Merit Health will use the company’s offsite manufacturing technology to reduce build times without compromising quality.

The North East-based company has already completed a number of projects within the health and life sciences sector, including expansion of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult manufacturing centre in Stevenage.

It is also currently working on the ongoing construction of a healthcare sterilisation facility for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

A typical acute facility takes currently takes 3-4 years to build from inception to handover.

Merit’s offsite approach is looking to deliver projects in half the time with 75-90% of work at the 270,000ft² Merit factory near Newcastle.

Tony Wells, Managing Director at Merit, said: “The NHS will undergo a major upgrade of its estates, including the 40 hospitals programme and it is great the Government has recognised the benefits of standardisation and the need to utilise modern methods of construction.

“With the innovative methods Merit employs, this can be done quicker, at lower cost, and with higher standards of infection control and zero carbon emissions.

“The government is only going to deliver its ambitious building programme if companies like Merit enter the fold and show how it can be done.

“Our individual hospital bay ventilation and extraction technology also means no cross contamination, which is critical as the NHS continues to deal with Covid-19 as well as future potential pandemics,” he added.