Forth Valley Hospital, Larbert

Type and size of project

SMTS designed, supplied and erected the single storey timber frame structure for the 6200m² Mental Health Unit. Part of a £300 million project, the largest ever NHS construction project in Scotland with 860 beds. Built on a 130 Hectare site, the hospital includes a full range of acute healthcare services, along with the majority of mental health services currently provided at the existing Falkirk and Stirling infirmaries.

Key Facts

Following almost a year of pre design and negotiation, SMTS provided a 140mm open panel timber frame structure, on a concrete ground floor. The roof covering supplied and erected was 9mm OSB, felt and battens.

The SMTS contract value was £960K, and commenced on site in July 2008 with completion 24 weeks later and on programme.

One of the key considerations to address was the significant quantity of mechanical services in the roof space. This required co-ordination of all trades, and resulted in a 2000mm high walkway along the length of the corridor in the roof space.

All internal partitions were erected and clad with 12mm plywood on both faces, in order to comply with the secure nature of the wards.