Mater Dei Hospital is a new acute hospital on Malta. When completed the new hospital project will have a total floor area of 232,000m² and approximately 8,000 rooms. The hospital will also be used as a teaching facility by the neighbouring University of Malta.
Resources in Malta have always been scarce, which is why environmental considerations have played a key role in the development of the Mater Dei Hospital.
In keeping with the environmental considerations, which have played such a role in the hospital’s development, this will be the first building in Malta with insulated external walls and with high performance glass in the windows. These will reduce cooling costs between April and November and heating costs during the other months.
Rainwater will be collected, stored and used for irrigation. Low flush toilets and environmentally adapted refrigerants will be used as well as polypropylene (PP) piping. In addition, there will be an effort to reduce electromagnetic fields at the hospital by various means.
Construction waste will be separated at source so the Maltese authorities can arrange further recycling. Preparations will be made for the recycling of topsoil from excavation work, as well as stones from the demolition of stone walls.
During the construction, trees that would have normally been cut down have instead been moved and re-planted at other sites. Rubble walls and buildings of cultural heritage value have been moved and rebuilt in a safe environment. As many as ten different kinds of waste are being sorted and recycled. Excavated material is partly used on site as road base and surplus material is used to refill an excavated quarry, which will later be used as an orange plantation.
The Mater Dei hospital is set to have air conditioning in every room and that is what will take the biggest toll on Malta’s energy bill. A spokesperson for the Foundation for Medical Service confirmed that, “each and every room of the hospital will be air conditioned as well as certain plant areas. Other areas such as corridors and service areas will be air-conditioned indirectly or not at all.”
It also seems that while those who planned and approved the hospital development did consider energy saving, renewable sources of energy were not considered, although solar power could apparently cut the emissions and energy bill considerably.
The Foundation’s spokesperson said: “No solar or renewable power use is envisaged but the design includes energy saving features such as: double glazing and UV blocks on windows; use of variable speed drives; heat recovery from chillers and air handling units; use of condensation from air-handling units; electronic ballasts on fluorescent lighting fixtures; a building automation system and other features.”
Help from the UK
The senior planning team from James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough has been helping with the migration plan [arranged by the Department of Health’s International Consultancy Division], moving all the staff, patients, equipment and furniture from the old St Luke’s Hospital across to Mater Dei. JCUH is a similar size and has recently been the subject of a similar move, so the expertise is really valuable. Middlesbrough is also a similar size in population terms to Malta at around 400,000; the climate is not similar!
P+HS opportunities
Chris P has been out in Malta at the invitation of the Maltese Government’s Foundation for Medical Service to look at the new hospital and discuss the possibility of working together on a new 200 bed rehabilitation hospital, and the redevelopment of their primary care estate.
