Western, a Co Tyrone-based firm specialising in modular and offsite construction, has secured its sixth major UK Framework inclusion in recent months.

The latest appointment is a place on the £1 billion NHS Commercial Solutions Framework, which covers the procurement of temporary and permanent modular and prefabricated units for the public sector in England.

This success adds to their recent inclusion in several other major frameworks, including:

• LHC Modular Building (MB3) Framework

• NHS SBS Modular Buildings 3 Framework Agreement

• ESPO Framework Modular Education, Healthcare, Catering and Accommodation

• LCP Education Framework

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• OCS Framework for CCS Modular Buildings

The company's inclusion on these frameworks follows the successful handover of the £11 million SNEE Endoscopy Unit at Colchester Hospital for the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. This 67-week project was achieved using a hybrid construction solution, combining off-site manufactured components with traditional methods to ensure compliance with demanding standards like Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) and Health Building Note (HBN).

The 2,100m² Endoscopy Unit, which was largely manufactured offsite within a hybrid steel frame system, featured concrete floors to meet the specialist floor loadings and vibration criteria required for sensitive clinical environments. The entire project was fully designed in Building Information Modelling (BIM), which facilitated virtual walk-throughs for stakeholder engagement and design sign-off. The facility achieved a BREEAM "Very Good" rating and an A1 Energy Rating.

Western also highlighted the delivery of the new £11.7 million Corby Community Diagnostic Centre in Northamptonshire, awarded through the NHS SBS framework. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to provide around 93,000 diagnostic tests annually, easing demand on main hospital sites.