A new outpatient centre is being created at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport by MTX Contracts using advanced modern methods of construction (MMC) which support the long-term sustainability plans of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.

The trust is a specialist hub for emergency and high-risk general surgery – one of only four centres in Greater Manchester.

The aim of the new facilities is to modernise the outpatient department and ensure the best care for around half a million patients that use Stepping Hill Hospital annually.

The ground and first floor of the new building will house the new department, which will include multiple consulting rooms and a small number of dental treatment and procedure rooms, waiting areas, and toilets.

The second floor has a smaller footprint area for a plant and ancillary equipment.

The £24.3m project is using advanced modern methods of construction (MMC) shown to produce up to 45% less carbon emissions when compared to more-traditional building approaches, while maintaining the highest-quality build.

Using structural steel modules also means using lighter-weight materials, which in turn contributes to a reduction in transport requirements, allowing more materials to be delivered at once to reduce carbon emissions.

Once completed, the unit will replace the hospital’s old ‘Outpatients B’ building, which closed in November 2023 and was demolished.

The services previously based there are now in temporary locations, but the new building will enable the trust to reunite these services at Stepping Hill Hospital in a purpose-built centre with the latest state-of-the-art features.

The building is being constructed using 86 factory-manufactured structural steel units which were craned onto the site at the start of the year.

Once they were in place, the structure was made weatherproof and concrete floors were poured, which contributes to the high-quality finish of the building.

MTX is managing fitout of the new facility, with many of the mechanical and electrical elements, including air handling units manufactured offsite in factory conditions ready for assembly and final testing.

While the modular units were manufactured, MTX undertook groundworks to prepare the site for their arrival, which streamlines and shortens the project duration.

The capability to run various work streams for the new building simultaneously while elements are manufactured offsite is one of the key advantages of modern methods of construction.

It enables the delivery of new facilities faster, greener, safer, and more cost effectively than conventional building methods, while maintaining the highest build quality .

Developing the site where hospital wards had been located presented significant challenges for MTX, including the removal of previous structures which contained asbestos material and mitigating the presence of a below-ground abandoned plantroom.

A live multi-service trench which ran through the site of the proposed new building required MTX to divert water and drainage facilities, electricity supplies, and communications cables.

Karen James OBE, chief executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is very satisfying to see the construction of our new outpatients building fully underway.

“The logistical difficulties in transporting the many large modules which make up this building are immense, but we are very much looking forward to having our outpatients services being provided from this new and greatly-improved building.”