IHEEM members need to face significant challenges presenting in healthcare engineering and estate management, and step into high profile strategic roles, Rob Smith, the Institute’s new president, told the IHEEM annual general meeting, held recently in London.
He continued: “There is a real feeling in senior management that we are almost sitting back, not out in the forefront making things happen to support the delivery of the best possible healthcare.”
Some estates managers considered that taking on senior strategic roles would be “very difficult”, but, Rob Smith said, there were Institute members who had the capability to make a huge contribution “in that scenario”. IHEEM members had to be ready to step up to the challenges of helping shape tomorrow’s healthcare sector.
The Government was on a path to ensure world class clinical services would be delivered, and this meant healthcare estates and engineering professionals had “a tremendous opportunity coming”, he said. Once decisions on the future direction of healthcare had been made, it would be “people like ourselves” who would make it happen.
“I want to bring people into the Institute as early in their careers as possible, and help them develop throughout their working lives,” Rob Smith stated. “A number of these people should go forward into the highest levels of healthcare management.” The new president commented: “I am passionate about healthcare in this country. I think we have a fantastic healthcare system compared to almost everywhere else, and I’m immensely proud of what we have.”
He drew attention to how impressed he was with the contribution engineering made in the healthcare sector.
He had met members of the Institute working in “tremendous adversity” in Gloucestershire during flooding in order to ensure the delivery of essential healthcare services was maintained, and had a similar experience in floodstricken Hull.
Phil Nedin, of Arup, who was standing down as IHEEM’s president, said his aim during his two years in the role had been to raise the profile of the Institute and to increase its influence. He had worked to achieve this through many presentations delivered. He considered that IHEEM’s key role in assisting the delivery of top class healthcare delivery centred on facilitating knowledge transfer. Further, the Institute needed to maintain its focus on helping members advance their individual careers.
Phil Nedin praised John Long, IHEEM’s chief executive, and the Institute’s headquarters staff, for “driving our business forward at some pace”, and he paid tribute to the IHEEM Council for approving the upgrading of the Institute’s offices and for further improving IHEEM’s financial position.
