Outpatient assessment clinic at Beales

Work has started to transform the top floor of Beales department store in the Dolphin Centre in Poole into an outpatient assessment clinic. This is part of our ‘Think Big’ initiative to help tackle our waiting lists and bring diagnostic services closer to the community.

We have been developing plans with our partners across Dorset to run outpatient appointments in a completely different way than they are currently run in our hospitals. The unit is initially planned to cover dermatology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and breast and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening.

Many of the team involved with the transformation from retail space to clinic were involved with the build, design and kit out of the first Nightingale hospital in London’s Excel building. They have been using similar fast build and modular solutions to help optimise the space for the benefit of both our patients and our staff. Our clinical colleagues have been involved with all the plans as they believe this will allow them to see and assess more patients than is possible in our existing clinics across our hospitals and it will also be a better experience for our patients.

The team worked flat out over the course of a week to get the main structure in place, creating 2,600 square metres of partitioned space. They used 24,000 metres of metal stud and 12,000 metres of cabling in the construction.

To house the breast screening equipment, the team had to construct a lead-lined area, including ceiling, to comply with radiation regulations to protect our patients and staff. The lead alone for this weighed over three tonnes.

It was also necessary to add 1,000 metres of pipework for the plumbing. It is not just the teams and skills from the Nightingales that have been used, 1,000 of the 4,200 plasterboards came from the Nightingale stock, as well as the wash stations, over 200 light fittings; the dado rails to house the power supply and data networks; and over 90 doors.

We have been working closely with Beales and Legal and General, the landlords of the Dolphin Centre, to make this new and innovative centre a reality. Thanks to them for all they have done and also to our construction partners CFES, architects BDP and Innova who are supplying us with materials from the Nightingales.

Now that the basic infrastructure is in place, we need to kit out with clinical equipment ready to welcome our first patients later this year to the outpatient assessment clinic at Dorset Health Village.

Want to know more? See our FAQs on our outpatient assessment clinic and watch a time lapse of the build at Beales here.