The team will be headed by Simon Kydd, currently head of healthcare at consultant WSP.

He takes up his new role from the start of September and will be joined by Bonnie Chu as healthcare design director and Scott Machin as healthcare bid manager.

New Wates senior healthcare team: (l-r) Simon Kydd, Bonnie Chu, Scott Machin

Chu joined Wates from St George three years ago, as design lead for Wates Construction’s London residential business. Prior to this, she co-founded Edward Williams Architects where she led design teams for projects including Midland Metropolitan Hospital, UCLH Proton Beam Therapy.

Machin joined Wates last year as interim head of healthcare from Galliford Try where he was pre-construction director.

The new senior team, which will report to Group Public Sector Director Steve Beechey, will be joined by a framework manager to be announced soon.

Wates recently finished the £80m renovation of the headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons, in London.

The firm also built a 72-bed mental health facility for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; clinical facilities at the Quadram Institute in Norwich; and a 176-bed Intensive Care Unit for the Royal London Hospital, completed last year in just five weeks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for St Barts NHS Hospital Trust.

Paul Chandler, Executive Managing Director, Wates Construction Group, said: “Today’s announcement represents a major investment in the future for Wates, and I am particularly pleased that someone of Simon’s calibre has joined us to help lead our efforts to build on our presence in the healthcare sector.”

Simon Kydd, Head of Healthcare, Wates Group, said: “As the healthcare sector moves to deliver the New Hospitals Programme, and learns from the response to the pandemic, I am excited to be joining a company whose values so closely align with my own, delivering an end-to-end service that considers outcome and quality of space for the end user from day one.

“As Wates expands its healthcare offering, leveraging its pioneering approaches to modern methods of construction and net zero carbon, I know we can be a market leader within the sector and offer genuine value to the NHS.”