Well over 400 guests attended the annual IHEEM Awards Dinner at the Manchester Midland Hotel, a stone’s throw from Manchester Central, on the evening of the first day of Healthcare Estates 2013.
Where among the highlights were an inspiring keynote address from Gold Medal-winning Para-cyclist, Mark Colbourne, music from an accomplished string quartet, a three-course dinner, and the pleasure of seeing this year’s winners collect their Awards. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, reports.
In welcoming guests to IHEEM’s 2013 Awards Dinner in the Alexandra Suite at Manchester’s Midland Hotel, following a drinks reception held in the hotel’s imposing foyer, IHEEM’s President, Greg Markham said he, the wider Institute, and the organising team at Step Exhibitions, were delighted that the attendance was the highest seen for many years. As they arrived, and throughout much of the Dinner, guests were entertained by the four lady musicians who make up The Nero String Quartet; their varied repertoire ranges from Bach to Beyoncé.
‘Through hell and back’
Once guests were seated, and after a short welcome speech, Greg Markham introduced, as guest speaker, Mark Colbourne, who he said had ‘gone through hell and back’ to reach his first Paralympic Games in London in the Summer of 2012, after breaking his back in a near fatal paragliding accident in May 2009. He subsequently fought determinedly for 12 months to learn to walk again with walking aids, and is now a full time Para-cyclist for the UK. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, the indomitable Welshman, who had gone through a highly intensive training regime both to hone his cycling skills, and build his stamina and resilience, won the very first medal for Paralympics GB with Silver in the 1 km individual time trial, being ‘pipped’ for the Gold by the new World Record holder from China. The next day, he broke the 3 km pursuit World Record twice at the London Velodrome, as the IHEEM President put it, ‘annihilating’ the existing World Record by seven seconds in the morning, and then going on to beat it again by 0.2 seconds in the Final the same night. In his preferred event on the track, he went on to win the 3 km pursuit and secure his first Paralympic Gold medal. A string of further cycling successes followed.
Performing under stress ‘on the world stage’
Mark Colbourne described how, prior to the Olympics, in February 2012, he had won his first cycling Gold medal for Great Britain on the track in Los Angeles, and then claimed his first World Para-cycling Championship title, also winning a World Championship Silver in the ‘blue ribbon’ 1 km individual time trial. He achieved all this in the same week that he lost his father to stomach cancer. In addition to his cycling work, Mark Colbourne prides himself on helping others from all walks of life, and is the official patron of Pedal Power in Cardiff, a disabled cycling charity which helps people of all ages to ride a bike. He also helps Disability Sport Wales with his talks to promote sport to disabled people across the Principality. Greg Markham said the speaker ‘fitted wonderfully’ with the event theme of ‘Putting positive energy into healthcare’.
First-hand NHS experience
Before speaking for almost half an hour to explain how, with the support of family, friends, physiotherapists, the wider medical profession, and his cycling coaches and management team, he went on to achieve his medal-winning dreams, the Para-cyclist stayed on stage to introduce the first two of the evening’s five IHEEM Awards.
Winner’s ‘tireless work’
The winner of the Lucas Scholarship Award – named after the IHEEM President from 1973-1975, Dr BGB Lucas, and presented annually to an individual felt to have made ‘a significant contribution to the work and promotion of the Institute’, or to the healthcare engineering and estate management profession – was Geoff Fitton, who the citation said had ‘worked tirelessly’ for IHEEM’s North-West Branch, holding various offices, but had ‘always played down’ his contribution. Mark Colbourne said: “During this time he has worked at North Manchester General Hospital as a hospital engineer, keeping a large general hospital running safely; a proper hospital engineer in the true sense of the title. He has recently moved to a different role, but his service – to both the Institute, and the profession – is now recognised with this prestigious award.”
Best article in HEJ
The evening’s second award, the Northcroft Silver Medal, is presented annually in honour of IHEEM’s President from 1967-1969, Lionel Northcroft, who was known for his enthusiasm for encouraging engineers to promote and publish their work. The Award goes to the author of the technical paper published in Health Estate Journal considered to have contributed most to the advancement of healthcare engineering. This year’s winner, for an article in the September 2012 issue of HEJ considering ways to reduce energy costs by ensuring condensate recovery systems are as efficient as possible, is the UK sales technical manager at Spirax Sarco, Paul Mayoh. Mark Colbourne noted that ‘appropriately, and entirely coincidentally’, the winner works for the same company of which Lionel Northcroft was both Managing Director, and, subsequently, chairman.
Digital A/V system recognised
The three final awards were presented after guests had enjoyed their dinner, beginning with the IHEEM Award for Best Innovative Product or Service, which went to Brandon Medical, for its Symposia range of digital AV products for healthcare. This award, received by Brandon’s joint managing directors, brothers Graeme and Adrian Hall, ‘seeks to highlight organisations that have identified new products or services and successfully brought them to market, or adapted an existing product for a new market’. The judges said they had been impressed ‘with the way this company has taken modern technological advances, and combined them with the traditional requirements for patient care and the teaching of students’.
Two entries shortlisted for ‘sustainability’ award
The evening’s penultimate award – the Healthcare Estates Sustainability Award – saw two entries shortlisted – one from Dalkia, for a new CHP-based energy centre at Stevenage’s 480-bed Lister Hospital funded and built by the company under a 15-year contract energy management agreement, which should reduce annual energy bills by an estimated £650,000 annually, and the second from Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which is delivering what is believed to be the NHS’s first ‘holistic’ energy demand reduction scheme with a performance guarantee. The judges said of Dalkia’s winning entry: “This innovative solution to solving the puzzle of how we divert muchneeded resources away from utility companies, and into investment in the estate and patient services, is delivering extraordinary benefits.”
Backlog repairs and emissions cut
Under the Dalkia ‘solution’, and a wider new Trust energy strategy, the East and North Herts NHS Trust, which operates Lister Hospital, expects to see its carbon emissions fall by 20 per cent (4,040 tonnes) across its hospital sites, while the project has also so far ‘cleared’ £1.3 m of backlog repairs in heating and hot water systems. Other key achievements include providing plant to assist future hospital building developments to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings; improved EPC ratings, enhanced resilience of the energy supply to the hospital, and an approach ‘repeatable’ by others; in fact three other NHS Trusts are now implementing similar schemes. This award was presented by B&ES CEO, Roderick Pettigrew, and was received on Dalkia’s behalf by Colm Flanagan, the company’s commercial director.
Marketing expertise
The final award presented, the new Healthcare Estates Marketing Award, based on ‘mystery shopper’ visits to exhibitors’ stands during the show’s first day, saw an initial six companies shortlisted, before three – Static Systems, Tyrell Systems, and Bioclad, came through to the next stage. The eventual winner was specialist in nurse call, communications, and bedhead services technology, Static Systems, which the judges praised for ‘showing a good mix of marketing with education, and building brand awareness at the forefront of its campaign’, using ‘tools’ including seminars, CPD technical presentations, and ‘a completely redesigned website’. During visits to the show, two of the ‘secret shoppers’ had praised Static Systems for being ‘streets ahead; in terms of its welcome, stand branding, and clarity of presentation’. The award was presented by Anthony Smith, of sponsors Freeman, and was received by Static Systems’ marketing manager, Jennie Horrocks. The Awards Dinner proved a resounding success, and an excellent opportunity for the delegates, speakers, and exhibitor representatives to both make new contacts, and relax after a busy first day at the show. Meanwhile a charity collection during the Dinner for Macmillan Cancer raised just over £1,800.
