Lanes teams support NHS response to Coronavirus

Drainage engineers from Lanes Group plc have supported the creation of the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) to treat patients, if necessary, during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Lanes was commissioned by GRAHAM, one of four principal contractors working on the project, to carry out CCTV drainage surveys and clean sewers around the site in Glasgow.

The company has also delivered similar services to support the opening of the 250-bed Rainbow Hospital Deeside, an emergency hospital set up in Deeside Leisure Centre on behalf of NHS Wales.

NHS Louisa Jordan was completed on 20^th April 2020 thanks to the combined efforts of 400 personnel.

Construction teams worked alongside more than 150 NHS Scotland clinical and operational staff to prepare the hospital. Initially, it will have capacity for 300 patients, though this can be expanded to more than 1,000 patients.

Lanes Glasgow Regional Manager Brian Kerrigan said: "It has been a privilege to have been asked to support such a critically important project. It's a reflection on the professionalism and skill of the entire workforce that the hospital was created so quickly."

"We're pleased Lanes can contribute as a company to the national response to the Coronavirus pandemic and assist in giving front-line medical teams the resources they need to protect and save people affected by the virus."

Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: "I want to offer my sincere gratitude and thanks to the contractors and NHS Scotland staff who have come from across Scotland to work tirelessly to transform the SEC into the NHS Louisa Jordan. You are an inspiration to us all."

Lanes deployed a jet vac tanker and a CCTV drainage survey unit to the site for four days over the Easter bank holiday weekend to carry out the drainage survey and sewer cleaning work required on the site.

Several hundred metres of pipework, ranging in diameter from 100mm to 250mm, were surveyed using pushrod and robotic crawler cameras. All the sewer pipes were also cleaned with water jets.

Brian Kerrigan said: "We remained on site so we could be deployed when and where the GRAHAM team needed us. This way, the site surveys could be carried out as quickly as possible.

"It was important to establish the condition and connectivity of the in-situ pipework to ensure the hospital's drainage system had the capacity needed for the hundreds of new sinks being installed."

The Scottish Government announced on 30^th March it would create NHS Louisa Jordan as part of its Coronavirus (Covid-19) emergency planning. The hospital was opened just over two weeks later.

Ms Jeane Freeman said: "The decision on patients being accepted at the NHS Louisa Jordan will be reviewed on a regular basis. I hope this facility will not be needed as, alongside the public's continued efforts to stay at home, NHS Scotland has already taken steps to increase the number of NHS beds.

"The exceptional efforts of everyone involved in creating NHS Louisa Jordan during this unprecedented public health emergency will ensure this national facility will be able to treat patients from across Scotland, helping to save lives and protect our NHS."

Chief Executive of NHS Louisa Jordan, Jill Young, said: "It has taken just over two weeks to design, construct and mobilise NHS Louisa Jordan. This has only been possible thanks to all our contractors working around the clock to make sure we are ready to support the NHS in Scotland.

"Because of your efforts, we now have a safe, effective and high quality environment which stands ready for patients if required. On behalf of the entire NHS team, I would like to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you to Lanes and GRAHAM for their involvement and remarkable contribution to the delivery of our hospital."

Lanes is the UK's largest independent drainage and utility specialist with more than 30 depots and utility service hubs across the UK, including ones at Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen.

Services delivered include sewer cleaning, a wide range of sewer surveying and diagnostics, sewer lining and drainage excavation and replacement. The company also carried out extensive work for Scottish Water.

Lanes Group: www.lanesfordrains.co.uk