A WINDOW and door specialist has secured a major new contract to help construct a £65m NHS mental health hospital.
Middlesbrough-based Polar NE will install more than 150 reduced-ligature windows and doors at Bradford's Lynfield Mount Hospital.
Yet incredibly, the team won't initially step foot in Yorkshire. Instead, Polar NE will install the windows over 300 miles away at a factory in Lisburn, near Belfast - before each 'living room-sized' unit is carefully shipped across the Irish Sea.
It is another example of this unique style of construction - known as modular - being used to build an NHS mental health hospital.
"We have worked on modular builds for traditional hospitals, but this is a completely unique mental health space, and we hope it will act as the blueprint for other projects going forward," said Polar NE's Partnership Manager, Nick Sutton.
The project - headed up by main contractor McAvoy Group - will see the current central building refurbished, with en-suite facilities added across two wards, while an extra two-storey ward will be added to the existing site.
Outdoor garden spaces and recreational areas are also set to be added as part of the redevelopment, which is expected to be complete in 2028.
According to Polar NE's Operations Manager Rob Lofthouse, the work will see the award-winning company "use a bit of everything" from its innovative manufacturing capabilities and product range come together, added Rob.
"Time and time again, we find solutions that meet the very specific needs of mental health environments, and if we don't have them, we are uniquely skilled in that we can create them from scratch."
These include Polar's secure window and door products, developed specifically for demanding healthcare environments.
These projects require close collaboration, innovation, and a genuine understanding of what healthcare providers need - it is a sector we've pushed the envelope in for over 25 years.
