RECENT NEWS

Deep cleaning issues, benchmarking, health and safety, the implications of an ageing workforce, staff development, environmental issues, and “working relationships” will be among the wide-ranging topics highlighted at the Healthcare Facilities Consortium’s 2008 Annual Conference in Oxford next month.

Trusts deemed by the Department of Health to be “failing” could soon see their management removed and a new team brought in from other parts of the NHS, NHS Foundation Trusts, or the private sector, under plans announced by Health Minister Ben Bradshaw (pictured).

PIC: Ivan Lewis

The NHS, reportedly Europe’s biggest employer, and a contributor of approximately 3% of England’s total carbon dioxide emissions, has published for consultation a Carbon Reduction Strategy that commits the service as a whole to reducing emissions by 60% by 2050 in all areas, including procurement, travel and building energy use.

The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management would like to congratulate the following who had IHEEM grades awarded recently:

IHEEM has recently undertaken work with London South Bank University and its Medical Architecture Research Unit (MARU) to support the unit’s MSc in Planning Buildings for Health.

The Institute is keen to find out more about what members think should be its key short-to-medium term priorities, as well as to gauge opinions on member benefits, the IHEEM educational programme, and the content of Health Estate Journal.

The findings of a consultation into proposed changes to the professional recognition and qualifications afforded to UK engineers, including the replacement of the current title of Incorporated Engineer, will be reported to IHEEM members “as soon as they are available”.

A series of one-day seminars designed to cover the latest updates to regulations relating to wiring and the use of electricity on healthcare premises is being planned by IHEEM for September and October.

IHEEM has been invited to nominate an outstanding engineer for The Royal Academy of Engineering Sir Frank Whittle Medal, established eight years ago to recognise “an outstanding, sustained engineering achievement contributing to the well-being of the nation”, and in 2009 to be awarded for “engineering innovations in healthcare”.

With today’s unprecedented focus on hospital hygiene, IHEEM says it is more important than ever that Trusts use only suitably qualified Authorising Engineers (Decontamination) (AE(D))s for specialist independent auditing of, and advice on, washer-disinfectors, sterilisers and sterilisation in hospital settings.

Up to 10 million hospital patients a year can now expect “lower incoming call charges, better service and more reliable equipment” says Hospedia, a new company which, subject to OFT approval, looks set to run over 80,000 NHS bedside systems UK-wide currently operated by Patientline UK and Premier Telesolutions.

Galliford Try has been awarded a £3.8 million contract to build Europe’s largest IVF Centre of its kind at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

A continuing focus on hospital hygiene and safety, “systematic” measurement and publication of data for the first time on the care quality available at different hospitals, and strengthened rights for patients to choose their location and mode of treatment, with more information to aid “informed choices”, are among the new measures set out in the NHS Next Stage Review Final Report – “High Quality Care For All”.

New legislation accompanying the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will mean “big changes ahead” for those managing public buildings, says ABBE, the Awarding Body for the Built Environment, which provides NVQs and VRQs to companies in the property, construction, surveying, planning, and project management fields.

Adare Private Hospital and Clinic, the new private healthcare facility in Adare, County Limerick on which construction started last month, has signed a management contract with Australian private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care, which will operate the facility from its opening in January 2010.

Over 900 visitors attended the first ever Healthcare Ireland conference and exhibition in Dublin from 23-24 April, with 94% from the Irish Republic, 5% from Northern Ireland and 1% from the mainland UK.

A Belfast health centre incorporating Technal architectural aluminium glazing systems has won its second architectural award.

A £5 million energy efficiency programme, just “switched on” at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust’s Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, is expected to save £688,000 a year, reducing carbon emissions and boosting resources for patient care.

According to RIBA Publishing, publishers of a new book, Changing Hospital Architecture, as “background buildings”, “showing considerable consistency of component parts and key issues around the world”, hospitals “rarely excite passion in mainstream architectural and design culture”.

Fire officers, fire safety and health estates personnel and senior brigade staff at last month’s National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers (NAHFO) 2008 conference (see also p34) expressed surprise that, four months after the Royal Marsden fire (Health Estate Journal – February/March 2008), little has been said by hospital management about the causes.