£160 Million Cancer Centre Opens At Guy’s Hospital

The new 14-storey Cancer Centre will now bring most of Guy’s and St Thomas’ cancer treatment and research under one roof and will be a striking addition to the London Bridge Quarter. Previously cancer care was provided in 13 different locations in eight different buildings on the St Thomas’ and Guy’s sites.

Medical equipment includes six linear accelerators which will be the first radiotherapy machines in Europe to treat patients above ground level. This aims to help patients feel more comfortable in natural light and air.

The construction of an Innovation Hub will bring treatment and research together at the Cancer Centre and the space will be used by King’s College London researchers to grow their Experimental Medicine Programme.

Dr Majid Kazmi, Clinical Director of Cancer Services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, says: “It is fantastic to welcome the first patients to our new Cancer Centre. Today is the culmination of more than 10 years of planning and working in partnership with our patients to create a building to transform cancer care.”

Liam Cummins, Head of UK Construction, Laing O’Rourke said: “The project was a success from the beginning and it’s great to see the doors open at the Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital. It was delivered on time, to budget and without causing major disruption to the local community or the hospital’s patients. We collaborated with all partners from the very beginning to ensure we delivered one of Europe’s leading cancer centres.”

Laing O’Rourke’s Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) approach supported Arup engineers to ensure the building could be designed and delivered to the highest quality and as a result the building is targeted to achieve BREEAM Healthcare Excellence Rating.

Works include the use of exposed concrete elements, modularisation of services and the addition of a 12storey prefabricated steel-frame plant tower.

Main contractor, Laing O’Rourke was instrumental in assembling a design and delivery team capable of realising Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust’s vision. The Cancer Centre at Guy’s has been designed by architect Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in conjunction with specialist healthcare architect Stantec.   Arup provided integrated design engineering services and throughout the project AECOM has provided integrated cost and project management services and risk management services.

AECOM’s Richard Tunstall, Director, Project Management, added: “Collaboration has been key to the successful delivery of the Cancer Centre. Our approach to providing an integrated service offering for project and cost management went beyond the more traditional ‘contractual role’, enabling our experts to embed themselves within our client’s organisation from the very start. Being site-based has allowed us to work with Essentia, Laing O’Rourke and the wider team throughout the project, tracking actions in real time and actively managing risks and resolving issues in a very proactive manner.  We are delighted to have been part of the team that has delivered a project that will make such a difference to cancer care across a wide region.”

The project has been managed by Essentia, Guy’s and St Thomas’ in-house provider of integrated healthcare solutions.