Customer: Cahercalla Nursing Home

Location: Ennis, County Clare

Requirement:
Cahercalla Nursing Home provides care and hospice facilities for up to 120 elderly residents. The large main building of the nursing home was scheduled for a major programme of refurbishment, and the management needed to ensure this was completed in a way that caused minimal disturbance and inconvenience to residents.

Solution:
Paula O'Halloran, General Manager at the home, says: "Portakabin Allspace had recently been in touch with us to make us aware of their hospital ward and bedroom accommodation. In consultation with them we decided that the best solution during our refurbishment works would be to provide a full interim ward for 20 residents. This would enable us to clear an entire floor at a time for refurbishment, with all residents from that floor accommodated in the interim Portakabin building during the works. We visited an existing ward building provided by Portakabin Allspace at a nearby hospital and were very impressed by the quality of facilities it offered."

Portakabin Allspace worked with the team to develop a building layout that met the nursing home's every requirement, using the premium-quality, energy-efficient Portakabin Ultima modular building system. The 490m2 ward building designed by Portakabin Allspace included eight single bedrooms with associated toilets and assisted shower facilities, and four three-bed wards with adjoining showers and toilets. The building included a small day room for residents, a nurses' station, sluice room, pantry and storage areas, as well as extra-wide corridors for easy wheelchair and bed manoeuvring.

Portakabin Allspace had to ensure that the building met all Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) standards applicable to residential settings for elderly people. That meant complying with strict fire regulations, providing full disabled access and ensuring internal temperatures could be maintained at a comfortable level.

The Portakabin building was joined on to the main building to create fully integrated facilities. The new building was sited and connected to services quickly and efficiently by Portakabin Allspace, with the installation planned to ensure minimal disturbance was caused to residents.

Paula continues: "We are absolutely delighted with the decant ward facilities provided by Portakabin Allspace. Some residents and staff were dubious about moving in to a modular building, but we kept them all well informed and provided information about the high standard of building we were hiring, which helped to reassure everyone.

"Since the building has been installed we have received nothing but praise for the quality of the accommodation. Once residents move in for their stay of three months or so, they are always more than happy with their temporary home, which is warm, comfortable and very spacious. Portakabin Allspace provided an excellent service throughout the project and developed a building for us that fulfils all our needs."