St James's University Hospital - Ophthalmology
Joinery and fit-out for a new ophthalmology outpatients department inside a working hospital
Project overview
The Ophthalmology Outpatients department was fitted out on Level 4 of the Gledhow Wing at St James's University Hospital, run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Illingworth & Gregory was the main contractor.
CJ's team started on site in July 2022, led by a joinery foreman with two directors involved in the package.
Key figures
- About 140
- Doorsets installed
- About 270
- Clinical dispensers and fixtures fitted
- 28
- Window boards
- £70k
- CJ Joinery package
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Client
- Illingworth & Gregory
- Main contractor
Scope of works
- Door linings, about 140 doorsets and architraves, including 54mm fire doors
- Ironmongery to every door, including kick plates, door closers, pull handles and digital locks
- Window boards (28)
- Timber glazed screens, wrapped in impact-resistant PVC to suit the clinical setting
- Skirting
- Adjustable shelving, about 80 coat-hook rails, mirrors, mirror shelves, notice and marker boards
- Bench seating, cubicle systems and spectacle display racks
- Clinical fixtures: about 270 soap, paper-towel, glove and sanitiser dispensers, TV brackets, drugs and key cabinets
The challenge
The department was built inside a working hospital, with deliveries limited to agreed times, a materials-only hoist and set laydown areas. Heavy 54mm fire doors had to be moved along hospital routes, and every fixing had to suit infection-control and fire-safety requirements.
Our approach
CJ attended every delivery and moved materials by hand to each room, with two joiners handling every fire door on wheeled trolleys. Frames were fire-stopped to set gap tolerances, and each element was signed off with Illingworth & Gregory as it was completed.
Outcome
The new Ophthalmology Outpatients department opened to patients on 12 December 2022. It is the largest outpatient department at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, treating more than 100,000 patients a year, and brings 108 rooms - consultation rooms, central diagnostic rooms, a refractive unit and a virtual clinic room - into 2,500m² of purpose-built space.
Patients now have larger rooms, wider corridors, more natural light and clearer wayfinding, with colour-coded waiting areas and zones designed with patients to suit partially sighted visitors. The Trust expects the department to help reduce the outpatient backlog left by the pandemic.
CJ completed the doorsets, joinery and fixtures throughout the department ahead of opening.
Frequently asked questions
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