Celebrating 75 years of the NHS
Congratulations to the National Health Service (NHS) on its 75th birthday today (5th July)! The NHS has provided free healthcare for so many people over those years, and McLaughlin & Harvey is proud to be part of that story.
McLaughlin & Harvey’s first healthcare project, a three-storey Hospital for Skin Diseases in Belfast, was completed in 1875 and cost £3,000, which is equivalent to £442,883 in 2023. At the time of construction, it was regarded as the most complete of its kind, equipped with the best appliances and a suite of baths of every description. The hospital was supported by voluntary contributions until 1941 when it was destroyed in the Blitz.
Other notable healthcare projects which pre-date the NHS include Belfast Maternity Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital in Armagh; where the original floor springs in the entrance hall are fitted with brass cover plates inscribed “McLaughlin & Harvey”, leaving a lasting legacy.
When the NHS was founded in 1948, it was the first universal healthcare system available to all and free at the point of delivery. Throughout the years, the NHS has adapted and evolved to suit the needs of each successive generation, including being at the forefront of vaccination programmes and pioneering new treatments such as bionic eyes and the world’s first liver, heart, and lung transplant in 1987. To accommodate these innovations, the healthcare buildings themselves have also had to adapt.
Some of our more recent notable healthcare projects include Omagh Hospital & Primary Care Complex, the first of its kind in the UK; bringing together a range of primary, secondary and community healthcare services. As well as Altnagelvin Radiotherapy Unit in Londonderry / Derry, a unique cross-border service project which improved patient travelling times and provided more locally accessible services to patients from Western Trust area and the Republic of Ireland.
Another significant project, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the multi-phased redevelopment of the 5th-floor Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 3rd-floor Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the existing Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in central London. The hospital remained live and fully operational throughout our works, making it a particularly sensitive and complex project due to the 24/7 critical nature of the environment.
The redevelopment was one of the largest and most complex projects undertaken in the Hospital’s history. The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a regional centre for neonatal care, and before the redevelopment ran one of the largest neonatal services in the country. The project has allowed the Trust to expand care for even more babies who need expert, life-saving care.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Our current healthcare projects include a £16m hospice facility in Ayrshire, which includes the refurbishment of a listed building as well as new build elements, and a new £84m Critical Care Facility and Helipad at King’s College Hospital, London.
Laura McCormick, McLaughlin & Harvey’s Healthcare Framework Manager, said
“As the NHS celebrates 75 years of delivering healthcare services, we at McLaughlin & Harvey have been reflecting on our contribution of delivering exceptional healthcare facilities during that time. As a Primary Supply Chain Partner (PSCP) on both NHS England’s Procure23 Framework and NHS Scotland’s Framework Scotland 3, we continue to be passionate about collaborating with the National Health Service to deliver innovative buildings, adopting the benefits of MMC, standardisation of components, optimisation of social value, and adherence to the NHS’ carbon reduction planning. We are proud to work alongside talented colleagues with a common goal of designing and constructing transformational NHS buildings for world class clinical services to be delivered.”
From everyone at McLaughlin & Harvey, thank you to all of the fantastic staff who make up the National Health Service; we wish you a very happy 75th anniversary.
Our healthcare experience over the last 75 years: