A first for Guy’s and a first for Europe

Guy’s Hospital

Fixed Flush CantiDeck allows for second storey installation of Radiotherapy equipment for Guy's Hospital.

Contractor

Laing O’Rourke

Location

London, UK

CantiDeck Guy's Hospital
CantiDeck Guy's Hospital

Challenge

The first Radiotherapy Treatment Centre in Europe to be located above basement level, the £160m Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital defines a revolution in the experience of cancer patients.

Typically, Radiotherapy treatment centres are located in the basement levels of hospitals as Linear Accelerators (LINACS) are extremely heavy and the immediate environment must comply with radiation shielding and vibration regulations.

However, the staff at Guy’s wanted to radically improve the experience for their patients. By creating a treatment centre upstairs it allowed design flexibility such as naturally lit waiting rooms and a landscaped balcony garden.

The LINACS are incredibly heavy and expensive systems, weighing around 15 tonnes and worth millions of pounds each. The team at Guy’s hospital needed a safe solution for transporting the 6 dismantled LINACS, approximately 18 sections, from the truck to the second floor.

Conquip’s Consultancy Team were called in to discuss the possibility of using our system to help provide the best solution for the team at Guy’s Hospital.

CantiDeck Guy's Hospital
CantiDeck Guy's Hospital
CantiDeck Guy's Hospital
CantiDeck Guy's Hospital

Solution

With various different options discussed, the decision was made to install a fixed CantiDeck crane loading platform on the second storey. Each of the LINAC sections could be craned from the truck onto the 3.5m CantiDeck (FF35 model), then transported through the building safely into position.

‘Operation LINACS’

‘Operation LINACS’ took place on the first two Saturdays in March 2016, the 5th and 12th. To install the FF35 CantiDeck on the second storey two large panes of glass were removed from the building façade. Once the CantiDeck was safely installed and tested by our team, the LINAC sections, the heaviest at 4.7 tonnes, were craned onto the CantiDeck and moved into the building.

The CantiDeck system performed very well. It is quick to install and remove, which allowed the installation of LINACS to be carried out across two separate dates. This meant flexibility on the date of installation, ensuring that any disruption to the hospital was kept to a minimum.

The new Cancer Centre opened for patients in September 2016.


Feedback

Our consultants successfully liaised with all involved persons, including Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, over a planning period of 6 months beforehand. Having worked with the Trust on several occasions previously, it has been an enjoyable experience and we look forward to collaborating on future projects.

"I do know the CantiDeck has impressed them all, so I think your services will be required again."

Julie Edwards, Project Co-ordinator, Rhenus Lupprians Ltd


"It was quite a challenge to work out the details of delivering the heavy and complex equipment in through the second floor, as nobody had done it before, but everything went to plan."

Kate Bradley, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Commissioning Manager for the new Cancer Centre