ABB Steward Limited has won a contract for mechanical, electrical and public health services on the new Worcester PFI Hospital project currently being developed by Catalyst Healthcare (Worcester) plc. The contract is worth around £19.5 million. Construction work has begun and the project is due for completion in 2002.

The new 454 inpatient bed hospital will supplement the existing hospitals in Worcester and in nearby Kidderminster and Redditch. The £82 million construction project - for Worcestershire Health Authority - is being funded by a private finance initiative (PFI) consortium, in which the main contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, is a leading participant.

The new hospital will incorporate eight major operating theatres, four subsidiary theatres, a large accident and emergency department and a specialist radiotherapy unit. Construction work began last spring and ABB Steward moved on-site during the autumn. All M&E work should be completed by the end of next year.

David Lamb, Managing Director of ABB Steward (pictured above left with Senior Project Manager Peter Court), commented: "We are adopting some very advanced working practices to ensure that we meet our cost and efficiency targets, as well as meeting the deadlines, on this important project. In addition to partnering, both with Bovis and our own suppliers, we have refined our working methods to give optimum flexibility and are pioneering a new 'just in time' approach to the supply of materials and components for all phases of the work."

Last year ABB Steward won the £9 million electrical services contract for the new Calderdale Hospital development in Halifax.

Anna Lagerkvist