Gloucestershire Royal Hospital Completes Major Upgrade to Medical Vacuum Plant

Gloucestershire Managed Services (GMS) has successfully completed the replacement of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital’s Medical Vacuum Plant, installing a modern system with full HTM 02 compliant N+1 resilience. The upgrade marks a significant investment in essential hospital infrastructure, improving reliability, safety, and service continuity for patients and clinical teams.

The project forms part of the GMS estates backlog lifecycle replacement programme and has been seven months in development. The works were delivered by the GMS GRH operational estates Medical Gas Pipeline Systems (MGPS) team, led by Authorised Person MGPS Neil Baldwin, supported by Capital Project Manager Iona Lennon and specialist MGPS Competent Persons from the GMS service provider.

To avoid disruption to patient care, critical stage works and commissioning were carried out during evenings and weekends. Throughout the project, clinical areas across the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital site continued operating safely and without interruption.

The Medical Gas Vacuum System (MGVS) is a vital part of modern hospital care, providing continuous, reliable suction to theatres, critical care, emergency services, maternity and wards across the site. This upgrade strengthens resilience and helps ensure our clinical teams can deliver safe, high‑quality care every day.

The upgraded system now provides full N+1 redundancy and improved HTM 02‑01 compliant resilience, supported by advanced filtration, drainage, and modern automated controls integrated with the hospital’s estates monitoring systems. It delivers stable negative pressure between –50 and –60 kPa and underpins essential clinical activities including airway management, surgical suction, critical care interventions, chest drains, wound therapies, and approved laboratory and mortuary applications.

Mark Johnston-Wood, Director of Estates and Facilities at GMS, said:
“This is a significant milestone for both the hospital and GMS. The medical vacuum plant is a core part of hospital infrastructure, and upgrading it to modern standards ensures we can continue delivering safe, reliable support to our clinical teams. I’m immensely proud of our estates staff and MGPS specialists, who worked tirelessly during evenings and weekends to complete this complex project without disrupting patient care. This upgrade strengthens the resilience of our site and demonstrates our continued commitment to investing in critical systems.”