Canstruct builds hospital rooms from shipping containers

Canstruct has designed and manufactured specialised negative pressure portable hospital rooms that can be rapidly deployed to combat a health crisis anywhere in Australia.

SPECIALISED hospital rooms made from shipping containers will be donated to Australia’s health services by an innovative Queensland company.

Brisbane’s Canstruct has designed and manufactured specialised negative pressure portable hospital rooms that can be rapidly deployed to combat a health crisis anywhere in Australia.

The company will donate ten of the rooms worth $1.5 million, to health services.

Canstruct Group CEO Rory Murphy said the rooms, which could be operational within two hours of delivery, could be used in remote or bushfire-affected areas.

The rooms can also increase hospital capacity during COVID-19.

Mr Murphy said while Australia had not seen the amount of cases of COVID-19 experienced by other nations, governments were warning about the likelihood of a second wave.

“We are all hoping for the best, but as we’ve seen overseas, we must be ready for the worst case scenarios, and also for other health crises in the future,” he said.

“These rooms help Australia become crisis-ready, and are so adaptable that they can be used for health, defence or humanitarian need.”

Canstruct's portable hospital room manufactured from a shipping container. Source: Supplied Copyright Unknown

International SOS Occupational Health Medical Director Kalesh Seevnarain said rooms for isolating airborne infectious disease were in short supply in hospitals.

“A single room with appropriate air handling and negative ventilation is particularly important for reducing the risk of micro-organisms being spread by airborne transmission from a source patient to susceptible persons,” he explained.

“Special rooms like this are essential for controlling pathogens and making sure they stay contained to one patient’s room, rather than infecting others nearby, as happened with COVID-19 on cruise ships.”

Canstruct has rediverted resources to manufacturing these units and saved 15 full time jobs.