RECENT NEWS

The recent AGM of IHEEM’s North-West Branch was followed by a talk by Swegon on air terminals and air handling units, with particular emphasis on energy performance, compliance with part L of the Building Regulations, and occupant comfort.

The recent AGM of IHEEM’s North-West Branch was followed by a talk by Swegon on air terminals and air handling units, with particular emphasis on energy performance, compliance with part L of the Building Regulations, and occupant comfort.

The Healthcare Estates conference 2012, taking place at Manchester Central from 9-10 October, will focus on ‘the most critical aspects of healthcare estates’, with the programme combining seven plenary sessions and 24 stream sessions to provide ‘broad and deep content’.

As detailed in May’s HEJ, the annual IHEEM awards have been ‘revised and reviewed’, and, from this year, are being opened up ‘to give the whole of the healthcare industry supply chain – rather than just the Institute’s members’ – the opportunity to participate.

With the recent focus on, and extensive media coverage of, the safety of hospital water systems (HEJ – May 2012, and pages 23-27 of this issue), two IHEEM ‘masterclass seminars’ being held in Leeds and London next month, entitled ‘The Invisible Threat’, will offer expert guidance and advice on maintaining a safe, high quality water supply and, for example, minimising the risk of waterborne infection to patients and staff.

Now in its 10th year, Healthcare Estates, the annual IHEEM (Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management) conference and exhibition, is an event that focuses on the design, construction, maintenance, and management, of the healthcare estate and healthcare facilities.

A partnership between Chelmsford City Council, Harlow District Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, and Anglia Ruskin University, is predicted to grow the UK medical technology sector by £1.2bn and generate approximately 12,500 jobs via the creation of a new three-site ‘MedTech’ campus in Essex, where organisations ranging from start-ups to ‘large corporates’ will be able to develop and perfect new medical technology.

Facilities management, and estates and property management software specialist, Micad, says it has spent the past three years engineering and perfecting a bespoke solution for estates and facilities professionals seeking accurate information on the use of space within buildings on their estate.

Micad says its software systems generated considerable interest at this year’s HefmA exhibition, with particular attention being given to its new Help Desk and Room Booking and Utilisation Software.

Façade specialists, Wicona, and glazing manufacturer, Fendor, have jointly launched a sliding aluminium window system specifically designed for anti-ligature applications.

The Leadbitter Group has completed the £29 million second phase of the Institute of Life Science and the £22 m Centre for NanoHealth at Swansea University.

Rigel Medical analysers have been specified for a South African project designed to improve standards of medical device safety and performance inspection.

A recent study by Montagnese & De Rui (2011) from Padova University, investigating the benefits of strong light signals administered in the morning on an 82-year-old female cirrhosis patient with a chronic tendency to sleep-wake inversion – causing both delayed wake-up time and disturbed night sleep – utilised the ‘Amadea’ wall-mounted luminaire developed by Brandon Medical’s partners, Derungs-Licht.

A group of senior nurses from several Hong Kong hospitals recently visited Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire, as part of a UK study tour arranged and cocoordinated by the specialist healthcare training facility in conjunction with the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.

Dave Hogan CEng FIET FInstLM, employed for the past 10 years at BAE Systems, most recently as manager of Engineering, Programmes & Support, has joined the Engineering Council as operations director.

Pegler Yorkshire has brought its wellknown Belmont range of commercial radiator valves under its ‘Pegler Commercial Valve Range’, which now offers a much wider portfolio.

NHS Lothian confirmed last month that it would be taking legal advice after an Edinburgh Royal Infirmary surgeon had to finish an operation by torchlight when maintenance workers at the health board’s ‘PFI provider’, Consort, allegedly failed to follow its ‘critical procedures’, turning off the electricity supply to two operating theatres ‘too early’ on 29 March as part of planned maintenance.

Ambius, a specialist in enhancing buildings through planting, scenting, and artwork, has launched a free Biophilia toolkit to explain how plants and natural elements should be used in building interiors for maximum benefit.

The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) has announced that it is part of the Asset Skills-led project to develop degree-level apprenticeships in facilities management.

Pride of place on C-TEC’s stand at this month’s IFSEC exhibition (14-17 May at Birmingham’s NEC), will be the company’s new ZFP multi-loop analogue addressable touchscreen controlled fire panel.