Audiology Project – Cambridge University Hospital NHS Trust

Overview

AGS Noise Control are proud to have completed yet another audiology project for the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

This was a dual site project, with rooms at 2 different sites in Cambridgeshire and Essex, Ely and Saffron Walden.

All the acoustic panels used in the project were manufactured in-house at our workshops in the Midlands alongside the observation windows and audiology doors!

Observation Room

Thanks to our extensive resources we were able to undertake all aspects of the project. Including but not limited to the ventilation and electrical works, patch plate supply and installation and all enabling works.

For example, the builders work required to construct a stud wall forming an elevation for a new observation room and blocking of redundant door frames at Ely. The door to the observation room includes an acoustic vision panel. Regarding accessibility, the ramp was DDA compliant ensuring wheelchair users could access the booth with the floating floor.

AGS also undertook the removal of an existing handwash basin unit within the space.

The observation room was fitted with a fixed workbench and storage cupboard and the walls were painted. There was also an intercom system between the and patch plate connections supplied and installed in the Paediatric booth and observation room for the use of VRA equipment.

Challenges

The spaces posed rather different challenges.

The existing space at Ely contained a tall room with several indoor ‘roof skylights’. the space above these skylights had a metal roof which raised the concern of increasing noise within the host space if there was rainfall. Therefore, these openings were blocked off and this helped achieve the required ambient noise levels.

The Saffron Walden site had a different problem. With the room having minimal existing head height, forcing our engineers to come up with a slightly creative solution to fit all the required equipment in the void above the room.

Ventilation & Electrical

Ventilation in Saffron included an external air conditioning condenser to be located at the adjacent external wall. As with all standard AGS audiology projects a dedicated control unit was mounted within a vertical rise of the dado near the entrance of the room. The Ely room included both a dedicated AC system into the audiology room as well as a wall mounted cassette air conditioning unit in the observation.

Our directly employed site engineers installed the room during the first quarter of 2026. With deliveries made early in the morning to minimise noise disturbance and materials skated into the work area as an when needed to avoid disruption.

All electrical components below were included within the scope as with most standard AGS Audiology Projects.

PVC 3-Part Dado
Twin Sockets
Provision for data sockets and nurse call
Recessed dimmable LED lighting
Do not enter sign
New local Distribution board for the room

Testimonials and outcome

The project ran smoothly with the Trust’s Project Manager Nick Palmer saying “We entered into contract with AGS Noise Control Ltd for the provision of two audiology booths, one at the Princess of Wales Hospital Ely and the second at Saffron Walden Community Hospital to provide community based Audiology services. This eliminates the need for some patients having to attend the Cambridge Biomedical Campus for their appointment and allows them to be treated more locally.

Following the sign off of the general arrangement drawings by the Clinical Teams for both sites, works commenced first at Ely in early February 2026 followed later by Saffron Walden and both sites were successfully completed by mid-April 2026. The AGS Noise Control Ltd Project Management of both their internal team and that of their subcontractors was excellent, with full communication at all times, to both CUH as their client and to local stakeholders. The quality of the completed booths at both sites is also to the highest standard. We would like to thank them for their help and support in the successful delivery of these two excellent projects.”

A big thank you to everyone involved in the delivery of the rooms. We hope the spaces will prove invaluable for the audiology programme at both Hospitals for the foreseeable future.