Queensland Health needed to provide an increased capacity in mental health facilities to serve the growing needs of the Caboolture community. To meet this increasing demand, they proposed to integrate a new, modern, single level facility into the existing Caboolture Hospital campus.

It was critical that the new development was sympathetic to the existing hospital environment,  integrated into the campus from an aesthetic and operational perspective, and that it benefited from existing infrastructure and facilities wherever possible.

The security and design aspects of the facility, largely set out in Queensland Health Design Guidelines, had to be incorporated into and coordinated with the architectural and building services design concepts, and finally taken through to as constructed details.

DMA Engineers was engaged to undertake the Mechanical, Electrical and Fire services for the expansion project.

We worked closely with project architects, Suters, to integrate the building services within the unique functional and architectural form of the building, ensuring that installed building services were functional and fit for purpose.

The functional requirements for the facility that were integrated into the engineering design included:

• nurse call and security systems.
• lighting and power systems, including emergency power.
• medical gas systems.
• air conditioning and mechanical ventilation system controls.

Specific personal safety aspects of the Mental Health Design Guidelines were integrated into the design documentation to achieve a high level of patient safety within the facility.

The time and effort spent in close consultation and coordination between the architect and DMA Engineers netted benefits to the Hospital throughout its construction timeline and in the timely acceptance of the completed facility.

The early hard yards in the design and documentation phases of the project meant that both the architect and key Queensland Health stakeholders had a high level of confidence that the engineering services were appropriate for the operational facility and would meet their needs for many years to come.