ESTATES & FACILITIES MANAGEMENT ARTICLES

Charlotte Hutchinson, Associate partner, Carter Jonas (London), discusses the long-term impacts of the global pandemic on the future provision of healthcare real estate

Elisa Berry BA(Hons), BArch(Hons), RIBA, Director and architect at Howarth Litchfield, explains how the Durham-based architecture and interior design practice has been leading work with some of Greater London’s Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in response to the revised NHSE/I PCN Estates Guidance of 2020, which required PCNs to have a PCN Estate Strategy, supported by a PCN Clinical Strategy.

In an article in the September 2023 issue of HEJ, Quiqsolutions Business Development director, Health and Care, Paul Kaye, explained how – working with IHEEM – the company was set to launch a suite of tools to aid EFM governance and compliance. Here he explains how the past year has seen Quiqsolutions and IHEEM’s Technical Platforms work together again to develop ‘the next generation of assurance tools’, and standardised audit and pre-audit templates across key estates technical areas such as Ventilation, Water, Decontamination, Electrical, and Medical Gases.

Alasdair Ben Dixon, a chartered architect and Partner at architecture and design practice, Collective Works, discusses the firm’s recent work with local organisations to design and create social prescribing hubs that give patients more agency in their own health outcomes – by making clear the activities which can most benefit their wellbeing. He explains that ‘by addressing the root causes of ill health, and enhancing overall wellbeing, social prescribing has emerged as a powerful tool in the healthcare landscape’.

David Jones, director of Estates, Facilities, and Capital Development at University Hospital Southampton, and a fourth year PhD candidate, is researching the impact of the growing backlog maintenance level across England on patient safety incidents. He is looking both at the level of incidents directly linked to backlog maintenance, and at how ‘an aged estate’ is affecting staff in undertaking their work, and how this ultimately impacts patient safety. Here he discusses the key factors when looking at the impact of backlog maintenance, and explores what else we should be doing to improve our understanding of it, and reduce the severity of the issue.

Giles Hartley, Equipment Project manager for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Hospitals of the Future Project – who has a wealth of experience in the procurement and management of medical and non-medical equipment for healthcare facilities – explains the critical importance of developing a robust equipment strategy from the outset when embarking on designing and delivering new such facilities, and particularly complex, large-scale hospital projects.

While maintaining a sterile environment is aways a priority for on-premises laundries (OPLs), the importance of this factor is redoubled for healthcare estates – where eliminating the risk of cross-contamination is essential to preventing the spread of bacteria. With this in mind, Mick Christian, Training & Demonstration manager for Electrolux Professional UK & Ireland, discusses best practice, and how new technologies can help Laundry managers enhance both hygiene and productivity.