RECENT NEWS

Bender UK has appointed Tim Checketts (pictured) as Commercial director to lead sales and marketing operations, and drive growth in what it dubs ‘critical infrastructure markets’, including rail, mobility, and healthcare.

Kier has completed the refurbishment of a new facility for NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in Southampton to support the drive for blood donation in the region.

Insulation manufacturer, Rockwool, has opened a new global centre of excellence for fire-stopping at Hams Hall, on the outskirts of Birmingham, where it says it will manufacture ‘a new best-in-class range of products’.

McLaughlin & Harvey has handed over the keys to Ayrshire Hospice’s new capital build project in Ayr.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) has held an event to ‘kick-start ‘the next stage of procurement with shortlisted suppliers for the Hospital 2.0 Alliance.

NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has released a new NHS Estate Optimisation Guide ‘to help NHS leaders and estate managers navigate one of the most pressing challenges in modern healthcare: making the most of the places and spaces that support patient care’.

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has unveiled the third iteration of its framework agreement, Modular Buildings 3, to – as it puts it – ‘accelerate the construction of vital infrastructure across the UK’.

The ‘urgent need to re-think how hospitals are designed, built, and maintained, to prevent the ongoing crisis of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs)’, is highlighted in a new report, The Silent Pandemic: Healthcare Infections and the Need for Better Hospital Design, released by the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) this week.

The Delabie Group has announced that it has entered into an agreement with funds advised by Equistone, the majority shareholder of KWC Professional, and with the other minority shareholders, to acquire 100% of the share capital of KWC Professional – formerly known as Franke Water Systems – and its subsidiaries.

With NHS buildings accounting for over 15% of the organisation’s total carbon footprint, and Estates managers under increasing pressure to align infrastructure decisions with stringent sustainability goals, roofing upgrades and sustainable design can help NHS estates meet their environmental obligations through practical, long-lasting solutions.

ICS Cool Energy, a specialist in complete temperature control solutions for manufacturing process and facilities applications, has re-located its Birmingham operations to a new, purpose-built facility in Erdington Industrial Park.

BDP has appointed Max Martin (pictured) as the new head of its Birmingham studio, succeeding Dan Smyth, who is retiring this summer after a distinguished career in architecture and urban regeneration.

New research from Trinity College Dublin scientists strongly implies that heatwaves have a major influence on the spread of many diseases – and that many existing predictive models have overlooked this complexity.

As an organisation ‘committed to driving the industry forward and increasing awareness of the importance of building controls and automation’, the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has launched what it describes as ‘an informative and illustrative animated guide’ to building controls.

The construction of the new £15 m Endoscopy Unit at the Cumberland Infirmary (CIC) in Carlisle is now complete, with the facility set to open its first patients later this month.

Millions of patients can now track their prescriptions thanks to the roll-out of a new feature in the NHS App helping to reduce unnecessary calls and visits to pharmacies.

NHS Property Services (NHSPS) says it is proud to announce its role in an award-winning research project that has been recognised with the ‘Most Significant Contribution to the Art and Science of Building Services Engineering’ at the 2025 CIBSE IBPSA-England Technical Symposium.

Thousands of patients will benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment thanks to new cutting-edge radiotherapy machines being rolled out to every region in the country, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.

A free-to-attend webinar being held by energy and sustainability consultancy, Sustainable Energy First, in association with Health Estate Journal on 18 June will focus on the measurement and reporting of the NHS Carbon Footprint (and Footprint Plus), the developments associated with the NHS supply chain and Carbon Reduction Plans, and other related frameworks ‘that influence, and are influenced by’, the NHS’ operations and ambitions.

Patients and pupils across England are set to benefit from nearly £1.2 billion worth of ‘essential maintenance fixes’ being rolled out at hospitals and schools, the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education, and NHS England, have announced.