The local removal company known as ‘Bishop’s Move’ managed the relocation of the hospital, famous for its location at the top of the famous ‘rock’ island. The move to its new premises, also in Gibraltar, took place in February 2008 and has been seen as a significant step forward to dramatically update medical facilities on the island. The old hospital was set to be transformed into flats.

The removal company staff, from both the Gibraltar and Southampton branches, undertook the move providing fifteen men a day to pack, store and deliver items such as dental chairs, microscopes, operating tables and –70 degree freezers. Handling such items did not pose a problem to the removal team, as it has previous experience relocating hospitals in the UK including the Coventry and Warwickshire hospital which was the largest PFI hospital move within the UK at the time.

The two-week operation provided the nursing and medical teams with better working conditions along with a more practicable location for its staff and patients. However, the hospital did remain open during the process of the move potentially making this a project that could have thrown up some difficult situations.

The director of the removal company who was heavily involved in the planning process of the move for the best part of a year comments: “Our staff are trained to provide a fully professional service despite any difficult circumstances they may come across. They have experience of being part of such a move in the UK so I expected a very thorough and efficient job done here, as is always expected.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Naval_Hospital_Gibraltar