Emergency Covid Mortuary Facilities
Client: TfGM/GMCA
Project Value: £515k
Completion Date: April 2020
At the height of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, JCL were asked by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to cost the creation of a temporary mortuary facility in Trafford Park. The purpose of the facility to support the hospitals in North West whose own facilities were at maximum occupancy.
JCL were first asked to create the welfare and office areas within the new facility but due to our performance the scope increased, and we were asked to produce the temperature control environmentally rooms where the ‘guests’ stayed.
This project was very sensitive due to the respect required of the occupants, this project had to be completed in secrecy, with JCL and our supply chain signing NDA (these have now been removed) but no photographs were allowed on the internals of the building.
Ensuring this project was delivered on time was of the highest importance for the client as the main facility, welfare and offices had to be completed within four days before the first transfers were expected. JCL had 40 staff on site the first day and worked around the clock to ensure the facility was open on time. We exceeded the client expectation by completing our works early and took on extra works to support the project.
Additional works were carried out over the next few weeks which required extreme sensitivity and clean areas due to the nature of the project. We also returned later to repairs the mortuary and finally decommission after it was not deemed to be required any more.
Our Scope of Works included:
- Strip out existing fixture and fittings
- New Partitions with fire rated boards
- New wash and changing facilities for staff
- Repairs to the warehouse external envelope
- Mechanical upgrades including HVAC
- Creating insulated temperature controlled rooms
- Creation of 12 mortuary rooms
- Joinery works
- Painting, decorating and new flooring
- Design and installation of wrapped scaffold structure
- External works included fencing and kerbs
- Electrical upgrades including new LED lighting and small power
- External security lighting
- Installation of security camera’s to building perimeter
- Supply and fit of soft furnishing
“On behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and personally in my role as Chief Executive of TfGM and GMCA, I would like to express my thanks to you and your team for the support you have given to the accelerated project to increase the mortuary capacity in GM in support of the NHS Trusts at the temporary facility located in Trafford Park.
“The professionalism, hard work and selflessness you and your team have all shown to deliver, in an extremely short timescale, an operational mortuary is something you should be very proud of. It must have been really difficult to leave loved ones at home every day for extended hours at work over a bank holiday weekend and a continuous 3 week period to deliver a very sombre project.
“You may not be aware that in some of the regular updates from both myself and senior colleagues in TfGM that your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and the wider GM partner agencies and I, have received words of thanks all through the project from many partners, which Alex Cropper assures me has been passed on. Alex has told me that without you and your teams support he doubts the project timescales would have been met so I would like to thank you again and ask that as soon as practical you take some well deserved time out to return to some sense of normality and your families.”
– Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive Officer