FEATURE ARTICLES

In an article that first appeared in The Australian Hospital Engineer, Michael Ward, facilities engineer, Building, Engineering & Maintenance Services (BEMS), Townsville Hospital and Health Service, Queensland Health, Mark Fasiolo, hospital engineer within the same organisation and service (both work at Townsville Hospital), and Jeffrey Turner, now client services manager, BEMS, at Metro South Hospital and Health Service, Queensland Health (but formerly hospital engineer at Townsville Hospital), describe a complex redevelopment project at Townsville Hospital in Queensland.

In an article based on a presentation at last month’s Institute of Hospital Engineering Australia (IHEA) Management Conference in Brisbane, Kim Bruton, chief engineer, MIHEA, NZIHE, CHCFM, of Northeast Health Wangaratta (NHW) in Victoria, describes some of the interesting experiences, challenges, and wider lessons learned, during his first five years as facility manager at the major referral health service for the north-east Victoria region.

A ‘Michael Parkinson-style’ one-to-one interview which saw Fabrice Muamba, the Zaire-born ex-professional footballer who survived a cardiac arrest while playing for Bolton Wanderers in March 2012 that saw his heart stop beating for 78 minutes, tell his story.

Giving the keynote presentation on the first day of this year’s Healthcare Estates conference, Julian Hartley, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, discussed some of his key experiences and learnings since he began his NHS career as a management trainee in north-east England.

HEJ asks Colin Freeman, managing director of commercial door and window specialist, ATB Systems, about trends in the design of windows and doors for healthcare, and some of the challenges of meeting legislative and sector- specific requirements.

In the hospital environment, technology is becoming an ever more central element in the drive to improve care standards, in line with guidance from Government and independent institutions, such as at the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE).

Personal alarm and critical communications system manufacturer Atus Systems’ origins are founded in the Personal Security Product division of the Bosch group group. Atus’ ‘rich history’ goes back to the 1960s, when Philips started its on-site paging business in Breda in Netherlands, a business that in 2002 was acquired by Bosch, and then, in September 2010, by Atus, when it became an independent company, allowing it to focus directly on critical communication solutions.

Phillip Herring, managing director at VINCI Park UK – a parking operator which develops and manages integrated parking solutions across a wide range of sectors – examines some of the key issues facing those working within healthcare estates and facilities teams responsible for parking policy and operations in their hospital or other healthcare facility, and discusses how the company has deployed its expertise to ‘ease some of the pressures’.

Keith Hamer, an asset management system specialist, currently group vice-president, Asset Management and Engineering, at Sodexo, and Kevin Main, marketing director at asset management solutions learning consultancy, Asset Wisdom, look at an important new international asset management standard, launched earlier this year, that they believe many in the healthcare estates and facilities management community managers may, as yet, have little, if any, knowledge of.

Craig Chapman, Bacticell product specialist, and an air filter training specialist, at GVS Filter Technology UK, discusses the importance of correct specification of filtration components for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment, to optimise system hygiene, improve plant performance, reduce energy consumption, and maximise efficiencies. 81Health

A physical security breach in a healthcare facility can have serious consequences for staff, patients, and the general public, especially if that breach occurs in a high risk area, such as a server room, pharmaceutical storage unit, or radiological room. Here, Mike McColl, managing director of high security panel manufacturer, Securiclad, highlights the importance of a ‘last line of defence’ when protecting both people, and a wide range of equipment and ‘assets’, in healthcare facilities.

Dr Sarah Peake, product sustainability manager at specialty chemicals company, Sika – which provides solutions for concrete, waterproofing, roofing, flooring, refurbishment, sealing and bonding, and industry – looks at the fundamentals for keeping floors, walls, and ceilings in hospitals and other healthcare facilities ‘in excellent health’.

Drawing on his own considerable experience and expertise in the field, including in the UK, the US, and Canada, Jon Huddy, architect, and President of Huddy HealthCare Solutions, headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, examines optimising security measures in hospital Emergency Departments.

As NHS waiting lists in England top three million1, the highest figure since waiting list ‘targets’ were created, estates teams have a key role to play in ensuring that infrastructure is best placed to meet demand. Working across Europe, operator of mobile healthcare facilities, Vanguard Healthcare Solutions, claims to have ‘a unique insight’ into the variety of estates policies and solutions being adopted by our European neighbours. Here Rob van Liefland, European representative, takes a look at the situation in Belgium and the Netherlands, and considers how the UK compares.

Peter Rogers, chairman of the B&ES (Building and Engineering Services Association) Ductwork Group technical committee, reveals how crucial leakage testing is in hospitals because of the health risk posed to patients if ventilation systems do not achieve and maintain the required standards.

June Lancaster, a nurse by background, who has spent 35 years working within healthcare and facilities management companies, and now runs her own consultancy, Asset Wisdom, and Steve Goodchild, an engineer with over 40 years’ healthcare engineering experience, and a director at estates and facilities solutions consultancy, CPA, argue that better teamwork and communication between clinicians and estates and facilities professionals, and a greater understanding of each other’s roles, would contribute significantly to an even safer, more efficient, patient care environment.

HEJ reports on the major benefits seen at Basildon University Hospital in Essex through the installation of a sophisticated building energy management system, which also integrates features such as access control, security, and lighting control, and whose advantages are increasingly being experienced by an ever broader range of Trust users.

Aspergillus, a fungus whose spores are ubiquitous in the environment, and are normally found in air, can be a significant issue in healthcare premises, and especially in hospital ventilation systems.

Under the Presidency of Greg Markham, who took up the role two years ago this month, IHEEM has continued to significantly raise its profile among key opinion formers, strengthening its ties with influential bodies such as the Department of Health, the Sustainable Development Unit, The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, ProCure21+, and the Engineering Council, and with parliamentarians, senior civil servants, its international counterparts, and the architectural and construction supply chains.

According to Ian Hopkins, a director of ENER-G Combined Power – which has delivered more than 50 CHP-led energy services contracts within the healthcare sector, having, for the past 30 years, designed and manufactured CHP systems at its global headquarters and R&D centre in Salford – ‘the energy cost and carbon-saving benefits of combined heat and power are difficult to match where there is a large heating/cooling demand over extended periods’.