RECENT NEWS

BSRIA, the consultancy, test, and research organisation for construction and building services, has published a guide to Flexible Ductwork. Hard copies are now available for £30, or £15 to BSRIA members, while PDF versions cost £30 + VAT, or are downloadable free by BSRIA members.

Balfour Beatty has begun building a new £20 m pharmaceutical manufacturing unit (PMU) for South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in Torbay.

Independent venture capital investor, Albion Ventures, has sold Nelson House, a 32-bed ‘step down’ rehabilitation mental hospital in Gosport, to a joint venture formed by Care UK and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for £8m – reportedly the first transaction involving a joint venture between the NHS and a private healthcare provider to acquire a hospital.

The ‘widely anticipated’ launch of the Edgbaston Medical Quarter was officially announced last month by Laura Rivkin, head of Strategy Implementation from the Office of Life Science, part of the Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

A new six-storey flagship medical education centre in Cardiff features Technal’s aluminium curtain walling and casement window systems.

Staff and patients at The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust’s New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton are benefiting from the Medicall 800 Nursecall system from ADT Fire & Security.

Gainsborough Specialist Bathing, a division of the Care in Bathing group which supplies, installs, and provides product support for, assistive baths, has integrated the Abacus Healthcare brand into its operations to extend its portfolio of products for all care environments.

A new Pegler Yorkshire antimicrobial copper hospital mixer tap has been designed in line with Health Protection Agency (HPA) recommendations, following the Agency’s investigation last year into Pseudomonas aeruginosa on biofilms in water tap assemblies from Northern Irish neonatal units (HEJ – May and June 2012).

The online CPD recording system, MyPath, launched in 2010, accessible via the IHEEM website, and which many members have since taken advantage of, has been ‘rebranded’, and is now called ‘mycareerpath’.

IHEEM is seeking candidates to contribute to its Resilience and Sustainability Advisory Group. The aim of the Group is to provide information and guidance for members, and to advise on matters of special interest as they arise.

To better serve its members and the wider healthcare estates industry, IHEEM has formed ‘alliances’ with two professional trade associations that share aims with the Institute.

IHEEM has announced the appointment of David Easton MSc CEng FIHEEM MIET (pictured) as the chair of the Institute’s Medical Devices Advisory Group (MDAG).

This year’s Healthcare Estates Exhibition & Conference is set to be the biggest yet, with more exhibiting companies, more delegates, and a growth in visitors expected.

Microbiological research by low surface temperature radiator specialist, Contour Casings, is ‘beginning to shed light’ on the levels of potentially harmful bacteria present inside some radiator guards in healthcare environments.

Fulbourn Medical and Maquet Hospital Solutions recently worked together as turnkey project partners to provide a new operating theatre at Southampton General Hospital, which has been located within a clean store area at the end of an existing theatre corridor.

The Newcastle University School of Dental Sciences has chosen Brandon Medical’s HD-LED examination lighting for its Clinical Simulation Unit (CSU). A key requirement was for low-level, rather than ceiling-mounted, lighting, to enable the viewing of wall-mounted training screens.

Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health (DH), Dr Dan Poulter (pictured), last month wrote to the chief executives, finance directors, and estates and facilities directors, at all English NHS Trusts, advising them of a new £290 million fund that the Government has made available to help public sector organisations sell surplus land.

Eastwood Park’s water hygiene course portfolio has been refreshed to deliver what the training establishment says is ‘a more clearly defined and concise learning opportunity, equipping healthcare estates teams with practical water hygiene skills in a shorter timeframe’.

BSRIA has launched a new guide (BB 44/2013, ISBN 9780860227182 ) to ‘seasonal commissioning’.

Mace has handed over the first phase of a proposed 10 at London’s Chelsea & Westminster Hospital to the Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.