RECENT FEATURE ARTICLES
Irish public sector’s duty to ‘lead by example’
Dean Sullivan, Deputy CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at Ireland’s Health Service Executive, stresses the importance of the public sector taking a lead in the drive toward Net Zero.
‘Gaps in intelligent data management’ addressed
How a provider of software, consultancy, training, support, and IT and document management solutions, helped the Digital Innovation and Strategic Estates teams at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust ‘kick off their BIM journey’, and improve the data collection process.
‘Pay-per-use’ EWD upgrade for Great Western
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to Wassenburg’s pay-per-use scheme in replacing four endoscope washer-disinfectors (EWDs).
Achieving a better gender balance in healthcare FM
Rina Pandya, head of People Transformation and Culture at NHS Property Services, discusses the importance of promoting the success of women in healthcare estates and facilities management – traditionally a male-dominated sector.
Importance of ‘competence’ cannot be under-estimated
Matt Morse, a specialist in Legionella control and water treatment, discusses ‘competence’, with a particular focus on Legionella control, what the term signifies, how it can be measured, and why it is so important in a patient safety-critical field.
The ‘science’ of effective cleaning in focus
The risks posed to patients from pathogens found in hospital environments, and the need for those tasked with cleaning them to be adequately trained, and equipped with the latest technology, are highlighted by Dr Mark Garvey, consultant clinical scientist in Microbiology.
Ireland’s largest healthcare project progressing well
Bobby Conroy, Architect director at BDP’s Dublin studio, describes how the design of Ireland’s New Children’s Hospital has been developed around a ‘child and family-centred identity’, and explains how standardisation and digital technology have played a central role in the delivery of the project.
A focus on how standards evolve and their impact
At IHEEM’s 2022 Authorising Engineers conference, Brian Kirk, from the Institute’s Decontamination Technical Platform, and Paul Harris, Chair of the IHEEM Electrical Technical Platform, looked at the evolution of standards within healthcare engineering and estate management.
Young engineers impress with vision and teamwork
The Final of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s national Faraday Challenge – an annual competition to encourage more youngsters to study and consider STEM careers – took place at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in June, with IHEEM as the year’s ‘theme partner’.
Replacements for lead may pose different risks
A look by Australian academics and a plumbing and safety equipment specialist at some of the risks to hospital plumbing systems from both lead contamination and the build-up and spread of opportunistic waterborne pathogens
Investigating the benefits of UV airstream disinfection
Gregor Riese of the Opira Group discusses the effectiveness of ultraviolet airstream disinfection in healthcare facilities, drawing on a study at a hospital in Pennsylvania which demonstrated a more than 90% reduction in airborne and surface pathogen levels in UV-treated zones compared with non-UV treated zones.
COVER STORY: Lives depend on good emergency lighting
The importance of your emergency lighting system should not be underestimated. Simply put, lives depend on it – but how can you be sure your system will perform when it’s most needed?
Complex build challenges for London PBT facility
Edward Williams of Edward Williams Architects, and Sheila Carney, director of Scott Tallon Walker Architects, discuss designing the NHS in England’s second proton beam therapy centre, for University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in a central London location – close to existing infrastructure such as ‘tube’ lines – and explain how the major challenges were overcome.
COVID transforms thinking on hospital cleanliness
Maintaining hygiene in hospitals has never been a higher priority, due to COVID-19. Fortunately, there are a number of technologies that are helping medical staff fight back against infectious agents and help safeguard against future global pandemics, explains John Chewins, director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at Bioquell.
Fast-paced Portsmouth project finished in 28 weeks
Modular building provider, Wernick, has completed a new 72-bed building at Queen Alexandra Hospital for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. Providing urgently needed treatment and recovery areas, the £8.2 m building took just 28 weeks to complete, from design to handover.
Energy-saving steps aim to cut emissions by 80 per cent
A major project to decarbonise North Tyneside General Hospital is well under way, with the aim of reducing its emissions by 80 per cent. Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s ‘commitment to taking concrete, meaningful action’ to reduce its environmental impact will see the hospital’s steam system replaced
Digital signage improving patient and staff experience
Healthcare providers are using digital signage and IPTV systems to manage ongoing COVID challenges, and subsequently recognising how AV systems can improve the patient experience, says Colin Farquhar, senior vice-president, Sales, at VITEC, a specialist in end-to-end video streaming.
Lancashire ‘surge hub’ created in just three weeks
A three-week timescale to create, construct, and fully fit out a surge hub in a hospital car park is a pretty daunting prospect. Five senior team members involved in such a project at a Lancashire acute Trust explain how this was achieved at the Royal Preston Hospital.
Reviewing fire alarm protocols and reducing risk
The National Fire Safety lead at NHSE/I explains how NHS Trusts can review their fire alarm systems and implement effective protocols to ensure that risk reduction in this area meets statutory requirements.
Making sure ventilation is effective and fit for purpose
In March 2021 John Prendergast, MIHEEM, an Authorising Engineer (Decontamination), and Dr Jimmy Walker, Chair of the Central Sterilising Club, established, and have since led, a Working Group to review guidance for ventilation requirements in endoscope decontamination facilities.
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