Nightingale Associates complete the first single-bed hospital in the UK
Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan in Ebbw Vale, South Wales is the UK's first single-bed hospital. The 107-bed hospital is one of the first ‘pathfinder' projects to be delivered via the ‘Designed for Life: Building for Wales' procurement framework set up by the Welsh Assembly. Nightingale Associates was selected as preferred supply chain partner by BAM Construction Ltd.
The two-storey hospital is one of the first public buildings completed as part of the regeneration of the Corus steelworks site. Set in the heart of the Welsh valleys, its distinctive ‘zigzag' form maximises the benefits of natural light, ventilation and views for each room. The hospital's main entrance addresses a new public square and boulevard. Its eastern ‘public' face is more formal, with detailing and materials inspired by the site's industrial heritage.
In contrast, the west has a domestic scale and finish more appropriate to inpatient/staff areas. The hospital provides 96 single en-suite bedrooms, designed to aid recovery by giving patients a greater level of privacy and dignity and reducing infections. Split across three 32-bed wards, inpatient accommodation is organised into eight-bed nursing clusters, focused around a central nurse base to provide greater flexibility for separation within, and between, wards.
Each ward has a communal lounge and access to an outdoor terrace overlooking landscaped courtyards. Large windows in each bedroom ensure high levels of natural light and cross-ventilation. The scheme includes 11 en-suite mental health inpatient bedrooms alongside outpatient MHU crisis care, day-care units and a separate garden.
Further facilities include urgent care, radiology, pathology, outpatients, therapies, a birthing unit, and non-clinical support. All outpatient facilities have access to the main courtyard and therapy patients are afforded access to a dedicated ‘Activity of Daily Living' (ADL) garden. The project has been awarded a NEAT ‘Excellent' rating and an ‘A' rated Energy Performance Certificate.
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