Over 1300 Leaderflush Shapland doorsets were specified for a combination of new build and refurbishment works to Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester. The construction involved in-patient and outpatient accommodation, theatres, children’s facilities and a new facility for older people with mental health problems. Main contractors, Balfour Beatty Construction Northern Limited, won a ROSPA Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety for their work during the PFI scheme.

Doorsets from Leaderflush Shapland’s Designer Range were specified in red, blue, yellow, cherry and orange laminate and the veneered doorsets were faced in American White Ash and Calais Oak - meeting performance characteristics of 32 RwdB sound reduction and up to 60 minutes fire resistance. Additionally, doorsets providing X-ray protection were specified from Leaderflush Shapland’s Extended Performance Range.

The Designer Range doorsets were constructed using EnduraCor – the exclusive engineered performance core from Leaderflush Shapland, whose durability and stability make it especially suitable for harsh environments like hospitals. In a recent independent test, EnduraCor was shown to be one hundred times more durable than multi-layered chipboard, achieving 1,000 more impacts than required by EN1192 Class 4 (at which point, the test was stopped) as well as achieving 2,000,000 cycles, 1,000,000 more than required by EN1191 Class 8. This highly cost-effective solution could significantly reduce ‘whole life’ repair and maintenance costs and may never have to be replaced.

An antimicrobial additive is incorporated within the wood lacquer of Leaderflush Shapland veneered doorsets as standard and kills most bacteria including C.diff, MRSA, Salmonella and E.coli remaining effective for years – ideal in healthcare environments where hygiene and combating healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) are major concerns.

The Tameside Hospital project is part of the Balfour Beatty Northern Batch Hospitals programme, procured by two separate NHS Trusts under a framework agreement and delivered through a Public Private Partnership. Hope Hospital, Pontefract Hospital, Pinderfields Hospital and the Birmingham Super Hospital - also part of the Northern Batch Hospitals programme – have all benefited from performance doorsets supplied by Leaderflush Shapland.

Leaderflush Shapland has also been the chosen doorset supplier to the three hospital schemes which are on the list of Europe's most-impressive architectural projects - the New Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow, Downe Hospital in Northern Ireland and The Skypad Teenage Cancer Trust Unit in Cardiff. Competing with flagship residential, leisure, industrial and educational facilities, the three developments were singled out as examples of design best practice in the 2010 RIBA Awards.