Redevelopment of Frenchay Hospital

The present discussions aimed at the rebuilding of Fren-chay Hospital began in 1977 under the auspices of the Avon Area Health Authority. The brief was to plan for a replacement of the whole hospital and asked for planning to be divided into ?2 million aliquots but this rapidly proved an absurd constraint and was deleted. A more fundamental requirement was for the development to be divided into a number of phases and that, at the end of each phase, the old and new parts of the hospital should function as a whole in case a subsequent phase should be delayed. All plans, of course, had to be designed within the DHSS cost limits and were subject to county planning approval. SITING The Project Team first considered a number of rebuilding options. It was eventually decided to make a start on a green grass site at the eastern end of the existing hospital and at the 'top end' of the main hospital corridor. This reduced decanting problems and allowed the remaining phases to be planned on a 'pull down and rebuild' basis. It also allowed for the preservation of some existing good quality buildings. The only 'clinical' building planned for preservation is the day hospital. The chapel, the postgraduate centre, the school of nursing, the medical records building and the Clark Hall residences are also scheduled for preservation together with the Sister's House (now, District Headquarters) and Ward 29. The latter is part of the original Frenchay TB sanatorium (opened in 1931) and is well sited for conversion to a speech therapy Unit. OVERALL CONCEPT AND LAYOUT The overall concept is for a two-storey hospital built either side of a main corridor with ward blocks mainly on the south side and clinical departments on the north side. The hospital will ultimately function around a core comprising the accident and emergency department, the outpatient department, the diagnostic imaging department , the pathology department and the two groups of operating theatres. These will form a high technology core catering for the diagnostic and therapeutic needs of both outpatients and in-patients. This core will lend itself to the changing emphasis from in-patient to outpatient care and provide sufficient flexibility to meet the relentless advance of high technology medicine. The wards are planned in groups adjacent to the facilities on which they will mainly depend. Thus the surgical wards will be closest to the theatre …