At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Drain Alert was called upon to provide urgent drainage survey support for a number of satellite healthcare facilities being rapidly converted to Covid-19 wards — a role that placed our team at the centre of one of the most significant emergency construction programmes in recent memory.
One of the projects we supported was the conversion of Lilycross Care Home in Widnes into a community health facility — a key component of a wider out-of-hospital healthcare project across Cheshire and Merseyside, commissioned by Halton Council at the beginning of April 2020, with the aim of freeing up critical bed space in local NHS hospitals.
We also provided drainage survey support for the conversion of the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston into a 150-bed community recovery centre — transforming a state-of-the-art indoor sports facility into a fully operational healthcare environment.
Both projects were delivered by Eric Wright Construction Special Projects division, with Drain Alert responding quickly to provide the drainage survey information required to progress the conversions under extraordinary time constraints.
“What we have achieved at Widnes is quite unbelievable given the timescale and current climate, and is a credit to you all.”
Mark Green, Operations Manager, Eric Wright Construction Ltd.
“I would like to personally thank our staff, client, supply chain partners, designers, and all other stakeholders who have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to deliver a much needed health facility in record time. I am acutely aware of the sacrifices you have all made, working long days, weekends, and bank holidays to make this happen. I am incredibly humbled by the teamwork and can-do attitude of everyone who worked in these extremely difficult times to make a difference for those in our community who are most vulnerable.”
— John Wilson, Managing Director, Eric Wright Construction Ltd.
Drain Alert is proud to have played a part in the national effort to support the NHS during a period of unprecedented pressure. Our ability to mobilise quickly, respond to complex briefs, and deliver reliable results under tight deadlines is core to who we are as a team.
