Case Study

John Radcliffe Hospital

01 / Case Study

John Radcliffe Hospital

A new £29m critical care building, extending the capabilities of the hospital, delivered by MTX Contracts.

Location / Oxford


Contract Value / £29m


Architect / IBI Group


Client / MTX Contracts


Completion / 2022


02 / Overview

Overview of the John Radcliffe Hospital project

DSSR is proud to have provided the full Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health (MEP) design for the building services of a new £29m critical care facility for John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, from the concept design stage to completion.

Working in close liaison with the NHS Trust and authorising engineers for the project, a key consideration of this project was how to tackle the spread of airborne pathogens such as COVID-19, SARS, and MERS. One of the ways DSSR addressed this was by creating ‘negative pressure rooms’, which comply with industry standards and COVID-19 guidance, as part of a tailored ventilation design.

To create a negative pressure room, the inside air pressure needs to be lower than the air pressure outside of the room. By creating this environment, contaminated air is prevented from exiting the room, while non-contaminated air is encouraged to flow into it. A controlled HVAC system then filters the contaminated air before it is released from the hospital. Negative pressure rooms are vital in healthcare facilities as they isolate airborne diseases, preventing them from spreading to patients, staff and guests.

Modern Methods of Construction

Delivered by MTX Contracts, the project supports the NHS Trust facility to extend its capabilities and represents a significant increase the number of ICU beds available to seriously-ill patients.
The construction methodology has utilised modern methods of construction and off-site manufacture—all with a view to delivering a state-of-the-art facility within an extremely efficient timeframe.

DSSR has been involved in the design and implementation of various systems and methodologies which embrace the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) ethos.

As part of our involvement on multiple government-funded projects—and healthcare projects in particular—DSSR has gained a thorough understanding of MMC which extends beyond our remit of MEP systems to the wider possibilities for other disciplines, including architectural and structural.

Public sector projects are increasingly required to achieve a greater level of MMC which can realise benefits for quality and programme & cost. For example, DSSR has actively been involved in the P22 repeatable rooms initiative, whereby the aim is to standardise certain components across the entire framework. This allows preferential purchase rates to be achieved, lowering the costs as compared to a one-off purchase.

One of the ways DSSR addressed [tackling the spread of airborne pathogens such as COVID] was by creating ‘negative pressure rooms’…as part of a tailored ventilation design.

03 / Contact

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