FEATURE ARTICLES

With its Pseudalert rapid microbiology technology for P. aeruginosa in water supplies now well-established in healthcare, IDEXX Water is now working hard to promote what it says is a ‘highly accurate, sensitive, and specific’ test to identify levels of Legionella pneumophila, with definitive results in just seven days.

Develop Training is celebrating after electricians on its courses achieved a 94 per cent pass rate against the latest national wiring standard.

When it comes to emergency incidents, hospitals and healthcare facilities often provide a safe haven for those in need of critical care. However, such premises are not immune to their own crises, and need to have adequate, well maintained and suitable emergency lighting in place at all times.

Corby-based Creative Ironmongery specialises in ‘designing and creating problem-solving products that save money and deliver exceptional performance, even in the most challenging environments’. It claims to be ‘revolutionising standards in architectural ironmongery’.

When specifying products for healthcare facilities there are a wide range of factors to consider – from eliminating water wastage and cutting utility costs, to reducing maintenance and managing infection control.

A British commercial boiler manufacturer looks at the key considerations for designing ‘safe, reliable, and efficient’ hot water systems for healthcare facilities, and at minimising the major risk factors for the growth and proliferation of harmful waterborne bacteria within them.

With the NHS facing pressure to cut costs and improve efficiency, the head of Healthcare Business Development at Centrica Business Solutions examines ‘how innovative energy systems could drive change and make a lasting difference’.

Westwood Care and Support Group has completed the internal refurbishment and reconfiguration of two buildings on the former Huntercombe mental healthcare site at Market Weighton, providing purpose-designed units – one for residential, and one for respite care – for patients with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and complex physical needs. HEJ reports.

Sharron Kapellar, National Framework manager at Forbo Flooring Systems, discusses what she dubs ‘the change in healthcare design’, and explains how well-considered flooring specifications, and the optimal flooring selection, can contribute to a healing environment.

Dr Melvyn Langford, who worked for nearly four decades in the NHS, including as an estates and facilities manager, discusses – using mathematical computations – the factors that have long convinced him that there is ‘a fundamental flaw’ within the ‘5x5 risk matrix’ used to establish the relative urgency of backlog maintenance in NHS healthcare facilities.

Authorising Engineers (AEs) have a key role to play in ensuring the safe, efficient management and operation of key plant, equipment, and systems in a range of engineering disciplines in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, in accordance with key HTM and other guidance, and legislation.

Clare Tattersall, editor of the CHES magazine, Canadian Healthcare Facilities, examines the wide-ranging measures that staff at the Markham Stouffville Hospital in Markham, Ontario, have taken to raise the healthcare facility’s environmental performance and sustainability credentials since it opened nearly three decades ago.

Darryl Pitcher, who took over as the IFHE’s President from Douwe Kiestra at the event, reports on a highly successful 25th IFHE Congress held in Brisbane last October, where, in addition to the human attendees, the venue – Brisbane City Hall – also welcomed a variety of Australia’s wildlife.

An associate partner and strategist in the health planning team at construction, property, and management consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall, considers a changing NHS estate, with expectations that, in future, more outpatient care will be delivered closer to patients’ homes.

A look at the critical role played by microbiological water testing in improving patient safety, and some key maintenance priorities for estates team to keep healthcare water systems running safely and hygienically.

New workplace management and occupancy technology is helping organisations in other sectors make large savings on their real estate while also improving the employee and visitor experience, says Raj Krishnamurthy, CEO of agile working solutions provider, Workplace Fabric, who here explores the opportunities for such technologies in healthcare.

The founder and CEO of ventilated cladding system specialist, Shackerley, discusses the use of the company’s SureClad ceramic granite façade system at the new £100 million Proton Beam Therapy Centre at The Christie in Manchester.

A specialist in passive fire protection solutions, ‘innovative plasterboard products and systems’, and fibre cement boards, has launched a new dense plasterboard with integrated glass fibre mesh which it says combines a robust construction – making it well suited to areas subject to impact, attack, and abuse – with excellent acoustic performance.

Where hospital budgets are under pressure, roof maintenance and repairs are often addressed reactively. A look at why establishing the condition of flat roofs and taking a long-term approach to maintenance, repair, and replacement, will help manage budgets more effectively

Specialist in high security and blast / ballistic-resistant doors and windows, Stafford Bridge, is set to considerably expand its portfolio in the next few months, and will be increasingly targeting the acute and mental health sectors.