T&B completes £1.8m children's emergency department refit at Princess Alexandra Hospital

T&B Contractors Ltd has completed a £1.8m refurbishment and remodelling of the Children's Emergency Department at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, framework provider Pagabo announced on 13 November.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust appointed T&B by direct appointment under the Refit and Refurbishment framework, which Pagabo said it manages on behalf of The Red Kite Learning Trust.

According to Pagabo, the scheme covered the full internal refurbishment and reconfiguration of the existing department, including new mechanical and electrical services, acoustic partitions, specialist finishes and an enhanced Assessment Suite. More than 100m² of internal partitions were removed and reconfigured to create the new layout.

Robert Wishart, managing director for T&B, said: "We are proud to have partnered with our longstanding client The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust to successfully deliver the Children's Emergency Department scheme."

Working in a live hospital

Pagabo said temporary mechanical services and medical gas provisions were installed where needed so that healthcare services continued without interruption during the works.

The Trust said the Children's ED was temporarily relocated from September 2025 while essential works took place. During that period the temporary entrance was to the right of the revolving doors at the main hospital entrance, the Trust said.

The Trust said the refurbishment also includes a bespoke safe space with en-suite bathroom facilities for young people who present to the ED in mental health crisis. The department is designed for children and young people aged 0 to 16.

According to the Trust, the reconfiguration created additional clinical space, allowing more children and young people to be treated with greater privacy.

Opening and return of patients

Pagabo and the Trust said the refurbished department was officially opened on 19 May 2026 by Saturday night TV star Ella-Mae Rayner, who met children and families on Dolphin Ward, the hospital's children's ward, before the ceremony. At that point the Trust said the department would open to patients in the coming weeks in its original location next to the main ED.

A later Trust notice said the department reopened to patients on Wednesday 10 June 2026, back in its original location round the corner from the adult ED.

Tom Burton, chief financial and infrastructure officer and deputy chief executive at the Trust, said: "Since opening in June, the refurbished Children's Emergency Department has made a real difference to children, young people and their families."

Tom Retallick, senior category manager for construction at Pagabo, said the project showed how the framework could support NHS trusts in delivering improvements quickly and compliantly.

The contractor and the framework

T&B says it has operated for more than 40 years, with turnover of about £60m, working across London and the Home Counties on projects ranging from £250k to £15m in the education, healthcare, research, retail and commercial sectors.

Companies House records the firm as T & B (Contractors) Limited, company number 01667869, incorporated on 28 September 1982 and registered in Wheathampstead, St Albans. Its status is active and its last accounts were made up to 31 December 2025.

Pagabo's Refit and Refurbishment Framework has 96 contractors across five lots for projects over £50k, with Red Kite Learning Trust as contracting authority. Pagabo says the framework can be used for a further competition or to appoint a supplier directly, and it runs to May 2027.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust employs around 4,000 staff and serves a local population of about 350,000 in West Essex and East Hertfordshire, with an extended catchment of up to 500,000 including Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne. It runs services at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop's Stortford and St Margaret's Hospital in Epping.