FEATURE ARTICLES

The need for, and benefits of, health and safety audits within hospital estates and facilities departments, and the link with the Health Technical Memorandum 00: Best practice guidance for healthcare engineering1, are examined by Alan Hambidge, director of risk management consultancy Empathy Environmental Consultants Ltd.

Through developing close working relationships and always ensuring lines of communication are open, a Trust and a facilities management company have achieved much in optimising many aspects of healthcare delivery. Nicholas Marshall reports.

Health Estate Journal considers the key legislative requirements on health estates managers and health and safety personnel when it comes to ensuring flooring is safe for both patients and staff amid growing Health and Safety Executive concerns about the number of slips and trips in hospitals, medical centres and care homes.

Imperial Civil Enforcement Solutions describes how proactive parking management schemes at two large NHS Trusts have improved relations with the public, helped enforcement and fine collection, and enhanced parking availability for patients and staff.

Children and adolescents’ differing views on what constitutes a comfortable hospital environment are examined in a study by Sanaz Litkouhi, Dr Farhang Mozaffar and Dr S. Bagher Hoseini of the Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran.

When supplying and installing medical supply units it is vital to ensure the equipment meets the latest standards and is being used in the type of configuration it was designed for. Graeme Dell, managing director of bedhead trunking specialist Cableflow International, examines the potential pitfalls.

This Health Estate Journal ‘Then and now’ feature describes some viewpoints from 1960 on how to provide a healthcare environment that helps to protect patients. Over the past half-century, healthcare premises have changed hugely, but considerations outlined in the article remain of interest today. The source of the feature is described in a panel on this page.

UK fire “experts” and senior fire brigade personnel recently heavily criticised fire safety standards in NHS hospitals. They claimed, in a BBC Radio 4 documentary, both that existing fire safety provision in some hospitals is ineffective, and that fire brigade and other expert advice for improvements following even serious fires may be being routinely ignored. Jonathan Baillie reports.

Paul Harrison, who spent 22 years as an NHS fire safety consultant and now conducts in-depth training at independent medical equipment and facilities training centre Eastwood Park, highlights the key fire safety issues today’s health estates managers must be aware of, and discusses the latest legislation and guidelines and the duties these place on Trusts and fire officers.

Sterile service fit out specialist Welconstruct is set to deliver a £3.7 million state-of the-art sterile services centre to serve two major hospital sites in Berkshire. Health Estate Journal examines how Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot and Wexham Park Hospital, Slough will benefit from the new unit, to be managed by the Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Successes achieved in the development and running of a new cardiothoracic centre in Essex are numerous. Nicholas Marshall reports.

Last summer the Department of Health (DoH) announced that, as part of tough measures to further reduce hospital-acquired superbug infection rates and simultaneously restore public confidence, every English NHS hospital should complete a thorough “deep clean” by the end of this month. Jonathan Baillie reports on progress to date and examines the key issues raised.

Ailsa Clews, hotel services manager for the Gilbert Bain and Montfield Hospitals in the Shetlands, was named Sodexho Healthcare Manager of the Year 2007 late last year for her hard work and skill in ensuring the smooth running of hotel services at both hospitals and three health centres serving the Islands’ 22,500 residents. Jonathan Baillie talks to her about her career, achievements, and biggest challenges to date.

The Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) recently held a conference on decontamination focused on the latest guidelines and best practice. High on the agenda were issues such as the quality control of instruments and protection of patients from the risk of contracting CJD. Louise Frampton reports.

Just over a year after publication of the Department of Health’s initial ‘Safety First’ report on patient safety, Patricia Young, design specialist, Built Environment, at the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), says while good progress is being made to reduce the number and severity of patient incidents, there remains considerable scope for further improvement.

Dr Sue Hignett Ph.D and Jun Lu M.Arch B.Eng of the Healthcare Ergonomics and Patient Safety research Unit (HEPSU), Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, discuss the development and application of an important testing system designed to ensure sufficient space is provided around hospital beds for staff to undertake basic tasks such as washing and dressing of patients.

Drawing on experience in Germany, Jochen Abel of Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Facility Management (TMB), Karlsruhe, highlights the importance to public private partnerships in the healthcare sector of developing effective models which can the be used time and again in future.

Australia’s West Moreton Health Service District in Queensland was among the first to participate in the Queensland Health Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) programme. Harry Barron, MIHEA, technical services co-ordinator, West Moreton South Burnett Health Service District, Queensland Health, describes the resulting major energy saving benefits experienced by the district’s largest public hospital.

Heralded on their introduction as important lifelines for patients in hospital, patient information / entertainment systems and their manufacturers have faced considerable commercial and practical challenges, leading some suppliers to abandon the UK market altogether and leaving others under massive financial pressure. Jonathan Baillie reports

Healthcare providers increasingly recognise the positive impact art in hospitals can have on patient wellbeing and recovery. Neil Orpwood, an associate at HLM Architects, stresses how this philosophy was successfully applied right from project start-up during the design and construction of a top East Yorkshire cancer care centre.