Community Benefits Joint Commendation Award Winner 2014
| Project Name | Glan Irfon, Integrated Health & Social Care Facility |
| Project Location | Builth Wells, Powys |
| Contract Period | 12 Months |
| Project Start Date (on site) | 07/05/2012 |
| Practical Completion | 07/05/2013 |
| Contract Value | £4.6m |
| Type of Work | New build, with some remodelling and refurbishment of adjacent home |
| Construction Product | Health & Social Care Facility |
| Architect | Stride Treglown |
| QS/Cost Consultants | Powys County Council / Capita Symonds |
| Clerk ofWorks | Powys County Council |
| Structural Engineer | Austin Partnership |
| Electrical Engineer | Intentium SL |
| Mechanical Engineer | Intentium SL |
| Planning Supervisor | Powys County Council |
| Main Contractor | Kier Construction |
| Building Control | Powys County Council |
A £4.6m extension and remodelling of the existing Brynhyfryd care home to form the new Glan Irfon Integrated Health & Social Care Facility in Builth Wells designed to bring co-located Local Authority and Local health board services closer to the community modernising the existing health and social care provision in the locality.
The new 1676m2 two storey extension incorporates 12 en-suite bedrooms, a publicly accessible dentist, consulting rooms, a new multi-use community space, and office accommodation and associated support facilities. The new collaborative service delivered from the building includes rehabilitation services, district nursing, and community support, out-reach consultant-led services, locally based care home beds and Voluntary Sector led services.
Generating best value through community, local supplier and stakeholder engagement was vital to the successful delivery of this project. Prior to contract commencement the contractor/design team engaged with Powys County Council (PCC) and Powys Local Teaching Health Board (PLTHB) to ensure that all expectations were understood. Best value was generated in the local economy through supply chain engagement and a bespoke community benefits and targeted recruitment and training programme.
Community and patient stakeholder group representatives were consulted throughout the design process – influencing the overall design of the facility.
The new integrated health and social care centre is situated on the existing Brynhyfryd Care Home site and was designed to provide a building from where integrated healthcare services could be delivered within the community better serving the sparsely populated rural area.
A strategic change was required Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board who worked together with local stakeholders to develop a new model of health and social care. This new model replaced existing services that were struggling to meet current and future challenges as these were delivered from a cottage hospital and separate LA work bases. The existing Brynhyfryd Care Home site was identified as a suitable location to implement the new healthcare model through the development of the site and expansion of the existing care home facility.
Leadership, vision and direction was provided through a joint team of LHB manager, Powys project manager and Powys Construction work stream manager. WG decided early in the process that Powys and its Property team should deliver the new building. Community engagement was key through the entire project with consultation events held with local residents, disability access groups as well as residents and clinical staff. Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) were consulted to ensure compliance with their current design standards. The scheme proposal was also assessed by an Architectural Liaison Officer (ALO) at Dyfed Powys Police and the design evolved to include improved security measures that address and consider community safety issues facing the local community.
The design team led by Stride Treglown and Kier Construction worked closely in partnership with the client team to establish the new centres presence within the local community through stakeholder consultations and community based presentations over many months.
The two storey development was constructed within the grounds of the existing Brynhyfryd Care Home site in Builth Wells and incorporates consultant clinics, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Dental facilities and a new multi-use community space on the ground floor.
This facility also supports the community with their primary health care services whilst the 12 additional en-suite bedrooms located on the upper floor provide for flexible, extra care, residential rooms to complement the existing 24 bedrooms within the Brynhyfryd care home.
The 1676m2 facility was awarded BREEAM Very Good (design stage) and completed in a 52 week programme. The proposed extension aimed to complement the existing building whilst enhancing the facade with subtle material selections. The elevations and proportions selected are domestic in scale given the residential street context. All materials achieve a compliant BRE green guide rating and BREEAM rating as appropriate. As a public building, the highest standards of sustainability were sought with the introduction of features such as biomass boilers contributing to the buildings will sustainability and long term reduced running costs.
The project was procured through the Mid Wales Framework which encourages collaborative working and best value through engaging with the local community, providing employment opportunities and up-skilling the local supply chain. This was a challenge in a small rural town and locality. The project was completed ahead of programme, within agreed target costs and has achieved BREEAM Very Good. The project achieved zero AIR, zero defects at handover and ‘Considerate Constructors Beyond Compliance’ certification. The contractor achieved 80% customer satisfaction, the project was completed within budget requirements and achieved all required framework KPIs.
Through local engagement with, for example Job Centre Plus, Communities First and Menter a Busnes, a lasting legacy of up-skilling, training, work experience and employment opportunities were created in the local community. We also engaged with schools and colleges to raise awareness regarding routes in to the industry.
Powys County Council decided to include Community Benefits as a Core requirement in its framework and project procurement. Those identified at tender stage included targeted recruitment and training, environmental and general community benefits. Non-Core Community Benefits were identified as educational engagement.
This resulted in a different approach to that experienced in the past when contractors based outside of the County would win a single project through lowest price tendering, deliver the project and pay little regard to the local community.
Examples of the differences was contractor engagement early on with the client and stakeholder groups to ensure that a bespoke community benefits and targeted recruitment and training (TR&T) plan was relevant to the local rural area. The contractor project team volunteered their personal time to community projects and generated added value by managing the local supply chain, engaging with local education providers and providing apprenticeships. Subcontractors and the project design team donated materials, volunteer time and expertise to ensure that community benefits delivery and TR&T requirements were successfully fulfilled and expectations exceeded where possible.
Creating a lasting legacy of value through up-skilling, providing work experience and employment opportunities is shown through the employment of eight local people previously unemployed who were provided free training.
The following were successfully completed as part of this contract:
Of the £4.6m contract value, 97% was spent on businesses based in Wales and 100% of this was spent on SMEs in Wales.
For every £1 invested in this project by Welsh Government, the project generated £1.98 in the local economy. Powys Property manager and procurement team took an active part in assisting the contractor team to develop an integrated, collaborative and bespoke approach to generating best value through community benefits, TR&T in the local rural community. Engaging with the local supply chain has left a legacy of up-skilling and employment in the community and now serves as a best practice example for PCC in delivering added value through construction projects.
Through clear leadership from the combined Powys CC and Health Board project management team a purpose designed building has enabled a fully integrated service to be provided from a central location bringing health and social care services together within a rural market town.
