NEC Contractor of the Year delivers next phase of West Cumberland Hospital, UK

NEC has been used to procure a major hospital extension in northwest England. Client North Cumbria Integrated NHS Foundation Trust let phase 2 of West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven to contractor Graham under a £40 million NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option C (target contract with activity schedule) in April 2022. The work was completed on budget and to the agreed revised programme in September 2024.

The project involved designing and building a new 5,190 m² two-storey extension to the partly rebuilt hospital, the first phase of which was completed in 2015. The Breeam ‘very good’ environmentally rated extension, of which 70% was built using modern methods of construction, includes a specialist palliative care unit, community ward, children and young people’s wards, care of the elderly ward and a stroke rehabilitation unit. It also includes outdoor courtyards, car parks and landscaping.

Delivered through the NEC-based Procure 22 framework, it was one of a trio of NEC-procured projects undertaken by Graham for the Trust, which led to it winning the Contractor of the Year Award in the 2025 NEC Martin Barnes Awards. The £35 million Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Carlisle was completed in 2021 and the £19 million Workington Community Diagnostic Centre, procured through the Procure 23 framework managed by Crown Commercial Service, opened in July 2025. CCL Solutions was the NEC project manager and supervisor for all three projects.

Long-term relationship

Sue Halsall, who is responsible for strategy, major capital programmes and private finance initiatives at the Trust, says she has worked in partnership with Graham for seven years. ‘They have successfully delivered our Northern Cancer Centre, West Cumberland Hospital phase 2 and now our Community Diagnostics Centre in Workington, all within cost.’

She says Graham was a key principal supply chain partner to the Trust in delivering the schemes through the Procure 22/23 NHS procurement frameworks. ‘The use of NEC contracts, with their requirement to work in a “spirt of mutual trust and co-operation”, supported true collaborative team working.’

Halsall says NEC has positively helped to deliver financial benefits for the Trust, with no surprises at the end of the contracts. ‘NEC processes such as early warnings, risk reduction meetings, regularly updated programmes, cost transparency and paingain share enabled risks to be averted and managed early and together.’ 

She adds that the contractor also developed and sourced a supply chain in Cumbria that was previously scarce. ‘Graham utilised local supply chains wherever possible. They have also delivered positive social value as part of their contract offering as well as high standard Breeam environmental ratings’.

Modern methods of construction

Peter Reavey, regional director at Graham, says NEC collaborative processes played a key part in the successfully delivery of West Cumberland Hospital. ‘We established a collaborative team aligned to mutual objectives through a joint project launch, agreed project charter and joint risk and opportunity management to mitigate or eliminate risks.’

He says a key NEC-inspired collaborative decision was to embrace off-site construction to address the challenges of the remote project location and limited local skilled labour. ‘We achieved over 70% of off-site and other modern methods of construction, working closely with the supply chain on the complete off-site construction of the shell, core, facade and windows.’

He says the off-site approach yielded several benefits. ‘These included enhanced quality through factory-controlled manufacturing conditions, improved safety by reducing the on-site workforce, a 15% acceleration in the programme and minimal disruption to the hospital during construction’.

Reavey says the contractor additionally formed NEC-style collaborative partnerships within the community and with hospital staff to deliver positive social value. ‘This included joint recruitment drives with the Trust and collaboration on our employability programme.’

He concludes, ‘the success of all three NECprocured projects highlights the importance of collaboration, innovation and trust in achieving superior outcomes in healthcare infrastructure development.’
 

Benefits Of Using NEC

• NEC contracts, with their requirement to work in a ‘spirt of mutual trust and co-operation’, supported true collaborative team working.
• NEC positively helped to deliver financial benefits for the client with no surprises at the end of the contract.
• NEC processes such as early warnings, risk reduction meetings, regularly updated programmes, cost transparency and pain-gain share enabled risks to be averted and managed early and together.