FEATURE ARTICLES

The Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society (CHES) and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) are partnering with a significant education initiative. They are providing construction and contract personnel with the insights necessary to recognise the inherent risks of progressing healthcare facility projects in patient-occupied buildings, writes Gordon D. Burrill, P. Eng.

Organisations are frequently frustrated by the unbudgeted cost of crime and insecurity but do not necessarily take proactive measures to resolve the problem. Security is rarely viewed as an investment – protection is not as expensive as insecurity, writes Nick van der Bijl, BEM, chairman, National Association for Healthcare Security.

Over the past five years, a remarkable confluence of unprecedented healthcare construction and green building tools and programs tailored for the healthcare sector have created a bold vision of what a 21st Century hospital can be. Informed by the fundamental precept of “first, do no harm”, this quiet revolution is shaping the way hospitals and other healthcare facilities are planned, designed, constructed and operated.

As the fight continues to limit the spread of MRSA infections in hospitals, Health Estate Journal examines how one games-based learning organisation has produced a novel way of assisting.

In support of NHS governance arrangements for assuring design quality and improving the patient environment, the Department of Health has recommended that all Trusts and PCTs embarking on new developments, whether they are refurbishment or new build projects, should appoint a Design Champion to their board of directors. Health Estate Journal reports.

Information on breakthroughs in prion decontamination and detection were presented by Dr Graham Jackson, head of molecular diagnostics at the Medical Research Council, to a Central Sterilising Club meeting held in Manchester earlier this year.

Throughout the UK, hospitals are embarking on new-build programmes to meet the needs of growing communities. However, site acreage and accommodation are often already under pressure, as Dale Power Solutions found when it was commissioned to increase standby power availability at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

As an increasing number of Trusts secure Foundation status, the importance of achieving excellence in estate management is further heightened. Report by Thomas Howard, a commercial property expert and member of the health team at law firm Browne Jacobson.

A report by the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts has highlighted anxieties about the way in which information technology provision for the NHS is progressing. Health Estate Journal reports.

Infection prevention and control in hospitals is a constant battle. The issues have become ever more pressing in recent years with a constant stream of headlines about healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and the so-called ‘superbug’ MRSA. Intuition’s programme marketing manager Lee-Anne Smith explains how e-learning can help win the fight against infection.

In the annual NHS staff survey run by the Healthcare Commission, personnel report that they are less stressed, suffer fewer work-related injuries and see fewer potentially harmful errors, but the results also highlight the levels of violence and abuse that they endure.

The long-awaited report from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) into the Barrow Legionella outbreak has now been published and is in the public domain. Its conclusions and recommendations clearly recognise that the outbreak cannot, and should not, be attributed purely to one group or to the individuals working within one department. Moreover, the failings which contributed to the outbreak stretched from the lowest levels to the top of the council organisation. Develop Training’s Tony Green explains how correct training can prevent future outbreaks.

Hospital lighting must conform to a wide range of international standards. The purchaser of lights, ranging from bedside lamps to operating theatre units, is responsible for ensuring that a hospital’s luminaires comply with relevant legislation. James Verrinder reports.

This Health Estate Journal ‘Then and now’ feature describes thoughts from about 30 years ago concerning the potential polluting effects of anaesthetic gases and vapours in the operating theatre. The article appeared in the May 1976 edition of Hospital Engineering, having been previously published in the journal Anaesthesia. Hospital Engineering was the official journal of the Institute of Hospital Engineering (now IHEEM).

IHEEM has unveiled the initial conference programme for this year’s Healthcare Estates conference.

One of the most important materials in the modern healthcare environment, stainless steel is poised for an impressive future. Martin Tye, managing director of GEC Anderson – manufacturer of bespoke stainless steel solutions and a long-standing supplier to the health sector – looks at the outlook for stainless steel and offers advice on its specification and use.

Dart Valley’s Mike Allen explains how no-touch taps can assist in the fight against an organism which continues to attract much attention.

NHS Trusts are large energy consumers, and the health sector has been compelled to address conservation issues – for both environmental and financial reasons. Kevin Jones of Schneider Electric Services and Projects argues that hospitals’ energy policies must consider holistic remedies.

Bill Earlie of test instrument and precision measurement company Cropico explains the implications of new guidance on electrical installations in medical environments.

There is a plethora of legislation and guidelines relating to the control and supply of water in healthcare establishments. Here, Roy Minett, marketing manager of Rada in the UK, provides some advice on making sense of what is expected and required.