Hexham honoured with national excellence award

Hexham Hospital Phase Two’s approach to collaborative working saw the project team run out as winners at the Constructing Excellence Awards 2025.

The project, delivered by IHP, the joint venture between VINCI Building and Sir Robert McAlpine, beat a host of projects from around the country to come away with the Integration & Collaborative Working award.

Hexham Phase Two qualified to represent the North East following its win at the Constructing Excellence North East Award ceremony held earlier this year.

It was the ‘one team’ commitment that set the project apart from the competition. From day one, vision-setting workshops engaged contractors, clinical staff and estates teams in defining measurable objectives linked to patient care, sustainability and operational efficiency.

At regional level, judges also pointed to our approach to procurement, which helped to build strong, long-lasting partnerships that contributed to the successful rollout of the project.

And by using BIM and digital twin technologies, we streamlined coordination and cut environmental impact through sustainable methods and materials.

Overall, we delivered a new oncology unit, endoscopy department, a redesigned women’s health unit, a cutting-edge endoscopy department and significant site-wide infrastructure upgrades.

These are already delivering for the client, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, with staff satisfaction scores up by some 30% thanks to the new facilities.

Mark Gardham, Sector Director at Sir Robert McAlpine, said: “Our Hexham project is proving to be an exemplar on what can be achieved when close collaboration is placed at the centre of the project. It has allowed us to deliver exceptional facilities with invaluable input from all stakeholders along the way, and patient safety remained at the core of construction.

“To be recognised nationally is a fantastic achievement and I extend my congratulations to all involved.”

Healthcare projects