The theme for this year’s Healthcare Estates conference is ‘Quality in the Patient Environment’, reflecting the key issue of patient care, and the impact that estates and facilities departments can have on this.
The conference, which will take place alongside the Healthcare Estates exhibition at Manchester Central from 7-8 October, will, Steve Webb, the show director at Step Exhibitions, explains, ‘include presentations covering every aspect of design, construction, management, and maintenance of healthcare facilities’, with four streams; ‘Energy’, ‘Estates & Facilities Management’, ‘Planning, Design & Construction’, and ‘Engineering’. Preferential rates are available to NHS employees and IHEEM members, with a specific VIP programme and networking area, and ‘many other benefits to make attendance easier’.
Step Exhibitions has confirmed Capita, the professional support service solutions provider, as a 2014 event sponsor, along with new sponsor, Cardiff-based specialist in ‘clean-technologies’ for managing hospital waste and waste water systems, Enviropharm.
Interactive sessions
The conference will include sessions that allow delegates to interact with a panel of key speakers. Steve Webb said: “Our aim is to give delegates the opportunity to question some of the main players. Step and IHEEM are approaching key names to set out the strategic healthcare agenda; we see this as important for the morning of the first day, before we start to cover the ‘how to do it.’”
Visitor/delegate registrations are now open. Conference delegates booking before 9 September will receive ‘a significant reduction’ in delegate rates, with further benefits for IHEEM members, and those working directly within the NHS and private hospitals. Steve Webb said: “The rates for a two-day IHEEM member working in the NHS or the private healthcare sector have been reduced, allowing some delegates to book the two-day conference for just £260 with the ‘early bird rate’. Even non-IHEEM members will save by booking early.” For more information, visit www.healthcare-estates.com
‘VIP’ dedicated area
“The ‘VIP area’ on the exhibition floor will again provide a dedicated ‘zone’ for VIP visitors to relax and meet colleagues, and view examples of improvements to the healthcare environment,” Steve Webb explained. “The area is ‘open’ to workers from the NHS, private hospitals, and related sectors, members of Architects for Health, and other qualifying visitors.”
The exhibition
Alongside the VIP area, the exhibition floor will incorporate three dedicated theatres, each offering two full days of presentations by supporting organisations:
• The Energy & Sustainability Theatre – featuring presentations from the Carbon & Energy Fund and its framework, with Day Two presentations from BRE and selected exhibitors.
• The Contractors’ & Architects’ Theatre – among those presenting here will be Architects for Health and the Construction Industry Council.
• The Mental Health plus Fire & Security Theatre – new for this year. The Day One programme will be led and delivered by the Design in Mental Health Network and exhibitors. Day Two will see presentations from leading fire and security organisations, including the National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers (NAHFO).
Also new for 2014 is the Construction Industry Council BIM Area – where workshops, software demonstrations, and networking events will take place, case studies will be profiled, and BIM-specific sessions will be given on the Contractors’ & Architects’ Theatre. Within a new ‘NHS Feature Area’, meanwhile, NHS Trusts will be able to profile current projects to their peers. To find out more, contact James Lee. T: 01892 518877, or email: jameslee@stepex.com
For the current programme, and to register for the conference or exhibition, visit www.healthcare-estates.com or telephone: 01892 518877. For conference details and delegate rates, email: michellemichelucci@stepex.com
