The HSE’s recently revised technical guidance on minimising the risk of exposure to Legionella, ensuring compliance with medical device standards, and how the healthcare, public health, and social care sectors, can most effectively embrace sustainability.
Will be among the topics covered in a series of topical seminar events to be staged by Step Exhibitions, organiser of Healthcare Estates 2014, in late Spring this year to complement the main conference in October in Manchester.
Working with key partners
Steve Webb, director of Healthcare Estates, explained: “We are working with a number of our key partners to develop a programme of seminars to complement the main event in October. Taking place in May, the first of these will give delegates the opportunity to hear from industry experts on key topics. In each case we hope to be able to expand on areas covered in the main conference, where information and greater detail are sometimes requested.”
The first ‘Healthcare In Focus’ event comprises two seminars, being held concurrently on 14 May at the National Motorcycle Museum in Bickenhill near Solihull, and part of the IHEEM Technical Programme. Seminar 1 will cover ‘Water’, and Seminar 2, ‘Medical devices’.
New HSE ‘water’ guidance to be discussed
Seminar 1, which will be chaired by Nick Hill, research and development director at the Water Hygiene Centre, and chair of IHEEM’s Water Technical Platform, will focus on ‘Implementing new expectations for water quality’. It will include presentations by expert speakers on topics including the HSE’s recently published HSG274 technical guidance on Legionella and accompanying new L8 Approved Code of Practice (ACoP). Nick Hill said: “While the HSE has already published Part 1 (‘The control of legionella bacteria in evaporative cooling systems’) and Part 3 (‘The control of legionella bacteria in other risk systems’), Part 2 of the new HSG 274 guidance,‘The control of legionella bacteria in hot and cold water systems’, has been out for consultation for some months. We hope, however, that it will have been published by the time of May seminar, and anticipate that the new guidance will form a major part of the presentations and discussions.”
Medical device standards
Seminar 2 on 14 May – both seminars are being held at the National Motorcycle Museum on the same day as the second day of this year’s Design in Mental Health Network Conference and Exhibition (www.designinmentalhealth.com) – will examine, with substantial input from IHEEM’s Medical Devices Advisory Group, the current regulatory background for the use of medical devices in all healthcare settings. David Easton, who chairs the MDAG, said: “MDAG’s first seminar – entitled ‘Setting the Standards – out with the old, and in with the new’ – will be a fantastic event, as the MHRA have just confirmed their attendance. With the release of the new Medical Device Bulletin concerning medical device management, and other standards currently being drafted, attendance by anyone interested in this subject matter will be very advantageous.
“Aimed at all personnel working with medical devices, and those with an interest in the subject, this seminar will be of particular value to those less experienced in the field, and their participation will be particularly welcome.”
The second Healthcare In Focus event will take place at London’s Barts Hospital on 21 May. Run in association with BRE and Barts Health NHS Trust, the ‘Building Sustainable Healthcare’ event will be free-to-attend for NHS personnel.
Sustainability strategy
Steve Webb said: “In response to the recent launch (see also page 11) of the new Sustainable Development Strategy for the healthcare, public health, and social care sectors across England, BRE is partnering with Step Exhibitions, working on behalf of IHEEM, in hosting a series of conferences on sustainable healthcare. These will provide expert advice and information to help all those organisations working across the now significantly broader ‘landscape’ to deliver the Strategy objectives.”
The 21 May ‘sustainability’ event will take place in the impressive Great Hall at Barts Hospital, with a follow-up event scheduled at the BRE in Watford on 9 September (For more information on the BRE event, email Chris Hall: hallc@bre.co.uk). Dr David Pencheon OBE, director of the Sustainable Development Unit, will deliver the keynote address on 21 May, explaining what the new Strategy means for the NHS, while Trevor Payne, Barts Health NHS Trust’s director of Estates, will set out its impact on the NHS. The focus will be decarbonising the NHS estate, with a specific look at the opportunities available though installing new lighting technologies and photovoltaics, and the impact of better housing on the healthcare system.
To register your interest in the Healthcare In Focus events, visit the Healthcare Estates website (www.healthcare-estates.com) and click on the ‘Healthcare…In Focus’ button, contact Step Exhibitions. T: 01892 518877, or email: sales@healthcare.com
Experience leading expertise
“We are really excited to be working with one of London’s key NHS Trusts and BRE, as well as helping IHEEM develop their technical series of seminars,” said Steve Webb. “These events will give visitors the chance to experience for themselves the level of expertise available at Healthcare Estates in October. These Spring events are a logical extension to an already respected brand, allowing us to connect with a specialist audience. Our research indicates that while there are small-scale healthcarerelated events taking place across the country, there remains a clear and strong demand for up-to-date technical seminars that meet the requirements of NHS personnel.” The three Healthcare In Focus presentations will also offer CPD points for delegates. To the main Healthcare Estates conference itself – being held from 7-8 October at Manchester Central – and with a growing attendance, and successful conference, in 2013, the organisers will be continuing to offer NHS employees ‘VIP status’ at many events, and, in Steve Webb’s words, ‘maximum return on time invested’.
The theme of Healthcare Estates 2014 will be ‘Quality in the Patient Environment’, with a major focus on the changes that have taken place in the NHS, and how these impact on the estate. Steve Webb added: “This year we will be holding the Annual IHEEM Dinner and Awards on the evening of 7 October at a new venue.
“Last year was a sell-out, and we consequently ended up turning potential guests away from the Dinner, which featured, as one of the keynote speakers, Paralympian and multiple medal winner, Mark Colbourne MBE. As a result, we have this year booked the Manchester Mercure Piccadilly, which will allow us to grow the dinner to over 500, ensuring that everyone attending Healthcare Estates 2014 can join in the celebrations.”
Healthcare Estates 2014 takes place on 7 and 8 October at Manchester Central, and, alongside the conference and dinner, will incorporate an exhibition with sector-focused theatres. For more information, including rates for exhibiting and visiting details, contact the Step Exhibitions team, on 01892 518877, email sales@healthcare.com or healthcare@stepex.com – alternatively visit www.healthcare-estates.com or www.healthcare-estates.org.uk
