with David Bailey?

A: The installations are generally very quick, which assists our factory programmes.

“We find products from David Bailey to be of good quality and value and are provided in good time. Installations are executed swiftly, which assists our factory programmes for our healthcare facilities. We have worked with David Bailey on many of our healthcare projects and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.” Neil Roberts, Commercial Team Manager at ModuleCo.

DBFS has worked with a number of modular builders to pre-fit facilities with all the healthcare furniture required to be fit for use from day one. We have worked on projects including:

  • Hospital of St Cross in Rugby, Warwickshire
  • Doncaster Royal Infirmary
  • The Prince Charles Hospital

Modular healthcare facilities – find out more

When you’re looking to build modular healthcare facilities to deliver quick installation solutions for clients, contact the David Bailey Furniture Systems team to support your build. We can build custom furniture unique to each project or high volumes of standard setups to kit-out buildings en masse. Read some case studies of healthcare furniture manufacturing and installation projects we have completed.

Images provided courtesy of ModuleCo