FEATURE ARTICLES

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) has been tasked with transforming and modernising NHS healthcare facilities in England. The team behind it dubs it ‘a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink our approach to the NHS’.

Paul Millard, Technical manager at Water Regs UK, looks at some of the key ways to reduce water consumption and waste in healthcare facilities, while maintaining a safe and wholesome supply, as well as some of the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences if water-saving measures are not implemented with sufficient thought, care, and expertise.

At the Central Sterilising Club’s Autumn Study Day, Paul Chivers, who leads the PPE Innovation and Sustainability Team for NHS Supply Chain, described its work to encourage development of more reusable PPE, and improve the sustainability and efficacy of such products already in use.

Rohit Sharma, Resilient Sales manager at Bona – which provides ‘sustainable, high-performance products and systems for resilient flooring in healthcare settings’ discusses the advantages of floor refurbishment over replacement in healthcare facilities

BioClad, which manufactures and supplies bespoke IPS units, and also supplies hygienic and antimicrobial cladding to the healthcare, pharma, education, retail, hospitality, and commercial sectors, has established its first in-house IPS manufacturing unit in a new York facility, and – to ensure a more efficient supply – brought under one roof distribution of its wall cladding at a new Harrogate depot.

Paul Bell, a Partner at Ryder Architecture, discusses successfully delivering major healthcare projects in the context of post-Brexit labour shortages, post-pandemic material supply, and the escalating climate emergency – a challenge that he says ‘requires fresh thinking’.

Mike Dunne, Service and Aftersales Technical manager at Howorth Air Technology, discusses the company’s establishment and running of a dedicated CPD-accredited Ventilation Workshop designed to help contractors and engineers ‘fully understand the specific and detailed requirements of ventilation systems’.

Ian Ellis, a ‘smart buildings’ specialist at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, explains why recent years’ heatwaves in the UK point to a new challenge – simultaneously mitigating the effects of climate change while dealing with the root cause of carbon emissions.

An Electrical Design engineer at Mott MacDonald discusses his research as part of a Master’s degree to understand the challenges the NHS faces to improve its electrical resilience, focusing particularly on microgrids and battery energy storage.

Karina Jones, an IHEEM-registered Authorising Engineer (Water), and member of the Institute’s Water Technical Platform, considers some of the most prevalent hazardous waterborne bacteria found in healthcare premises, and the key steps to keep their growth and transmission in check.

Under Prime Minister, Sanna Marin’s 2019 Government Programme, Finland will be carbon-neutral by 2035, a goal requiring both faster reduction of emissions in all sectors, and strengthening of national carbon sinks. In this article, Leena Setälä, Sustainability director of the Hospital District of Southwestern Finland, sets out her vision for a ‘roadmap’ to reduce carbon emissions in the healthcare sector.

Hospitals aren’t just another building; rather they are ‘a processing facility in which lives are being saved daily’ – this requires reliability and energy. So say James Moyes, Simon Witts, M.AIRAH, and Broden Kay of Australian STEM consultancy, VA Sciences, who argue that, as a result, ‘we should stop bundling them in with other building types when it comes to talking about green buildings’.

The sound and acoustics generated in healthcare settings have a major impact on both patients and staff. With sound levels increasing, Andrea Harman, from Saint-Gobain Ecophon, discusses some of the main considerations in creating a quieter, more calming, recovery environment.

Tony Wells, Chief Executive Officer of Merit, a specialist in offsite manufacture and build of ‘hi-tech’ facilities for healthcare, laboratory, cleanroom, manufacturing, and other industrial environments, discusses some of the key time, other practical, and cost-saving benefits of this approach, drawing on some of the company’s recent projects in healthcare

The Energy Trilemma – an affordable, sustainable, and secure power supply – is a pressing global issue. Powerstar looks at the funding that can help Trusts transition to clean energy, and the technology available to reduce costs, lower emissions, and ensure a secure supply.

Manufacturers have recently had difficulties obtaining components. Medical technology specialist, Brandon Medical, explains how the business has adapted.

The government took a joined-up approach when revising the Building Regulations, and if heating and cooling system designers do the same, we can tackle some of the country’s most urgent challenges, argues James Henley, Product Development manager at Daikin Applied UK.

How can increased capacity at NHS car parks offer solutions, and not problems? Hospital car parking is a complex and multi-faceted issue. James Fildes, from Berry Systems, looks at how parking solutions can adapt and adjust for future demands.

IDEXX’s Nigel Otter discusses Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust’s successful use of the company’s rapid microbiology systems to test for, and identify, Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ‘in-house’, in its water systems.

AA Projects’ Sarah Butler discusses a new NHS England resource which aims to show how the NHS can use and manage its estate ‘as a catalyst to boost social value, address local priorities, and enhance the wider determinants of health’.