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Healthcare

Southend University Hospital – Cherry Tree Wing

During the peak of Covid restrictions, Actiform worked with Galliford Try to deliver a three-storey facility at Southend University Hospital — described as a 'one-stop-shop' for improving patient care. The building consolidates same-day emergency care, inpatient beds and a dedicated discharge unit into a single, purpose-built structure, reducing journey times and wait times across the hospital.

Expertise
  • Modular healthcare construction
  • Same-day emergency care facility design
  • Multi-storey clinical accommodation
  • Mechanical, electrical and specialist clinical services
  • Sustainable building design (SBEM rated)
Deliverables
  • Three-storey emergency village building
  • Ground-floor Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit
  • 18 inpatient bed spaces on the first floor
  • Dedicated patient discharge unit on the top floor
  • On-site pharmacy
  • SBEM B+ rated facility, partly solar powered

Challenge

Solution

  1. 01/

    Challenge

    Southend University Hospital needed to improve Same Day Emergency Care — a service requiring specialist clinical input, but where patients only need a day in hospital rather than a full admission. Patients were experiencing delays in being seen and were being admitted to wards unnecessarily, placing additional pressure on the wider hospital.

    Solution

    Actiform designed and delivered a purpose-built ground-floor Same Day Emergency Care unit as part of the new three-storey building. The dedicated facility ensures patients are seen more quickly and reduces unnecessary admissions, freeing up inpatient capacity across the hospital.

  2. 02/

    Challenge

    Patients requiring same-day emergency care often need diagnostic imaging — CT, MRI or ultrasound — before a clinical decision can be made. Long internal journeys between departments were increasing wait times and creating inefficiencies in the care pathway.

    Solution

    The first floor of the building was positioned to directly complement the ground-floor SDEC unit. Its 18-bed inpatient spaces sit adjacent to imaging and diagnostics services, significantly reducing the distance and wait time for patients needing scans as part of their same-day care pathway.

  3. 03/

    Challenge

    Hospital discharge is a recognised pressure point across the NHS. Without a dedicated space for patients who are clinically ready to leave, beds are occupied for longer than necessary, restricting capacity for incoming patients and placing strain on ward teams.

    Solution

    The top floor was designed as a dedicated discharge unit — a calmer, more spacious environment where patients spend their final day in hospital while staff complete the administrative and clinical preparations for their safe return home. A self-contained pharmacy on the same floor enables medications to be dispensed efficiently, removing a key bottleneck in the discharge process. The floor also achieves a SBEM B+ energy rating and is partly driven by solar energy.

Our Approach

Actiform delivered the three-storey Cherry Tree Wing in partnership with Galliford Try, working closely with Southend University Hospital’s estates and clinical teams throughout design and construction.

The project was completed during peak Covid restrictions — a period that placed exceptional demands on hospital capacity and site operations. Actiform’s off-site construction methodology was central to managing programme risk, reducing on-site disruption and maintaining delivery certainty during an operationally critical period for the Trust.

Each floor of the building was designed around a specific clinical function: same-day emergency care at ground level, inpatient beds and imaging adjacency on the first floor, and a dedicated discharge unit above. This vertical integration of the care pathway was a deliberate design decision, aimed at reducing patient journeys, improving flow and relieving pressure on the wider hospital estate.

Sustainability was embedded in the design from the outset. The completed facility achieves a SBEM B+ energy rating and is partly powered by solar energy, supporting the Trust’s longer-term environmental objectives.

The Results

£9mProject value

18Beds Inpatient capacity on the first floor

3Storeys, Emergency village delivered during Covid restrictions

In 2015, we needed to procure 3,000m2 of office and welfare facilities across three floors for our Tideway-East project in Bermondsey. Actiform won the tender and, from sales through to aftercare, have been professional, proactive and quick to suggest cost savings without compromising quality. Their site team worked to a well-organised timescale, and we have built an excellent, open working relationship. I would certainly recommend them.

Gordon Alexander

CVB JV