Luton & Dunstable Emergency Department
Framework: SCAPE Construction
Client: Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Completed: December 2024
Sector: Health
Project value: £35m
BREEAM: Very Good
“We are delighted that our new and improved ED is now open, which has been a well needed investment for our local community. We know it will make a huge difference to the staff providing care and those patients receiving it. The difficulty of rebuilding an ED whilst keeping it running 24/7 cannot be underestimated, so I would like to thank all involved for delivering this project.”
David Carter
Chief Executive at Bedfordshire Hospitals
Luton & Dunstable University Hospital's emergency department has been transformed with a state-of-the-art expansion.
The £35m expansion and refurbishment project was delivered by Willmott Dixon via SCAPE Construction, and has supported Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in their commitment to providing high-quality and accessible healthcare.
Completed on time and within budget in December 2024, the project has improved patient flow, reduced waiting times, and enhanced clinical spaces. Additionally, in support of social value delivery, the project generated £20.2 million social return on investment, supporting the local economy and leaving a lasting legacy for the local community.
Luton & Dunstable University Hospital's emergency department was under increasing demand for emergency services. In order to provide much needed space and facilities for patients, whilst allowing staff to continue to deliver high quality care, meticulous phasing and stakeholder collaboration was essential to the programme of works.
The project, which began in 2021, was delivered within a live clinical environment throughout a number of phases to ensure that emergency and critical care services remained fully operational throughout construction.
Designed to meet future healthcare demands and in support of the hospital's aspirations to deliver enhanced emergency care facilities, the design has created a modern, high-capacity A&E department, a new hospital entrance, improved drop-off zones, and upgraded CT scanning facilities.
Delivering a large-scale hospital expansion and refurbishment programme within an active A&E department presented several challenges, including:
- Ensuring uninterrupted emergency care, requiring carefully planned phased construction and temporary access routes for patients, staff, and emergency vehicles. Coordinating complex hospital infrastructure, integrating new CT scanning facilities, treatment spaces, and ambulance bays into existing critical care networks.
- Maintaining blue-light access routes, ensuring unhindered movement for emergency services throughout construction.
- Working adjacent to highly sensitive areas, including the MRI suite and paediatrics ward, with stringent noise, dust, and vibration controls.
- Managing a constrained site, requiring off-site prefabrication and just-in-time material deliveries to mitigate logistical pressures.
Despite these challenges, the project was successfully completed on time and within budget, ensuring that the hospital’s expanded emergency facilities could open to the public as planned.
The project was completed on time and within budget and has transformed Luton & Dunstable Hospital's emergency care.
The Emergency Department continued operating throughout the duration of the project, with thanks to an internal link tunnel allowing patients and staff to move safely between hospital buildings. The new hospital entrance and atrium have improved accessibility and patient flow, and the expanded A&E department provides modern and high-capacity treatment areas to accommodate rising patient numbers. A dedicated CT scanning department ensures rapid diagnostics and critical imaging services, a specialist paediatrics recovery suite provides enhanced care for younger patients in emergency situations and updated ambulance drop-off bays have enabled faster patient handovers and improved clinical response times.
Placing sustainability at the heart of the design, the new extension features natural ventilation and high-performance glazing, which in turn has improved patient comfort and reduced operational energy costs, and advanced insulation and building fabric enhancements minimise the extension's environmental impact and has allowed the building to achieve BREEAM Very Good.
“We are incredibly proud of this facility, which will serve the local community for generations to come. It’s been fantastic to hear the difference it will make to the amazing staff who will benefit daily from what we’ve provided. It really is a testament to the hard work, collaboration, and a shared commitment to excellence by all those involved in delivering this project.”
Stewart Brundell
Managing Director at Willmott Dixon
Enhanced Social Value Delivery
Sustainable social value delivery is ingrained into the heart of Willmott Dixon's core business activities. As a result of social value initiatives delivered alongside Luton & Dunstable Emergency Department, the project provided £20.2 million in social return on investment. Further supporting the local economy, 43% of the supply chain were small or medium enterprises, and £16.3 million of project spend was spent locally, including more than £400,000 with Luton-based suppliers.
Alongside apprenticeship and training opportunities explored further below, the project team refurbished the hospital relatives’ room, creating a peaceful and private space for bereaved families, and transformed two hospital gardens, providing quiet and therapeutic outdoor areas for mothers with babies in neonatal care, driven in part by personal experience from within the project team.
Engaging with local schools as part of the project’s environmental outreach included a hands-on biodiversity education programme with Stopsley Primary School. Children built bug hotels, learned about pollinators, and engaged with nature, helping to inspire sustainable thinking at an early age. The team donated materials and 30 hours of volunteer time to support the effort.
The team also supported Luton Foodbank with property advice and food donations, delivered Christmas gifts for hospitalised children, and engaged with local health initiatives that extended the project’s positive impact into the wider community.
Skills and Employment
Throughout the project, apprenticeships and training played a central role. 78% of the workforce lived within a 40-mile radius with 17% living within 10 miles, and 55 weeks of apprenticeships were supported onsite.
Work experience opened doors for local people, while engagement with Luton 6th Form College and the University of Bedfordshire helped create learning opportunities that would help inspire the next generation of industry professionals.
Additionally, the project team helped deliver employer engagement sessions for 20 learners participating in their "Preparation for Work in the Construction Industry" programme, with work experience opportunities - one of which resulted in permanent employment.
Collaborations with organisations including Inside Connections and Job Centre Plus allowed for the site team to deliver employment support and guidance on pathways into the industry and Willmott Dixon's partnership with The Prince’s Trust delivered two ‘Get into Construction’ programmes, providing relevant knowledge, skills, experience, and qualifications. As a direct result, 19 young people gained health and safety qualifications, 15 obtained CSCS cards and 12 progressed into jobs or apprenticeships.
"Thank you so much to everybody at Willmott Dixon for providing the venue and for the support that they gave to the young people on these programmes. I know that everyone who participated really benefited, and you all had such a positive and profound impact upon them."
Anna Crump
Operations Executive at The Prince's Trust
Social Value Outcomes
This project has been submitted by Willmott Dixon as part of the collaborative Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report. This report captures the latest insight into the regional and national trends in social value delivery, learn more here.
£20.2m
Social value return on investment
£16.3m
Project spend spent locally
43%
SME supply chain
78%
Local labour within 40miles
12 people
Supported into work or apprenticeships
In collaboration with:
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SCAPE Construction
For the public sector
SCAPE Construction frameworks can deliver projects of any size and complexity and are supported by an extensive local supply chain.
Social Value in Construction
Benchmarking Report
SCAPE's annual report in collaboration with Social Value Portal that captures the latest insight into the regional and national trends in social value delivery.