The new St Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway’s first 100 per cent single room healthcare facility, which also incorporates innovative robotic and other modern technologies for activities ranging from linen and drug transportation to waste disposal, will be among several modern healthcare facilities visited by delegates on the IFHE’s 22nd Annual Congress.
Which takes place from 13-17 April this year on board the Norwegian coastal steamer, the Hurtigruten MS Midnatsol, as it journeys south down Norway’s spectacular west cost. This issue of Health Estate Journal includes (pages 28-32) an article on the impressive 10-year new build and redevelopment project to create the NOK 12.6 billion hospital facility. The Congress programme – 250 delegates have already signed up – will also include visits to hospitals in Tromsø, Stokmarknes, and Bergen, and presentations on a wide range of topics of key relevance to healthcare estates and engineering personnel, including hospital design, architecture, and construction; procurement; commissioning; logistics; facilities management and administration; ‘lean production’; environmental issues; information technology; data security, and building information management systems. It is hoped the event – being organised this year by Norwegian healthcare engineering association, the Forum for Sykehusenes Tekniske Ledelse (FSTL) – will bring together a crosssection of healthcare personnel from hospitals and the scientific community, architectural practices, engineering companies, and consultants, to both network and make valuable new contacts, and give their personal insight on how to address some of the key challenges facing those operating and maintaining 21st-century hospitals. All presentations will be in English, while a number of companies will showcase products and services in an exhibition on board the MS Midnatsol. The event begins in Tromsø on 13 April with registration and an IFHE Council Meeting, followed by an evening ‘get-together’, while on Saturday 14 April there will be an evening celebration in honour of past IFHE President, Lawrence (Laurie) Hadley, and, the following day, an ‘Argentinian evening’, in anticipation of the 23rd IFHE Congress in Buenos Aires in October 2012. A Gala Dinner will take place on 16 April. Delegate places for the IFHE 22nd Annual Congress are still available. To register, visit: www.ifhe.info Vidar Smalås, President of the FSTL, added: “So far we have over 250 delegates signed up, although there is potentially the capacity for as many as 500. Delegates who have confirmed they will attend so far are drawn from many countries, including the UK, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Italy, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and Argentina, while we currently have around 45 speakers in place.”
