Following last month’s announcement that the Institute’s annual conference at Healthcare Estates will be organised by Step Exhibitions, the organisers are busy establishing a number of new initiatives for the year’s top event for healthcare estates and facilities professionals.
IHEEM has also issued a Call for (conference) Papers, which must be submitted electronically by 22 March (see overleaf for details), and is also seeking input and ideas from HEJ’s readers on an overall conference theme. Healthcare Estates 2013 will be held this year from 8-9 October at Manchester Central. It is anticipated that this year’s conference and exhibition content will cover topics ranging from engineering, estate and asset management, and carbon reduction and energy-saving measures, to architecture and design, and succession planning.
Energy in the spotlight
Also announced recently have been a number of new areas for the 2013 exhibition, among which will be The Energy Showcase Theatre. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to go to this dedicated area to hear presentations by leading organisations working with both the NHS and private sectors. The Theatre will be complemented by a number of special ‘Energy stands’, each focusing on reducing costs and energy use within the healthcare estate. The organisers are working with the The Carbon and Energy Fund, a ‘£300 m plus’ fund said to be ‘the natural successor’ to the NHS Energy and Sustainability fund, which exists to fund and support projects in the NHS that meet a certain level of carbon savings per £1,000 of investment required.
Additional funding source
Steve Webb, show director at Step Exhibitions, said: “NHS Trusts wishing to upgrade their energy facilities now have an additional source of funding through a recently announced Department of Health allocation of £50 million. The CEF is making additional resources available for Trusts who wish to upgrade urgently using this form of funding, when it is released. Healthcare Estates 2013 will provide a great opportunity to update the audience on the 30+ projects currently in progress, and on future plans. “We are also working with a number of key energy, and energy equipment suppliers, to this sector; we already have support from British Gas, GE Corporate, Spirax Sarco, and Cynergin, with more major organisations expected to confirm over the coming months.” Dr Randall Bowen, head of Energy Performance at British Gas, said: “We recognise that energy reduction and sustainability are becoming key areas of focus for Trusts and health Boards across the country. Working together, we can deliver guaranteed long-term energy savings, as well as permanent reductions in carbon emissions. British Gas looks forward to working with Healthcare Estates throughout 2013 to deliver benefits to the sector.”
Conference topics
Energy will also feature prominently in the main conference programme; such is the extent of the focus on savings to be made in healthcare. Steve Webb said: “We are putting together a top-level group of estates and facilities directors to identify the most pressing issues in their daily working lives to help inform the conference programme. Initial conversations indicate that backlog maintenance, cost savings, especially related to energy, an update on the new NHS Property Services Company, and the transfer of former Primary Care estate assets to the new company on 1 April, are all key issues for healthcare professionals, and the programme is likely to include a focus on these, as well as on engineering topics. “The advisory group we have formed includes key individuals who run healthcare Trusts and other provider organisations across the UK. It will meet to help shape this year’s conference, particularly to ensure wide-ranging appeal and relevance to healthcare engineers and estates and facilities departments.
Advisory group
‘I am really pleased with the level of interest in helping us with the content and speakers. Aleady signed up to the group are Darryn Kerr, director of Estates & Facilities, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; John Allwork, head of Estate Operations, Pennine Acute Hospitals; Mervyn Phipps, assistant director at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Bill Millar, interim head of Capital and Projects (Facilities), United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. We are hoping to add other names over coming weeks.”
Reader competition
Step Exhibitions expects to announce further details on the conference next month, but, Steve Webb explains, they are keen to develop a ‘theme’, and have announced a competition for readers of HEJ to come up with a topical one. If you have a theme or an idea you would like considered, email the organisers at: healthcare@stepex.com Steve Webb said: “If your strapline or theme is chosen, the organisers will invite you to the exhibition and conference as a VIP guest, which will include paying your expenses; the prize also includes a ticket to the IHEEM annual dinner, and one night’s accommodation.” Entries should be emailed to: healthcare@stepex.com by 22 March.
Key suppliers
This year’s exhibition will include over 20 hours of ‘free’ presentations in dedicated theatres, organised and presented by leading groups and partners working with Step Exhibitions. “The number of companies booking space at Healthcare Estates continues to grow,” explained Steve Webb. During February, key organisations confirmed their presence, taking the total number of exhibitors booked to 76. The most recent companies to confirm their presence include Altro, Pick Everard, Reliance Water Controls, Dräger Medical UK, British Gas, Squiggle Glass, GE Corporate, Clarke Energy, Aluline Group, and Addmaster (UK). For a full exhibitor list, visit: www.healthcare-estates.com For more information on Healthcare Estates, including exhibitor rates and visiting details, contact the event team. T: +44 (0)1892 518877. Email: healthcare@stepex.com, or visit www.healthcare-estates.com, where you can also register. For conference details and delegate rates T: 01892 518877, or email Michelle Michelucci, at michellemichelucci@stepex.com
