Despite government instructions to keep working, a lot of construction companies across the UK have sent their workers home for the foreseeable future.
Others, however, have pivoted their business in the direction of where market demand is now greatest – emergency healthcare.
NHS Nightingale field hospitals are opening in exhibition centres in London (ExCel Arena), Birmingham (NEC), and Manchester (Manchester Central) as well as in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow. These five field hospitals will collectively provide capacity for more than 10,000 extra beds.
Other NHS trusts around the country are also looking to add temporary capacity in their own areas.
One company that has moved swiftly into supporting this market is Kent-based fit-out contractor RAP Interiors, which has teamed up with Manchester-based Concept Cubicle Systems to supply and install intensive therapy unit (ITU) bay cubicles for field hospitals.
The ITU cubicles are a purpose-made medical solution for temporary critical care facilities. They are made with sustainable Swiss Krono compact density fibreboard partitioning rather than just drapes and have services such as medical gases and call-buttons integrated into each bay that requires it.
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