FEATURE ARTICLES

The keynote speeches at this year’s Healthcare Estates conference, which was themed ‘Putting positive energy into healthcare’.

Operating theatre technology has developed significantly in recent years, with increasing automation and control of functions like lighting, pendants, cameras, and viewing screens.

In an article in the April 2013 issue of Health Estate Journal, Geoff Dillow, a former head of training at the forerunner to Eastwood Park, the Hospital Engineering Centre, addressed the roles and responsibilities of personnel involved in the operation and management of medical gas pipeline systems (MGPS).

With IHEEM celebrating its 70th Anniversary this month, HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, recently met the Institute’s oldest surviving Past-President, Lawrence Turner OBE.

Flooring is a crucial element in healthcare settings, so choosing the most appropriate materials, and employing the correct cleaning methods, should be high on the list of priorities for all healthcare estate managers, as Lesley Davis, a regional area manager at supplier of industrial and commercial floor cleaning machines, Truvox International, explains.

James McGowan, R&D product designer for Monodraught, a specialist in ‘natural ventilation, natural daylight, and natural cooling systems’, discusses the development of Cool-phase, the company’s latest innovative application of phase change material (PCM) as a thermal energy store used to actively ventilate and cool buildings.

Colin Lawson, head of sales and marketing at Tamlite Lighting, argues that when selecting new lighting for healthcare facilities, estates and facilities managers need to make ‘smart, well-informed decisions’ in order to balance energy saving with patient comfort.

How can estates managers guarantee uninterrupted surgical provision during refurbishment projects, or boost capacity when waiting lists look dangerously at risk?

Keeping track of thousands of pieces of equipment in a busy hospital environment is a considerable challenge, but, according to RFID tagging and asset tracking specialist, Harland Simon, RFID technology can make the task considerably simpler.

A looming energy crisis will hit the UK within the next five years, energy regulator Ofgem has warned on a number of occasions already this year, and public sector organisations, commercial businesses, and households, can all expect a series of price hikes as demand outstrips local resources.

Are electronic engineering maintenance records relating to the hospital estate or a medical device as important as electronic patient records? Computer maintenance management systems (CMMS) are increasingly being used to manage all-round maintenance activities.

A new mortuary and bereavement facility at one of North Wales’s largest acute hospitals, the Ysbyty Glan Clwyd near Rhyl, formed from 16 steel-framed modules that were manufactured off site, and subsequently craned into position to greatly speed project completion, was delivered ‘well below original cost budget, four weeks ahead of schedule’, by turnkey construction specialist, MTX Contracts.

In an article that first appeared in the August 2013 issue of HEJ’s sister magazine, The Clinical Services Journal, John Sandham IEng MIET MIHEEM, discusses the need to put in place effective healthcare technology management policies, and highlights some of the barriers.

Scott Buckler, Founder, 4 All of Us, which will be co-hosting next March’s NHS Sustainability Day 2014 with Barts Health, outlines some of the key aims of the 2014 IHEEM-backed campaign, looks back at the success of this year’s event, explains how Health Estate Journal will be the official Media Partner next year, and emphasises the important role that sustainability plays in health.

Ian Hinitt, until the Summer of 2012 deputy director of Estates at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is spearheading an ambitious joint-venture project between Apex 4D, he and his business partner, Balbir Panesar’s recently established Bradford-based outsourced FM company, and Leeds-headquartered architectural practice, Bowman Riley.

A UPS system is the central building block of a Power Continuity Plan in medical facilities, but such equipment requires careful maintenance to continue fulfilling its vital role in delivering power resilience, and avoid catastrophic downtime, and potentially tens of thousands of pounds in costs to rectify the issues caused by poor maintenance.

With the NHS spending over £20 billion annually on goods and services – accounting, typically, for around 30 per cent of each hospital’s operating costs – but, in the view of Health Minister, Dr Dan Poulter MP, still ‘failing to harness its enormous purchasing power’.

With substantial capital funding for new build NHS healthcare facilities increasingly scarce, many Trusts are now focusing ever harder on maximising use of existing space, and, where it is not being effectively used, on converting it for new or alternative clinical and non-clinical use.

This year’s exhibition at Healthcare Estates will see over 200 companies, representing every sector of healthcare.

Jeff House, marketing and applications manager, Baxi Commercial, identifies some of the heating options available to the operators of healthcare facilities, and highlights practical examples of successful applications.