A hospital is never ‘just a building’. It is a place of reassurance, resilience and care. One that supports patients and their families at the most critical moments of their lives.
At Wates, we put those experiences at the heart of every project, working as a strategic partner to help Trusts improve clinical outcomes, accelerate elective recovery, reduce backlog pressures and deliver estates that are resilient, efficient and ready for the future.
From low carbon design, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), digital engineering and whole‑life value thinking, we are helping modernise the UK’s healthcare estate in ways that deliver certainty, affordability, sustainability and improved patient experience.
A partner that understands healthcare
We work with NHS Trusts, private healthcare providers, leading pharmaceutical organisations science and research companies across the UK to deliver facilities that support:
- Clinical adjacencies
- Efficient patient flows
- Operational continuity
- High quality care outcomes
Our team brings decades of healthcare expertise, with experience operating in live and sensitive environments, ensuring we safely deliver projects in the most complex acute settings with zero disruption to clinical services.
Addressing NHS challenges head-on
The NHS is navigating an unprecedented combination of pressures – resource constraints, a £10bn+ maintenance backlog, workforce challenges and the drive to deliver the world’s first net zero health system by 2040.
Fire safety compliance and the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 have also increased demand for robust, traceable assurance.
We can support our customers across the healthcare sector in responding to these challenges with:
- Data-led and digital delivery, including digital twins and assured compliance tools
- Standardised, repeatable solutions that reduce cost and speed up delivery
- Modern Methods of Construction that enable predictable outcomes
- Whole-life carbon and operational energy optimisation
- Public sector framework routes, such as P23 and Pagabo, to accelerate mobilisation and reduce the procurement burden
A complete healthcare delivery partner
We build modern, sustainable hospitals and community health facilities that support clinical excellence today and provide flexibility for tomorrow.
Our work includes:
- Major acute hospital redevelopment
- Ward and diagnostic capacity expansion to reduce elective backlogs
- Highly specialised clinical facilities
- Digital‑enabled smart hospital environments
Across every project, we prioritise value, cost certainty from early engagement and innovation because better buildings create healthier, more productive communities.
We excel in live, complex clinical environments, delivering refurbishments and upgrades across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, research facilities and laboratories without interrupting essential care delivery.
Our FM business provides whole-life FM solutions that maximise value, support compliance, and extend the lifespan of critical NHS assets.
By using our patented assurance platform, ACT estates teams gain fully auditable compliance within four clicks, giving them confidence and control.
With engineering and technical expertise across every building type, we can help Trusts optimise single-site or multi-site operations, gaining measurable efficiency and reduced operational carbon.
Promoting community health and wellbeing
Healthier communities reduce pressure on acute services. Through early engagement with local stakeholders, we design and deliver facilities that promote wellbeing, prevention and integrated community care.
Our work on the Abbey Road Community Health Hub in Camden illustrates how new estates can become catalysts for local regeneration, supported by strong community engagement. We commit to meaningful social value on every project, including:
- Tailored community programmes
- Local jobs and apprenticeships
- SME supply chain engagement
- Upskilling programmes aligned to Trust and ICS priorities
Uninterrupted care
Our teams are specialists at operating within live critical environments and work closely with our healthcare customers to ensure consistent delivery of care to patients.
Our long-term partnership with Royal Hampshire County Hospital has enabled repeat delivery across a programme of works, including digital pharmacy upgrades and new ward accommodation, safely, flexibly and collaboratively.
Cutting the NHS’ carbon footprint
We are deeply committed to supporting the NHS’ commitment to become net zero, demonstrated by our Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment.
Our approach includes:
- Rapid adoption of innovations proven in other public sectors to accelerate the net zero carbon delivery for the NHS
- Low carbon design and whole-life carbon reduction
- Use of Modern Methods of Construction to reduce embodied carbon
- Digital modelling for energy optimisation
Digital Engineering
We know there’s a challenge in the sector when it comes to digital. As the NHS focuses on moving to a coherent smart building digital system, we have advanced techniques to innovate in this area, with digital twinning at the heart of our delivery and operational process. This is a true enabler for maximising the use of modern methods of construction, as well as reducing embedded carbon and carbon use in operation. We are currently collaborating with the NHS preferred supply chain, alongside our own, to trial different systems to ensure an open ecosystem that will drive transformational change.
Our healthcare projects
Every project we undertake is driven by clear outcomes: improved patient experience, operational efficiency, repeatable value and enhanced estate resilience. Whether delivering highly complex acute care environments or operating in live constrained environments, our teams prioritise communication, collaboration and clinical continuity to achieve programme certainty and the highest standards of delivery.
Here are some of our success stories.
Our sector experts
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