Step Exhibitions, organisers of IHEEM’s Healthcare Estates 2014 conference and exhibition in Manchester (7-8 October at Manchester Central), have released details on a programme of topical conference/seminar events (HEJ – March 2014) taking place during May to complement the conference – on topics including water quality and safety, medical device compliance, and sustainability.
The first ‘Healthcare In Focus’ event will see two seminars held concurrently on 14 May at the National Motorcycle Museum in Bickenhill, the second day of this year’s Design In Mental Health event (see pages 41-49), which takes place at the same venue. Part of the IHEEM Technical Programme, the seminars will see IHEEM members receive significant discounts on ticket prices. Booking details are on the IHEEM and Healthcare Estates websites.
Seminar 1: ‘Implementing New Expectations for Water Quality’, will be chaired by Dr Nick Hill, research and development director at the Water Hygiene Centre, and chair of IHEEM’s Water Technical Platform. Speakers will include Tim Wafer, technical and compliance director, Water Solutions Group; David Harper, public health consultant, and Bill Millar, interim head of Capital, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Presentations will cover topics including ‘the changing regulatory environment’ – including the new HSE ACoP and Technical Guidance on Legionella, and the HTM 04 Addendum on combating Pseudomonas aeruginosa in augmented care units; ‘The use and abuse of chlorine dioxide in healthcare environments’; ‘Water risk assessment – Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa’, and an NHS Trust presentation on developing and implementing water safety plans.
Medical device compliance
Seminar 2: ‘Medical device compliance – setting the standards’ will examine, with substantial input from IHEEM’s Medical Devices Advisory Group, the current regulatory background for medical device use in healthcare settings. IHEEM MDAG chair, David Easton, will chair. Other confirmed speakers include Mark Harvey, head of Harmful Products at, Hugh James Solicitors; Catriona Blake, team manager, Imaging and Community Care, MHRA; Jeff Pickering, IHEEM MDAG Member, and Ian Threlkeld, head of Clinical Engineering at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The presentations will include a look at ‘Current medical device legislation and litigation examples’; an MHRA update on MHRA DB2006(5); a presentation on a Physical Science and Engineering Quality Improvement Project; a session on ‘Recycling useable equipment in the NHS’, and a focus on ‘The future challenges of medical device management’. The second Healthcare In Focus event will take place in the Great Hall 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 the first 100 NHS personnel to register. Registration is open at www.healthcare-estates.com
Expert advice in meeting new Strategy’s goals
Steve Webb, of Step Exhibitions, said: “In response to the launch of the new Sustainable Development Strategy for England, BRE and Step Exhibitions, working with IHEEM, are hosting a series of sustainable healthcare conferences, to help all those organisations working across the now significantly broader care ‘landscape’ deliver the Strategy objectives.” On 21 May, the keynote speech, by Dr David Pencheon OBE, director of the Sustainable Development Unit, will explain ‘what the new Strategy means for the NHS’, while Trevor Payne, the Barts Health NHS Trust’s director of Estates, will set out its impact on the NHS. The focus will be on decarbonising the NHS estate, and specifically the opportunities available though installing new lighting technologies and photovoltaics, and the impact of better housing on the healthcare system. (Next month’s HEJ will include an article from BRE focusing on these topics). Steve Webb added: “The events are supported by suppliers and manufacturers involved in these sectors. With only 12 supporting partner packages available, interested companies should contact James Lee, at Step Exhibitions, as soon as possible. T: 01892 518877, or email: jameslee@stepex.com To register your interest in the ‘Healthcare In Focus’ events, visit the Healthcare Estates website, at www.healthcare-estates.com and click on the ‘Healthcare…In Focus’ button, telephone Step Exhibitions on 01892 518877, or email: sales@healthcare.com
‘VIP’ benefits again on offer
Following a successful IHEEEM annual conference in 2013, the organisers of Healthcare Estates 2014 will again be offering NHS employees ‘VIP status’ at many events, and ‘maximum return on time’. The theme of Healthcare Estates 2014 is ‘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: “‘VIP’ delegates travelling by train to Healthcare Estates 2014 will benefit from special rates agreed with Virgin Trains. Many NHS Trusts would like to send personnel to the event, and costs of travel, and time out of the office, are key considerations. Alongside lower cost train travel, we will also offer visitors that drive to the show complimentary parking, and all ‘VIP’ delegates complimentary tea and coffee on site, plus discounted delegate rates for the conference.”
