Ipswich Hospital Fever Clinic

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, West Moreton Hospital swiftly required a custom-built, dedicated Fever Clinic to bring testing out of the main hospital and allow for a larger undercover area for socially distanced testing queues. Fleetwood provided a full turnkey design and construct solution in just 14 weeks, creating an additional 150m2 internal space and 79m2 of external (undercover) areas. The clinic features consultation rooms designed with the space to accommodate additional beds and features Code Blue, Code Black, nurse call and nurse assist call buttons. Amenities are fully integrated with the existing hospital buildings to improve patient flow. The clinic will enable the hospital to safely conduct testing, is easily accessible for those with wheelchairs and prams, and includes a dedicated drop-off zone. A detailed install guide and times were written for the nurses to explain to the children so they could follow along as they watched the buildings take shape.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

The pandemic posed unique challenges; a quick solution was required in record time to respond to the need for a drive through Fever Clinic testing facility with high-end specifications, fully integrated with the existing hospital facilities to maintain patient flow (and delivered with minimal disruption to the hospital, staff and patients). The facility can also be accessed independently from the main Hospital building, large enough to allow for social distancing and can later be re-purposed. The clinic features consultation rooms, Code Blue, Code Black, nurse call and nurse assist call buttons and a larger undercover area for socially distanced testing queues. Nurse call, code blue, black etc. are integrated fully with the wider Ipswich hospital system. The Clinic is built to the highest standards of water and energy efficiency with Fleetwood’s off-site manufacturing ensuring minimal site disturbance and waste.

Cost Effectiveness

The Health Fever Clinic was highly cost effective as a full turnkey solution was delivered to the client in just 14 weeks – two weeks ahead of schedule and with minimal disruption to site and hospital operations with only six weeks from commencement of site works to handover (even with the disruption of Covid-19 lockdowns!) Fleetwood was in close communication with the hospital during all phases of the project, carefully navigating a small site footprint and live hospital environment to ensure minimal disruption to ongoing patient care operations with maximum cost efficiency achieved through a clever and efficient design to optimize use of the small site. The fever clinic is situated on Court St that also hosts the ambulance route, making it challenging to secure traffic permits. Fleetwood worked in close consultation with Local and State Government authorities as well as Hospital administration to expedite permit approvals also in record time.